Run... ok.. but here is an explosion for you

Posted on Fri Aug 21st, 2026 @ 2:03am by Shipmaster Allore Titha & Inquisitor Second Sister

3,304 words; about a 17 minute read

Mission: Daiyu
Location: Docking bay, Daiyu

Allore waited until the last of the cargo sleds disappeared beneath the cavernous entrance of the starport. For several long seconds she simply stood at the foot of the boarding ramp, watching the flow of civilians, dockworkers and freighter crews moving through the district as though nothing had changed. To anyone watching, the Gauntlet was merely another battered transport unloading cargo. Only she knew that, in less than half an hour, it would become a trap. The soft whine of the departing speeder bikes echoed faintly through the docking bay. Jaden's group would already be threading its way into Daiyu's endless maze of traffic by now. Connor's landspeeder would not be far behind. Good. They had a chance.
She touched the small comlink hidden beneath her jacket. "Status."

Illenya's voice answered almost immediately, though broken by the sounds of passing speeders. "We're clear of the docks. Tex has us on a route through the lower markets. No sign of pursuit." She closed her eyes briefly. "Good. Stay on the route. Don't stop for anyone." "You'd better be right behind us."
There was a pause. "...Soon."

She cut the transmission before she could hear the lie. Turning, she strode back up the loading ramp. The cargo hatch sealed behind her with a heavy clang. Silence settled over the ship. For perhaps the last time. The bridge felt strangely empty. Every station sat dark. Half-drunk mugs of caf still rested where people had left them only minutes earlier. Someone had forgotten a datapad beside the navigator's console. Miran's small carved tooka still sat tucked beneath the communications station where she'd hidden it weeks ago. Allore picked it up gently. A tiny smile crossed her face before she slipped it into her pocket. No memories for the Empire. She lowered herself into the captain's chair.

The chair she'd sworn she'd never become attached to. The chair that somehow had become home. "Computer." The familiar tone answered.

"Awaiting command."

"Initiate Protocol Ashfall."

"Protocol Ashfall confirmed."

Throughout the Gauntlet, hidden charges silently fused data cores beyond recovery. Encrypted navigation logs began overwriting themselves.
Crew manifests disappeared. Banking records vanished. Hidden hyperspace routes fragmented into meaningless coordinates. The ship slowly began erasing every trace that could lead the Empire to the people she loved. A warning flashed across the tactical display. UNIDENTIFIED IMPERIAL TRANSPORTS ENTERING DOCKING PERIMETER They were fast, way too fast. They had found them faster than she'd hoped.

She leaned forward, fingers flying across the console. Docking permissions changed. Internal blast doors cycled. Cargo bay pressure fluctuated.
Maintenance requests flooded the starport control network. Then she deliberately overrode several security protocols. Enough to make it appear someone aboard the ship was desperately trying to prepare for departure. She wanted them to believe the captain was still aboard. She wanted them chasing her. Outside the viewport, she watched the first column of white-armoured stormtroopers emerge from an arriving shuttle. Even at this distance they moved with unmistakable purpose. Straight toward the Gauntlet. The proximity alarm sounded. Five hundred metres. Four hundred.
Three hundred. She stood. One last look around the bridge. One last breath. "Thank you," she whispered quietly to the old freighter. Then she disappeared through the maintenance hatch concealed beneath the command console. The hatch sealed behind her just as heavy boots echoed through the main corridor above.

Stormtroopers. Already aboard. She moved quickly through the narrow service conduits she'd memorised months before, emerging two decks below near Engineering. A junction panel came away beneath her hands. She crossed two circuits. Behind her, lights flickered throughout the ship.

Klaxons immediately began blaring. "WARNING. ENGINEERING POWER SURGE DETECTED." Perfect. She heard shouted Imperial orders almost immediately. Troopers changed direction. Another squad diverted toward Engineering. Exactly as planned. Every second they spent chasing phantom failures... ...was another second Jaden, Connor and the others disappeared into Daiyu. She reached another maintenance access overlooking the central cargo bay. Through the narrow grille she watched the first stormtroopers fan out below. More transports continued arriving.

