Freaks of the Force

Night Sky

I flapped my wings as hard as I could, swerving away from Doctor Carther and towards the stone spires around us. My mind was buzzing as the fire inside me grew.

How did Doctor Carther get wings? He said something about sharing DNA. Maybe when he took healing enzymes from my wings to fix his arm, it also combined our DNA and gave him wings just like mine.

A blaster fired behind me, barely missing me. I tucked in my wings and dove, spiraling around one of the spires in an effort to lose him.

My fingers fumbled with the small blaster I held, wondering if I would be able to fire it from the air. I had never fought anyone while flying. My only hope was that Doctor Carther wasn't any better at it.

"You can't escape me, little bird!" Doctor Carther called as another blaster shot rocketed past me. I turned my head, returning fire. Doctor Carther folded his wings and dove, ending up below me. I gained altitude and entered the clouds, heading in the direction I thought the rest of the crew was.

When I emerged, I was above Lothcat Cliff. The surface was empty aside from unconscious stormtroopers. No rebels, no Ghost, and no family. I landed on a narrow ledge farther down the cliff, truing to hide in the shadows with my black wings.

"Ezra?" a voice asked.  I flinched away from the voice before I recognized it.

"Safra?" I asked.  She unfolded her leathery wings, appearing out of the shadows as suddenly as the moon behind clouds.  I couldn't believe she was there.  Safra, one of my youngest cousins in WING.  Safra, the only person with wings that weren't feathered.  Safra of all people!

"What are you doing here?" I hissed.

"I don't fit in," Safra whispered back.  "This is where I come to be alone.  But scary people are here tonight.  I'm afraid, Ezra."

I hugged her, wishing there was something I could do to help.

"It's going to be ok," I promised.  "I'll chase the bad guys away."

"How? You're hurt."

"Just trust me. Wait a few minutes after I leave, and then go back home."

I spread my wings, jumping back into the night. If the rebels weren't on the cliff, that meant they were flying around looking for me. And they could probably help me deal with Doctor Carther.

I soared higher into the sky. In only moments Doctor Carther had spotted me again.

"You can't fly forever," he called to me. "Come with me, little bird. I promise I won't let anybody kill you."

"Too late for that," I shouted back.

"Ezra!" a new voice called. Kanan. I turned to see where he was. The Ghost was soaring nearby, Kanan standing on the roof and holding on for dear life.

"Ezra, your lightsaber!" he shouted. I tucked in my wings, speeding up as I closed the distance between us. I reached down and snatched my lightsaber from his outstretched hand, activating it just as Doctor Carther fired again.  I managed to deflect it before I was sent into a crazy somersault by the Ghost's exhaust.  Then Doctor Carther caught up to me.

We fought, spiraling downwards as we both tried to get the upper hand. He held my wrist, keeping me from using my lightsaber as I held the wrist of his hand with the blaster.

"Give up," Doctor Carther snarled. "You shouldn't have those wings. You don't have the guts to actually use them!"

The fire inside me started growing again, and I could see the ground coming closer. I was almost ready to give up and fall to my death with Doctor Carther, but then I remembered Safra.  I had to do this for her, before the imperials found her.

"You have even less right!" I retorted. "You stole your wings from me!"

I kicked Doctor Carther in the chest, sending him spinning a short distance away.  As he spun I swung my lightsaber, slicing off both of his wings.  He howled in pain, spiraling towards the ground.  I extended my wings, steadying myself and stopping my fall.

A blaster fired and I felt an explosion of pain in my chest. Then I was falling . . .

---

I could hear the buzz of conversation around me, but I didn't have the energy to move or open my eyes.

". . . lucky you were there to help me catch him . . ."

The fire inside of me had faded, which led me to think that I had been unconscious a long time.

" . . . but what were you doing here?"

"I had a vision that you would need me. It was lucky Safra and Thalia were there too."

I knew I shouldn't be alive. Doctor Carther had shot me as a last-ditch attack. And I knew he hadn't missed.

"Norasky, shouldn't he be awake by now?"

"Give it time."

I opened my eyes, blinking a few times to help them adjust. A group of people were gathered around me. I recognized most of them. Kanan, Hera, Sabine, Zeb. Thalia, Safra, and a girl I didn't recognize. She must have been Norasky.

"How am I alive?" I asked, sitting up. A bandage was wrapped around my chest.

"Norasky, Thalia, Safra, and I managed to use the force to catch you as you fell. Then Norasky used the force to heal you," Kanan explained.

"You're Norasky?" I asked, glancing at the girl I didn't know. She smiled and tipped her head.

"Yes I am."

"Where's Kina?"

"She didn't make it," Hera said.

"Her clipped wings . . . it's all my fault," Thalia sniffed.

"Now that you're awake, we need to go," Norasky told me. "Safra, Thalia and I must return to our family. And you belong with your family here."

"Wait, why me?" I asked her as she was about to leave the room. "Why did you send Kina to me?"

Norasky paused, glancing over at me.  Her wings seemed to glow brighter for a moment.

"Because I saw a vision that led to this moment," she said, smiling.  "I knew you're path would be dangerous, and you would die unless I sent Kina to intervene.  You had to be saved and brought to our hidden caves.  Then you had to go to the tower so that your friends would find you.  Now, you are able to finally stay with your friends in peace, free from Doctor Carther.  Here, I promise, is where your story ends.  Here . . . we depart in peace."

THE END