book 2
although the Clone War is drawing to a close, there is still a war within the Jedi of many secrets. The Order has shaped her ethics, but that which is forbidden is her inner compass. She is a warrior, a sister, a friend, a lover. Ultimately...
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Ava's heavy, buckled boots pounded against the smooth surface of the glowing gravity lane, each step pushing her further from the storm of droid blasters firing behind her. Friends, family members, acquaintances and strangers who ran and resisted their advances were shot down. Those that submitted were spared, but for how long?
The city was alive, suspended in mid-air, and yet it felt like everything around her was collapsing. Her heart pounded in her chest, the rhythmic beats of her footwork drowned out by the heavy clanking of metal feet.
She glanced over her shoulder. Droids. Everywhere. A sea of mechanical soldiers closing in on her, their eyes glowing. Weapons ready and aimed, merciless. She couldn't let them catch her. She wouldn't, not like how they captured everyone else. How they captured her dad. She had to run and warn someone, to find help.
The gravity lane curved sharply ahead, and she leaned into it, the gravity shift throwing her off balance for a moment, but she recovered quickly, eyes darting to the next passage.
Her breath came in ragged gasps, legs burning from the effort. Just a little further... But the city was a maze of floating platforms and suspended bridges, and every turn seemed to bring more danger. She pushed herself harder, not thinking about the impossibility of her escape, not thinking about the outcome.
The droids' voices echoed in her ears. "Target acquired. Capture the prisoner."
"Not today!" Ava yelled back, gritting her teeth as she shot down another gravity lane, her legs pumping with desperation. Her breath fogged her googles, but she didn't move to clear them. She could just barely see the next platform ahead, an opening just beyond the next curve. Almost there. Almost—
A loud crash from behind. She risked a glance over her shoulder again. One of the droids had leaped, launching itself off the suspended lane directly toward her. Destroyer droids rolled at the speed of light, advancing on her quickly. The ground beneath her feet shifted again. Gravity fluctuated, and she stumbled.
In the split second it took her to regain her footing, the droid was on her. Its cold, mechanical hands grabbed her wrist, twisting her arm behind her back. Ava struggled, throwing her elbow back, but it was like trying to break free from a wall. She was yanked backward, the metallic grasp unyielding, pulling her into the tangles of a squadron of droids.
Every part of her screamed to escape, to fight, but there were too many. She struggled against them one last time, knowing it was useless, but unwilling to give in. Blue suns blazed in the distance between tufts of vanilla clouds. She reached for it, as if to grab hold of the fading blue rays. A deep prayer rang within her, a prayer that someone would reach back and safe her from this fate.