Far more than were needed to seize one freighter. Someone important wanted her captured. That thought sent a chill through her. Not because she feared for herself. Because it meant this wasn't random. Someone knew who they were. Someone had betrayed them. Her jaw tightened.
There would be time to find out who. If they survived today. She slipped away from the observation grille before the troopers could spot movement.
One final task remained. She needed to make absolutely certain every Imperial on the station believed Captain Allore Titha was still aboard the Gauntlet.

Only then would her family have the head start they needed. Drawing her blaster, she smiled faintly to herself. "If you're looking for me..."
She disengaged the safety. "...come and find me."

Outside the Gauntlet, another Imperial shuttle settled onto the landing platform. Its ramp lowered. Only one passenger emerged.

She wore no armour and no Imperial uniform. Black trousers disappeared into knee-high boots, a fitted black top beneath a long leather duster. On Daiyu she could have passed for a bounty hunter, a smuggler, perhaps even another freighter captain.

The Imperial lieutenant waiting beside the shuttle knew otherwise. He straightened immediately. "Second Sister." The woman barely acknowledged him.
Her dark eyes settled upon the Gauntlet. "Report."

"Vessel secured. Captain Allore Titha is believed to remain aboard. Our squads are conducting a deck-by-deck search."

"Believed?"

"We haven't located her yet."

Second Sister's gaze remained on the battered freighter. Something brushed against her awareness. Faint. Guarded. Hidden beneath layers of fear and deliberate control. But there. Her expression changed. "Get your men off that ship."

The lieutenant blinked. "Ma'am?"

"Now."

Allore heard them withdrawing. That worried her far more than hearing them come aboard. Boots thundered through the corridors. Orders were shouted. One squad passed directly above her hiding place. Then another. Within moments, the Gauntlet became eerily silent. Allore remained crouched behind a cargo container, blaster held against her chest. Why would they— She felt it. Her breath caught. The Force. Not the background murmur she had spent the past year learning to ignore. Not the emotions of frightened civilians or the instinctive sense that warned her when someone was watching. This was focused. Cold. Searching. Looking for her. "No..."

She hadn't felt another Force-user, other than Kirra, Jaden and the younglings, this close since the Jedi fell. Footsteps sounded from the boarding ramp. Slow. Unhurried. A woman appeared. Black leather. Dark hair. No stormtroopers. Allore raised her blaster. "That's far enough."

The woman stopped. Her eyes flicked toward the weapon. Then returned to Allore. "Captain Titha."

"That's what it says on the manifest."

"I've read your manifest."

"Congratulations."

"It was very thorough."

Allore's finger tightened around the trigger. Second Sister took another step. "I said stop."

She didn't. Allore fired. The woman's hand moved. The blaster bolt veered sideways and struck a cargo container. Allore fired twice more. Both shots were deflected. No lightsaber. Just the Force. Cold spread through Allore's stomach. Second Sister tilted her head. "There you are."

Allore ran. She tore through the starboard access corridor, hit the emergency release and threw herself through the side hatch. Behind her, Second Sister followed. Not hurriedly. That was somehow worse. Allore hit the docking platform and kept moving. Twenty metres. Thirty. A sound came from behind her. Not an explosion. Not yet. A deep, rising whine. Allore stopped. She knew that sound. She had designed Protocol Ashfall herself.
Second Sister emerged from the access hatch. Then she stopped too. Her head turned toward the Gauntlet. Warning lights were flashing along the freighter's hull. The engines flickered. Once. Twice. Then went dark. Second Sister looked at Allore. "What did you do?"

