The ship shuddered as it was pulled into the hanger of the First Order ship. Seraphina swallowed hard and tried to settle her nervousness. The sound of approaching footsteps could be heard from outside the shuttle. The ramp was forced open and the thumping of feet was louder now.
“We need to hide.” Nathan whispered with urgency. Seraphina had barely heard him. She was focused on a sense of coldness that had suddenly settled over her like a fog that seemed intent on making her nervous, uncomfortable, and scared.
“Seraphina,” Nathan whispered. When she didn’t answer, he touched her shoulder and the cold feeling seemed to withdraw at his touch. She looked up, startled. “Are you alright?”
She nodded. “I’m fine.” She insisted. Nathan raised an eyebrow.
“We need to hide.” He turned around to find a blaster pointed at his chest. Several Stormtroopers kept their weapons trained on Dabir and Seraphina.
“Jedi Master Dabir Aven,” a man’s voice said. The group of troopers parted, allowing a tall man dressed in black and bearing a lightsaber hilt clipped to his belt stepped over and in front of Dabir. Judging from the way he was dressed and his weapon, Seraphina guessed that he was a Sith lord. He glanced at Nathan and Seraphina, and it seemed that his gaze lingered on her for a bit longer than anyone expected.
Seraphina almost wished that she could see his eyes underneath the intimidating black mask he was wearing. Almost. She watched as he turned his attention back onto her master.
“Why are you here?” he asked.
“Flying,” Dabir answered calmly. “Your ship pulled us in.”
The man looked again at Nathan and Seraphina before returning his focus to Dabir. “I am guessing that one of these children is your Padawan.”
Dabir shrugged while looking at the Sith’s eyes through the eye sockets of the mask. “Perhaps, but I would not give you a definite response.”
The man turned toward one of the Stormtroopers. “Take them to the cells. And make sure the cells are Force-proof.”
The Stormtrooper saluted and then he and the others hauled Nathan, Dabir, and Seraphina out of the ship. They led them (or rather pushed them) roughly down long halls until Seraphina was dizzy. Finally, they reached the cells. A Stormtrooper shoved Seraphina into the cell and sealed it up.
Seraphina glanced around at her tiny cell. There wasn’t much. A cot sat in one corner of the cell. Seraphina sat on the floor criss-cross style. She closed her eyes and focused on meditating. At this point, that was the only thing she could do. Trying to break out would most likely get her killed. And Seraphina had no intention of dying today.
Despite the Sith lord ordering the Jedis and Nathan to be put into Force-proof cells, Seraphina thought she would at least try to meditate and connect with the Force. She felt blind without the Force. It was like she had lost a very important sense to help her function. After several unsuccessful minutes, Seraphina gave up only to hear the approach of footsteps as whoever was coming approached her cell.
The Sith stopped outside her small room. He stared at her and she returned the gaze, glaring at him through the energy barrier separating her from the hall. He marched away and Seraphina let out a breath she didn’t know that she had been holding.
A tremor passed through the ship as if something had hit it. The sounds of blasters firing could be heard just outside the door leading to the cells. The doors exploded, sending dust and debris spilling into the halls. A girl ran into the hall, her black hair pulled into a ponytail showing off her amber eyes. She held a blaster in her right hand. She stopped outside of Nathan’s cell which was across from Seraphina’s.
“Pay up, Mahir.” The girl ordered.
“I’m not in the best circumstance to pay you right now. If you get me and my comrades out of here, then I can pay you back.”
The girl considered this. “Done.” she said and punched a button next to Nathan’s cell. The wall of energy disappeared and Nathan hurried over to Seraphina’s cell.
The girl watched as Nathan freed Seraphina. “You never told me you had a girlfriend.”
Heat rose to Seraphina’s ears and cheeks. She could feel the heat of embarrassment. “She is not my girlfriend.” Nathan insisted. “Jedi are not supposed to have relationships with others.”
“Sure,” the girl rolled her eyes. “That didn’t stop Anakin Skywalker.”
Nathan quickly freed Dabir from his cell and then motioned for the rest of them to make their way to the hanger. They tip-toed out into the hallway. No Stormtroopers could be heard though three bodies lay on the ground; dead. After placing them in the nearest cell, the group resumed their pace.
They reached their destination with no confrontations from the enemy. To Seraphina, that seemed odd. And then they heard the stomping footsteps as soldiers were coming their way. The group of four scrambled into the ship that Seraphina and Dabir had used. Another ship sat nearby, or rather pieces of it.
Seraphina climbed into the pilot’s chair and gunned the engines. The ship lifted off the ground but didn’t move towards the opening of the hangar when Seraphina moved the controls in that direction. Something seemed to be holding the ship still. And then a cold presence seemed to wrap around Seraphina. She shuddered as goose bumps formed on her skin. It wasn’t so much the cold that made her quiver; it was the feeling of darkness, evil, and…him. The man; the one who had ordered that she, Nathan, and her master be locked up was doing this.
Master Aven seemed to feel it as well. “Lower the ramp.” He commanded.
Seraphina stared at him, eyes wide as she struggled with the ship. “Master, you can’t just-“
“Seraphina, do as I asked.” Dabir replied in a tone that he had never used on her before. She complied and asked Nathan to take the controls while she followed her master out of the cockpit.
Dabir walked towards the lowered ramp and descended while Seraphina waited at the top. He calmly walked towards the man in black who had his hand thrust out towards the ship. When he saw Dabir approaching, he lowered his hand but the ship remained suspended in the air. He drew his lightsaber and ignited the red blade. The crimson ray of light reflected in his black mask, making him look more sinister than before.
Dabir Aven ignited his own green blade and raised it in a defensive position. Seraphina watched as the Sith lord attacked her master. They moved quickly around the room; using skills and speed that Seraphina only saw between masters and other higher ranking Jedis. They attacked again and again; not a second passed before another strike was made.
She watched, eyes wide with fear, as Dabir continued to block, unable to strike as often as the Sith did. The force of the attacks seemed to send vibrations into the ground. If not in space, Seraphina would have thought that an earthquake was happening.
Dabir slowly made his way towards the ship, deflecting every blow directed at him. And then he made the mistake of looking away for only a second. The Sith took that chance to attack. Dabir raised his sword, only to fall backwards from the strike. Seraphina desperately thrust out her hand towards the advancing Sith. He flew back into the wall and slid to the ground. Seraphina used the Force to lift her master into the shuttle.
Now that the Sith lord was unconscious, their shuttle shot forward and Seraphina almost tumbled out. Quickly, she closed the ramp door and collapsed on the metal floor of the shuttle as it soared into space. A burst of speed from entering hyperspace caused her to slam her head against the wall, resulting in a headache.
Her master breathed deeply as sweat dripped from his brow and onto his robe. He had extinguished his blade and the hilt was now attached to his belt. Seraphina’s heart thumped erratically. She could feel warm sweat trickle down the sides of her face. The black-haired girl walked from the cockpit towards them. She crouched next to Seraphina.
“Your friend Nathan told me to tell you that he set our destination to Corellia.” Her amber eyes glistened with excitement and something else. Mischief, maybe?
Seraphina nodded. “Thanks,” she gasped. “By the way, you never told us your name.”
Her amber eyes shifted to look at the floor before raising them to meet Seraphina’s blue ones. “My name is Amber Solo.”