Episode 2 :: Devastation

Instructions

Chilling screams filling the air, Alera cupped her blue hands to her mouth, shouting for her brother, desperate to be heard over the explosions and screams. “Cato!” She dashed around the corner where she had last seen him run past, his yellow eyes bright and innocent. She searched along the street while the ship in the sky inched closer, cannons firing into buildings, the smoke rising high into the air. Crouched by a wall, Cato sobbed into his knees, and his sister knelt beside him. His short arms slid around her neck, and she lifted him up. “Cato, look at me.” She brushed away the black hair that fell into his eyes. “We’re going to be fine,” Alera whispered through gritted teeth. “I promise.” He nodded and buried his head into her shoulder, sobbing, “I want to go home!” Alera turned and marched through the street, her head held high, while her fellow Pantorans scrambled to safety, their yellow eyes wild with fear. “I need all fighters to fire on that Separatist ship!” The two clones the children had passed neared them, the one muttering into his comm. “Hey!” They burst past Alera, but he stopped and placed a hand on her free shoulder. “I told you to go home.” “And I didn’t listen,” Alera replied. “But I am now.” The trooper hesitated, his brown eyes flaring and darting to the sky. His jaw twitched, and he slipped his helmet back on. “Get to safety,” he whispered, each word firm, and Alera nodded, respect shining in her eyes. The two clones dashed away, their blasters aimed at the approaching ship, while Alera paused and watched. “They’re sending droids down, captain!” the other shouted, his finger shaking on the trigger. “Get the civilians to safety. I’ll call in General Dyarron.” The two parted ways, and Alera quickened her pace, their apartment building in sight. “We’re close, Cato,” she murmured in his ear. “It’s going to be okay.” The little boy swiped at his tear-stained face and gazed at his home with hope. A shot from the ship’s cannon whistled through the air, and their home exploded into flames, the fire reflecting in their eyes. Cato screamed and wriggled free from Alera’s hands, his feet carrying over the ground to the charred remains of his home, “Cato, stop!” Alera hung back, her hands shaking as blaster fire echoed from another street. “Stop!” She shrieked and burst into action, willing her legs to beat her brother before the flames engulfed him. Her fingers snagged his shirt, and Alera dragged him away, hearing droids marching in the distance. “Cato, look at me.” Holding his face in her hands, she calmed her shaking breath. “Do you want to d!e?” He shook his head, smoke billowing over them and landing on their cheeks. “Are Mommy and Daddy gone?” Alera nodded, words catching in her throat, and she hugged him, her hands clutching him while the city continued to fall apart around them. Alera released Cato and took his hand in her own. “We’re going to go to the clones, Cato, because they will keep us safe.” “But Daddy–” “Dad’s d3ad, Cato!” she snapped, and he stopped, eyes broken with hurt. “Look, we need to get going, okay?” He sighed and nodded, tears sliding down his face, and Alera led him along, buildings crashing down around them. A man, his face smeared with char while his shoulder bl3d from a blaster sh0t, ran behind them and shoved his way past the two, all three falling into a heap. “Watch it!” Alera yelled, her voice cutting, as she righted Cato and herself. “The droids,” the man muttered, his wild eyes darting all around. “They’re coming for us.” Cato shivered in her grasp, and Alera walked away, leaving the man to stand and continue running. Her pace even, she darted around a corner, meeting another street of chaos and destruction. The piercing sounds of blasters echoed in the street, a battalion of tan battle droids, their unfeeling robotic eyes bearing down on the citizens, herded groups of the blue people, though many lay dead. Alera spun on her heel, but it was too late. A blaster sh0t flew past her, and a droid stopped them. “Stop right there, civilian!” He clanked over to the pair, feet heavy on the ground. “Join the others!” Looking around for a sign of white, Alera blinked hard, fighting pathetic tears. She stared down the droid, who raised his blaster at her hesitancy. “Move it, or the child dies!” Shuddering in her grasp, Cato cried out, and Alera bit her lip as she joined several adults huddled on the ground, three super battle droids standing over them. “Where are you taking us?” Alera demanded of one of them after she set Cato down. The gray droid ignored her, standing its ground. “Hey, stupid droid!” she shouted at the smaller, dusty droid who had threatened her brother. “Where are you taking us?” He turned, metallic hand raised to his head to send a transmission, and replied in a dull tone, “The mines of Kessel.”