Allore stared at the ship. Her ship. Their home. Miran had scratched her name into the wall beside her bunk and then spent three days insisting Tex had done it. Kyle had dismantled half the environmental controls because he was convinced he could make them more efficient. Illenya had turned one compartment into a medical bay and threatened anyone who dared leave dirty mugs in it. There had been arguments in those corridors. Name days.
Nightmares. Laughter. For a little over a year, the Gauntlet had kept them alive. Allore swallowed. "Protocol Ashfall."

Second Sister's eyes narrowed. "What is Protocol Ashfall?"

Allore looked at her. "Goodbye."

Realisation struck. Second Sister spun toward the Imperial troops. "EVACUATE THE SHIP!" The first explosion came from Engineering. The blast tore through the aft section of the Gauntlet, sending armour plating spinning across the docking bay. Stormtroopers ran. A second detonation followed.
Then the reactor went. Allore threw herself behind a cargo barrier as the world turned white. The shockwave hit. Hard. She was lifted from her feet and slammed against the duracrete. For several seconds she heard nothing. Then sound came rushing back. Alarms. Screaming. Fire suppression systems.
Twisted metal raining onto the platform. Allore pushed herself onto her elbows. The Gauntlet was gone. Not damaged. Not disabled. Gone.

What remained of the freighter burned fiercely inside the docking bay. Allore stared. Something inside her broke. She had known this was going to happen. She had programmed it to happen. That didn't make watching it any easier. Home was gone. Again. She forced herself to her feet.
Illenya was alive. Kyle was alive. Miran was alive. Jaden, Connor and the rest were alive. That was what mattered. Ships could be replaced.
People couldn't. A figure moved through the smoke. Second Sister.

Her leather duster was scorched along one side. Blood traced a thin line across her forehead. She looked at the wreckage. Then at Allore.
"You destroyed your own ship."

Allore's jaw tightened. "You weren't getting it."

"Your home."

"It's metal."

Second Sister studied her. Allore hated that look. Because the woman knew she was lying. "Then why are you grieving?"

Allore said nothing. Second Sister stepped closer. Behind her, stormtroopers were regrouping. Allore glanced toward the concourse. Time to move. Second Sister saw that too. "Running again?"

Allore smiled faintly. "Absolutely." Then she ran.

"Captain fleeing!" Stormtroopers turned. Allore fired without slowing. One dropped. Another threw himself behind a cargo sled. She vaulted a railing and landed hard on the lower concourse. Civilians scattered around her. Good. Crowds. Noise. Confusion. This was Daiyu. This was what she knew.

She shoved the blaster beneath her jacket and disappeared into the mass of bodies. For perhaps thirty seconds, she thought it had worked.
Then the crowd ahead of her began moving aside. Not running. parting. Allore slowed. The woman from the Gauntlet stood in the middle of the concourse. Waiting. Allore stopped. "You are becoming extremely irritating."

"I've been told." The woman's hand disappeared beneath her duster.

A metal hilt dropped into her palm. Allore stared. "No."

A red blade erupted into existence. The effect upon the concourse was immediate. People screamed. The crowd vanished into shops, alleys and adjoining passages. Allore backed away. The woman advanced. "Go on."

Allore raised her blaster. "You know what I want."

Another step. "Do it."

Allore fired. The red blade moved. The bolt came straight back. Allore twisted aside as it burned past her shoulder. She fired again. Again. Again.
The woman kept walking. Then Allore's blaster tore itself from her hand. It skidded across the duracrete. Second Sister stopped. "Enough."

Allore glanced toward the exits. Stormtroopers appeared at one end. Then the other. More moved into position on the level above. Trapped. Her heart hammered. Not for herself. Illenya. Kyle. Miran. Jaden, her crew. They were gone. Safe. That was what mattered. She had promised herself she wouldn't do this.

Not again. Not unless there was absolutely no other choice. Allore reached beneath her jacket. Second Sister became very still. A battered cylindrical hilt slid into Allore's hand. For more than a year, it had remained hidden. A year of pretending. A year of learning to answer to Allore Titha without hesitation. Smuggler. Cargo hauler. Captain. Older sister. Anything except what she really was. Her thumb found the activator. Blue light flooded the concourse.

