I woke up to someone screaming. The building was shaking. I didn’t know what was happening. I heard an explosion and more screaming. The building shook again. I got out of bed and put some clothes on and ran to find my parents.
As I approached their room, I called in to them.
“Mommy, daddy,” I cried. “Let’s get out of here.”
There was no response from them. I wasn’t sure if I knew their fate, but I had to open the door regardless. I pushed the door open and heard nothing. As I stepped inside, I looked to their bed. The ceiling had caved in on them, crushing them while they slept. I could see their motionless bodies underneath. Blood spilled from the sides of the bed and I didn’t want to go any closer. My eyes filled with tears, but before I could commit to crying, I turned and ran downstairs.
More explosions came from around my house. More screams outside. I didn’t know where to go, but I knew that I didn’t want to be inside anymore.
I slowly opened the front door and looked outside. Fires were erupting and people were running everywhere. As I stepped further into the street, I saw a friend of mine exiting her house with her parents. Just then, a red laser came out of the sky and hit her house. As it exploded, my friend and her parents were thrown to where I was standing. I looked down at my friend and knelt down, hoping to revive her. She coughed up blood and was unable to say anything. I held her hand until her last breath and her hand let go on its own.
More explosions entered my ears and I realized that I had to get out of the way as soon as possible. I stood again, resigned to the fact that I needed to find a way to escape this hell that I was standing in.
Adrenaline filled me and I felt my feet start to run away from where the lasers were destroying everything that I had grown up with. As I ran, I heard people screaming. Things like, “why is this happening?” “Where are the planetary defenses?” “Who is doing this?” But there were no answers. No answers to questions that weren’t even being heard.
I approached the center of my city. My Telaya. My home for all of my 11 years. Except the first four months, which were on a starship. I saw several hundred people gathering in front of the Governor’s Office. Several were bleeding and some of the doctors were treating as many as they could. I tunneled my way through the legs of the adults and made my way toward the front of the crowd. I got there just in time, because the Governor was about to say something. The people grew quiet.
“My friends. The Commander of the ship that is causing this destruction has just contacted me. He is seeking a criminal. He chooses to flush this criminal out by destroying our homes and businesses in case we are in league with him. However, I have worked out a cease-fire for the moment in hopes that we may find this criminal.”
The crowd began to mumble and I heard people yell to the Governor, “Where is this criminal, that we may offer him to the Commander?” “What gives them the right to destroy us for one man?”
“People, people,” the Governor started. “I have only gained us one hour. The Commander will be here in one hour to verify the identity of this criminal. If we do not have him here, at the steps of my office, our city will be completely destroyed and its people will be taken as slaves of the Empire.”
All of a sudden, I felt the people begin to move. I’m little for my age, so I’m not seen very easily, therefore, people started to trample me as they began running for the buildings looking for this criminal. I am sure that they don’t want to become slaves of the Empire.
The Governor noticed that I was being knocked over and came to my rescue. “Khiani,” he said as he took me toward the steps of his office. “Where are your parents, child?”
I looked him in the eyes. I wanted to tell him the truth. He was a friend of the family, and he had the right to know, but I didn’t tell him. “They’re helping some of our neighbors,” He should believe that, they’re doctors. “They sent me to you to find some information.”
He looked at me and smiled. “Hopefully, they can stop working soon.” He patted me on the head in a patronizing way and began to wander back into his office.
“Sir,” I said to him. “Who is this criminal? And why does the Empire think they can kill in order to get him back.”
The Governor stopped. I don’t think he liked my questions. “Well, Khiani, the criminal is actually a Rebel spy. And, according to the Commander of the ship up there, this criminal has killed several key members of the Empire. They followed him to our planet and he crashed here. That’s why they are trying to destroy everything, before he can get help or get away.”
I didn’t say anything, but I just lowered my head. The Governor looked back at me. “You’d better get back to your parents, dear. They’ll be worried.” I nodded knowing full well that my parents were not worrying about me any longer.
I turned away from the Governor’s office and made my way toward my house, giving the Governor a chance to see me heading home, even though I wasn’t. I turned down one alley and noticed some people standing around a body. I stepped up to them and tried to avoid their eyes. I listened as the people started talking.
“He doesn’t look familiar,” one person said.
“He’s a stranger. This must be the criminal they are looking for,” said another.
The man on the ground was unconscious. I looked carefully and noticed that he had a head wound. It looked bad, probably a concussion too (What do you expect, I am the daughter of two doctors).
The mob began to pick up the man and carry him toward the Governor’s office. I didn’t know who the man was, but I felt that I didn’t want these people to turn him over to the Empire. I don’t know if it was the fact that I didn’t have a family anymore and I was looking for one, or if I was just being stupid. Either way, I spoke up and really got into some trouble.
