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| - The Empire ruled over the entire galaxy, shrouding it in near darkness. No one was safe, not even the Grand Moff; Emperor Palpatine and Lord Vader held the galaxy under their iron grip and refused to let release it. I, Naelah Tieres, the daughter of the Moff of the Namadii Sector, refused to be frightened of them—their power was temporary, of that much I was certain, and one day, when it started to crumble I would rise up against them. I suppose you could say that I have a certain disregard for the rules, or as my mother liked to put it, I had completely no respect for being a disciplined child. In any event, I was easily the most rebellious of my family and that made my father very upset, as you would imagine. Not only did I have a disregard for the rules, but I certainly didn’t have any patience with law enforcement either. In fact, if my father took me to meet Emperor Palpatine or Lord Vader I might just spit in their faces. That was my nature and that’s what gets me into a lot of trouble, but I have never gotten into trouble such as this. “Hello Mother,” I greeted as I walked into my mother’s favorite part of our home: the kitchen. I grinned when I saw that she was making my favorite dessert dish: shurra fruit pie. “Don’t mind if I do.” I reached out and snagged a piece before she could successfully swat my arm away. “Naelah, you know the rules.” I glanced up at her face, expecting to see a scowl of some sort, but instead I saw her eyes crinkling as she smiled at me. “Sorry Mother,” I replied earnestly and hopped up on the counter. “Where’s Father?” I took the first bite of the shurra fruit and glanced back at her. “Last I knew he was in his office,” She replied in a slightly darkened tone. After fixing me with her eyes she continued, “I think he had some business with the Empire.” My face darkened as I scowled. “The Empire? Again? What is Father talking about with them?” “I don’t ask your father about his business with the Empire,” She answered shortly. “You know that it causes tensions between us, so I don’t like to bring it up.” I bit my tongue as she snapped at me; of course I knew that the Empire was a sore topic of discussion in this family, but I couldn’t resist bringing it up. Though I loved my father, I felt he was too involved in his business with the very people who were actually ruining the galaxy, but I couldn’t tell him so because it would only create even more discord between all of us. “On a lighter note, your sister is coming home tonight.” Pulled back from my thoughts, I looked at my mother incredulously. “You mean Anita is coming home? Is that what this is for?” “Yes, that is what this is for,” She replied with a smile on her face. “Anita decided tonight would make a perfect time for a visit.” My older sister, Anita, was the house’s prodigy in everything she did, except relations with her family. Ever since she left and did whatever it was she did (I don’t even know) she hadn’t returned home so this occasion was extremely rare; even rarer still, she was staying for a whole meal, but it made me suspicious as to why. “Is there another award she’d like to brag about?” I questioned sourly, tossing the rest of the shurra fruit away as it had gotten progressively bitter in my mouth. “If that’s the truth then I’ll be leaving.” “No,” My mother responded sharply. “She just wants to spend some time with us before—” She stopped suddenly and glanced up at me to make sure I hadn’t picked up on anything. Too late. “Before what?” Sighing, Mother set down her cooking materials and looked at me. “Anita’s going to Coruscant,” She informed me heavily. Apparently she didn’t like the fact that her daughter was going so far away—or to the very center of what I referred to as tyranny. “Wh-what?” I spluttered, choking on the remnants of the fruit in my mouth. “Why is she going there?” “The best universities are located in Coruscant, Naelah,” She responded wearily. “You know how your sister is.” “But why can’t she go somewhere else?” “I don’t know Naelah, why don’t you go ask your father or something? I have this pie to finish,” She snapped with an air of finality in her tone. I sighed agitatedly and hopped off the counter. “Fine mother.” “Tell him Anita’s coming, I don’t think he knows yet.” Clamping my jaw shut, I strode out of the room and made my way to my father’s office. I decided to step outside for a little while, so I crossed the open courtyard in the middle of our mansion. Eventually, I meandered into the hallway where my father’s office was located and stopped. His door was open and there was a slice of faint, glimmering blue shining out of it. It sounded as though he was talking to someone important, but I wasn’t entirely sure. Being extra careful, I tip-toed to the door and peeked through the open crack and saw my father kneeling on the ground in front of a hologram image of who I believed to be Grand Moff Tarkin. “…but these weapons…annihilating an entire planet?” My father’s voice was suddenly timid and disbelieving. “That’s impossible.” “It is anything but impossible, Moff Tieres. We already have a scaled prototype complete. The tests show it is all-too-real,” Tarkin explained, as one would explain algebra to a first-year student. “Bilbringi needs to complete its supply of turbolasers to arm my station.” I gasped and felt my eyes bulge out of their sockets. What in the Force’s name were they talking about? Annihilating an entire planet? They couldn’t be serious! “It-it will be done sir; I will make sure of it.” “Good. Your assistance is a help to my project, Moff. It may guarantee you a place of power in my Empire. With this weapon at my control, not even the Emperor can stand against me. The battlestation’s turbolasers alone can hold off an armada.” I could take no more—it was all too overwhelming. Stepping backwards I bumped into something I hadn’t realized was there before, but it didn’t matter what it was because it tumbled over and crashed onto the floor drawing my father’s attention. “What was that?” Tarkin asked sharply. “No one can know of these plans!” “Whoever it is will be taken care of—I assure you sir,” My father answered absently as he stood and headed for the door. I froze and saw his shadow pass over the crack in the door and I suddenly realized I couldn’t be here. Even though he was my father, he would have no problem exterminating me for the betterment of the Empire. Feeling adrenaline course through my veins, I ran, but also knew that my father saw my back before I rounded the corner. I knew he saw me and I knew nothing was going to get in the way of him executing me, not even my mother’s pleas or the fact that I was his own flesh and blood. So I ran, and I ran harder than I had ever done in my life until I was at my door. I shoved it open and flew to the closet where I stowed a few suitcases. Ripping them off the shelves, I threw them onto my bed and started for the dresser where I pulled out random bits of clothing and whatever I could. Finally filling it to the brim, I shut the case and slung it over my back. Before I left, I stopped in front of the bedside table and pulled open the drawer. Inside was my holdout pistol I used for defensive purposes only, and this was as good as an incident like that. I grabbed it quickly and slid the drawer shut. I ran to the door and glanced back at my room one last time before I shut the door behind me and fled. And so I ran, ran for freedom, ran for my life and ran for something even more; something I didn’t even know that I was running for yet. But it didn’t matter, because one day I knew I would hold up the promise I had once made to myself a long time ago: when the Empire starts to crumble, take it down.
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