Second Sister stared at her. And smiled. "Shia Teraan."

Allore froze. Nobody had called her that since the Jedi fell. Nobody living was supposed to know that name. "That name is dead."

Second Sister raised her red blade. "So are the Jedi."

Allore attacked. Blue and red collided. The crack of the blades echoed through the concourse. Allore drove forward immediately. Fast.
Hard. No hesitation. Second Sister gave ground. Once. Twice. Then stopped. Their blades locked. "You've been hiding."

"I've been busy."

"Playing smuggler?"

"Staying alive."

Second Sister shoved. The Force struck Allore like a physical blow. She flew backwards and crashed into a cargo crate. Pain shot through her shoulder.
The red blade came down. Allore rolled. Duracrete melted where her head had been. She came back to her feet with her blade already moving.
Blue struck red. Again. Again. Again. Daiyu disappeared. For a few terrible heartbeats she was back in the war. A Jedi Knight again. A battlefield beneath her feet. Blaster fire around her. Clone troopers at her back. Except the clones weren't at her back anymore. They were the reason she had learned to run. Second Sister attacked. Allore blocked high. Turned. Countered. The Inquisitor caught the strike. Something about the movement made Allore hesitate. A stance. A turn of the wrist. Something buried beneath a year of nightmares. Familiar.

Second Sister saw the recognition. "Remembering something?"

Allore's eyes narrowed. "Who are you?" The red blade slammed against hers.

"You don't get to ask that." Allore twisted free.

Second Sister followed. She was stronger. Allore realised that quickly. Perhaps not better. But stronger. And Second Sister had spent the time since the fall of the Jedi embracing the Force while Allore had spent it desperately trying not to touch it. Another blow forced Allore backwards. Then another.
"You can't win this."

Allore blocked a strike aimed at her shoulder. "I don't have to." Their blades locked.

Second Sister frowned.

Allore smiled. "I just have to leave." She thrust out her free hand. A cargo loader tore loose behind Second Sister. The Inquisitor spun.
Her red blade carved through the machinery. Allore ran. A warning klaxon sounded across the docking levels.

"Freighter Seven-Nine-Four, departure clearance granted."

Allore saw it. An ore transport. Big. Ugly. Already lifting from its berth. Perfect. Its boarding ramp was retracting. She sprinted.

"STOP!" Stormtroopers opened fire. Red bolts tore through the air around her. Allore jumped. For the first time in more than a year she stopped holding herself back. The Force caught her. Lifted her. Carried her across the widening gap. Her hands caught the edge of the rising ramp. She slammed against it. Pain exploded through her ribs. Someone aboard shouted. Allore hauled herself over the edge. A terrified crewman stared at the lightsaber in her hand.

"GO!"

"What the—"

"GO!"

The ramp continued closing. Allore looked back. Second Sister emerged onto the landing platform. Red lightsaber burning in her hand. For one second their eyes met. Then the ramp sealed between them. The transport accelerated into Daiyu's traffic. An Imperial officer ran toward Second Sister. "We have the freighter's transponder."

Second Sister extinguished her blade. "Track it."

"Yes, ma'am."

"And notify orbital control."

"The Star Destroyer?"

"Tell them Captain Allore Titha is attempting to escape Daiyu." The officer hurried away. Second Sister looked toward the sky.

"Run, Shia."

The ore transport climbed. Ten thousand metres. Twenty. Thirty. Daiyu's endless city became a glowing landscape beneath it. Allore stood beside the terrified captain. "You brought the Empire down on my ship!"

"I know."

"They're going to intercept us!"

"I know."

"You said you needed passage!"

"I lied." His mouth fell open. Allore looked at the altitude display. Still too low. She waited.

The captain stared at her. "What are you doing?"

"Giving them something to chase." Another few thousand metres. Enough. Allore extinguished her lightsaber and clipped it beneath her jacket.
"Where's your maintenance access?"

"What?"