“Wait!” I screamed. The mob stopped and looked down at me. “He’s not a stranger. I mean,” I started to stumble on my words. “I mean, he’s a stranger to Telaya, but that’s because he’s from Trayna, in the North. He’s my uncle.”
The mob looked at me and disregarded anything that I said. Someone looked over to me. “Do you have any proof? Where are your parents?”
This time, I didn’t stop myself from crying, although it was more pretend than real tears. “My parents died a little while ago. They were helping some people and an explosion killed them. My uncle is all I have left. We were running to the spaceport. He was going to take me back to Trayna. We got separated when he went to save a family from being crushed by a toppling building.” I hope they believe me. “If nothing else, he needs to be seen by a doctor.”
The crowd took the man again and carried him to the Governor. They didn’t believe me. How could I think that they would? Who am I for them to listen to? Just a child. And not a very big child as it is. As the group formed on the Governor’s office, a man exited the building followed by the Governor. The crowd dropped the man at the edge of the steps and the Governor and other man stood, looking over him. Then the man spotted me.
“Governor,” the man spoke. “This girl says that this man is her uncle from Trayna. You know her family well, does she speak the truth?”
The Governor looked at me and I looked at him, then the unconscious man. I turned my eyes upward in a way to get a response of sympathy from the Governor. He didn’t say anything for several minutes. Then, speaking to the group. “This man needs medical attention. I do not have any doctors available, but I know that this child has basic medical training.” The Governor motioned for me to come forward and then called his guards. “Take this man inside to one of the waiting areas. The child is to stay with him, for now. I will be in momentarily.” The guards took the man and escorted me inside. As I entered the building, I heard the beginning of the Governor’s speech to the people.
“This man is the criminal we are looking for …”
I wanted to listen to the rest of the speech. I knew that the Governor knew who the man was. He knew that my parents had no other family on this planet. That he was not my uncle. But why did he allow me to stay with the man if he knew he was a criminal against the Empire.
The guards stopped in one of the waiting areas and placed the man on one of the seats. I stood next to him and tried to stop the bleeding from his forehead. The guards exited the room and stood in front of the door.
I thought of what to do next. I mean, I was in a room with a man that I didn’t know, about to face the Governor of Telaya, and I had to find a way to convince him to let this man go.
A while later, the man’s eyes began to open. Slowly at first, but eventually he was able to open them all the way.
“Where am I?” he whispered.
“You are in the Governor’s Office, in a waiting area. If I’m not mistaken, the Imperials will be here soon. I have to get you out of here.”
“Wait,” he started with a cough. “If I can find someone, they can help.”
“I know most everyone in Telaya. Who are you looking for?”
“I don’t know. I just know his code name. He’s a Rebel sympathizer. He’s offered help before. I just have to hope that the bombardment hasn’t killed him.”
“Can you contact him? Do you know where he is?” I heard someone outside.
The man pulled a small transmitter out of his pocket. Before he could press it, the door opened and the Governor stepped inside. I pushed the transmitter out of sight so that the Governor wouldn’t take it. Before I did, the man was able to press the distress signal button.
A noise began to come from the transmitter. The beeping was constant and began to get louder. I tried to hide the transmitter, but the Governor was able to pull it from my hands.
“So it’s true,” he started. “You are a Rebel spy.”
The man had very little strength and did not respond to the Governor’s statement.
“Then I have no choice.” The Governor looked down at me. “You should not have lied for this man. He is a criminal.”
“But he doesn’t have to die!” I pleaded as I grabbed the Governor’s robes.
One of the guards pulled me away from the Governor and held my arms tight.
“He will not die, Khiani. So long as we act fast.”
The guard let go of me and stepped to the Rebel. He began to take his clothes own clothes off and trade them with the man.
“What is going on? What are you doing to him?”
The Governor did not even look at me, but at the Rebel. Do not be afraid. I am Desert Guardian. Where is the information you were able to retrieve?”
The Rebel reached for his boot and pulled a small datapad out. He didn’t have enough strength to raise his hand, so the Governor took it out of his hand.
Standing up, the Governor turned to one of his aides. “Make a copy of this, quick.” The aide stepped to a computer and began to make an exact copy of the datapad. The Governor received the original and placed it back into the Rebel’s boot and took the copy and gave it to guard that was completely dressed in the Rebel’s outfit.
I was really confused now. Why was one of the Governor’s guards wearing the outfit that the Rebel was wearing? And what was the datapad full of that made it important to give the original back and a copy to the guard?
The Governor could see that I was confused and not understanding anything. He knelt down and looked at me. “I am a rebel sympathizer. That is why I allowed you to stay with this man. I didn’t want the mob to harm you. My guard will take this man’s place,” I looked at the guard and started to speak. “Yes, he knows that his life is more than likely over, but he feels that it is worth it to get information to the Rebellion. That is why we had to copy the information. The Imperials were looking for something so specific, we had to make a copy in order for them to think they had caught their culprit.” I looked at the Governor with a face of confusion.
“Now, Khiani,” the Governor said as he stood. “The Imperials will be landing soon. I want you to take the Rebel to the hangar. One of the guards will take you to Trayna. Another guard will fly you to the nearest Rebel Base. Go, now, child. And remember that life is worth sacrificing for the greater good.”
He patted me on the head like the child that I was and left the room. The guards took the Rebel and carried him to the hangar. As they prepared for departure to Trayna, there was an explosion. Most of the guards ran back to the main building to see what was happening, but one stayed with the transport. He began to guide the small shuttle out of the hangar.
I looked out the window and noticed that the Imperial commander fired a weapon, killing the governor. The commander then waved his hands, probably giving an order and the stormtroopers started shooting people in the crowd. People started running away as fast as possible. The shuttle exited the hangar and the Imperial troopers began firing upon it.
The shuttle maneuvered as much as possible, but was unable to avoid all the shots. The ship was hit and began to descend. It hit the ground hard and I was thrown out of my seat. The pilot was ejected through the window and lay dead outside of the wreckage. The rebel was dead as well. There was only one thing to do now. I took the datapad from the Rebel’s boot and exited the shuttle a few minutes before the Imperials arrived.
I was hiding in the bushes as the Imperial Commander approached the shuttle. “No survivors. Only guards. But what were they guarding?” The commander looked around. “Fan out! There may be a survivor after all.”
I have to stay low to the ground. I don’t think I’ll move for a while; at least not unless they get close. Let’s hope they don’t. I don’t think I could outrun Imperial troops.
They are looking around the shuttle. Did I leave tracks? Did I leave something in the shuttle to give them a clue to who I am or which way I went? I hope not.
They keep looking around. So far, the stormtroopers haven’t moved my way. That’s good. Hopefully, they’ll leave soon. I’m getting tired. I want to sleep, but I don’t think I could, knowing that those Imperials are standing over me.
The sun is coming up. It’s starting to get lighter. I hear the Imperial Commander. “There’s no one left in this town. No one that will talk anyway. We got what we came for. Back to the shuttle.”
The Imperials walked away from the crashed shuttle. I waited until I couldn’t see them anymore and then slowly stood up. I scanned the horizon to make sure that I didn’t see any Imperial forces. Not seeing any, I started running. I don’t know why I was running. I guess I didn’t think really. I just wanted to be away from the remnants of my city. Plus, I had forgotten that Trayna was over 9 kilometers away. As I started to tire, I slowed down. I kept walking with a general sense of direction. I had been to Trayna, but only by shuttle. I had never walked. There were a lot of hills. I was tired. But something inside me made me continue on.
A few hours later, I arrived at Trayna. It was a city just as big as Telaya, but the difference was that it had a starport. I was very tired from walking all that way. I just wanted to sit down, but I knew that I had to find the Governor’s guard.
I stepped into the starport and looked around. There’s a monitor that has information. Maybe it shows where the Royal Hangar is. I don’t see it. Maybe I’ll just ask around. There’s an Information Droid.
“Excuse me, do you know where the Royal Shuttle is?”
The droid turned and looked down at me and piped up. “There is no Royal Shuttle in dock here. You must be mistaken.”
“Sorry,” I said and stepped away. I continued to walk around the spaceport, every now and then looking at ships to see if I could see anyone. I was really tired and all I wanted to do was sleep. I knew if I could just find the shuttle, I could sleep on my way to the base. Maybe that wasn’t a possibility any longer.
Before I decided to take a nap, I chose to look into one more area. As I looked, I saw a man dressed just like the Governor’s guards. I opened the hatch and walked in. He looked at me and then approached very carefully.
“Who are you?” he said. “What are you doing here? This area is restricted.”
“I have information…” I started slowly. “For the Rebels…” Please take me to the nearest base…” I passed out. I’m not really sure what happened next, but the guard must have believed me because I woke up almost a day later and the guard told me that I was on a shuttle to a secret Rebel Base.
I was only 11 standard years, but I felt like I had aged several years in the past few days. I will deliver this information to the Rebellion and then honor my family and my city by joining the Rebels to defeat the Empire.