"Lower hull maintenance access."

The captain pointed. "Deck two, but—" Allore was already moving.

"Keep climbing."

"Are you insane?"

"Quite possibly." She reached the maintenance compartment. Opened the hatch. Wind screamed through the narrow chamber.
Daiyu was far below. Not far enough to kill her. Far enough that anyone sensible would reconsider. Allore wasn't feeling particularly sensible. She spotted an industrial maintenance skiff several hundred metres below, travelling toward the city after servicing one of the upper traffic-control platforms. Good enough. She climbed onto the edge.

The captain appeared behind her. "You're not seriously—"

"Thank you for the lift." Then Allore jumped. For several seconds there was nothing beneath her. Only air. She fell. The city rushed upward. Allore reached for the Force. Not carefully. Not cautiously. She grabbed it. The maintenance skiff swept beneath her. Allore twisted in midair. She hit the roof hard. Her fingers caught a maintenance rail. Her boots slammed against the hull. She nearly lost her grip. Nearly. But not quite. Allore hauled herself onto the roof and lay there gasping. Above her, the ore transport continued climbing. Straight toward orbit. Straight toward the waiting Empire. Allore started laughing. She couldn't help it. A year of hiding. A year of pretending she wasn't Shia Teraan. And she'd just fought an Imperial Inquisitor with a blue lightsaber in the middle of a public starport before jumping out of a ship. So much for keeping a low profile.

She crawled toward the rear maintenance compartment. One startled technician later, helped by the smallest touch of Force persuasion, and Allore was hidden beneath a tarpaulin covering replacement power couplings. The skiff descended.

Back toward Daiyu. Inside the starport control centre, Second Sister watched the tracking display. "Altitude?"

"Forty-eight thousand metres and climbing."

"Orbital interception?"

"Destroyer has the transport."

Second Sister watched. Something bothered her. Not evidence. Not sensors. Instinct. "Life signs aboard the freighter."

The technician checked. "Six."

Second Sister's eyes narrowed. "How many when it departed?"

The technician hesitated. "Seven."

Silence. The Imperial lieutenant smiled. "She fell."

Second Sister looked at him. "No."

"Ma'am?"

A slow smile appeared on her face.

"She jumped." The lieutenant stared at her.

"At that altitude?"

"You don't know Shia Teraan." Second Sister turned toward the enormous windows overlooking Daiyu.

Millions upon millions of lights stretched into the distance. Somewhere amongst them was a Jedi Knight who had just publicly revealed herself for the first time since Order 66. The lieutenant stepped forward. "Shall I order a city-wide search?" Second Sister considered it.

Then shook her head. "No."

"Ma'am?"

"If she wanted to escape Daiyu, she could have." Her eyes remained on the city. "She came back down."

Understanding slowly crossed the lieutenant's face. "Someone else is here."

Second Sister smiled. "Exactly."

The maintenance skiff descended into Daiyu's industrial haze.

Hidden beneath the tarpaulin, Allore reached beneath her jacket and found the tiny comlink. She hesitated. Then activated it.
Static. "Illenya?"

Nothing. Her heart tightened. Then— "Allore?"

Allore closed her eyes. "I'm here."

"Where are you?" She could hear Kyle somewhere in the background. Miran too. Safe.

Allore finally allowed herself to breathe. "On my way."

There was a pause. Then Illenya's voice became suspicious. "What happened?"

Allore looked at the burn across her jacket. At the lightsaber hidden beneath it. At the distant ore transport climbing toward a Star Destroyer that believed Captain Allore Titha was aboard. "Nothing I couldn't handle."

"Allore."

She smiled. "I'll tell you when I get there." She ended the transmission. Above her, the Empire chased a ship toward orbit. Below, Daiyu opened its arms to swallow her again. Allore pulled the tarpaulin over herself and disappeared. For the moment, Captain Allore Titha was dead. Shia Teraan had been found. And somewhere above the city, Second Sister was already hunting her.

 

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