Waking from the Nightmare

[Toaster]

Energy bolts and tracer rounds crisscrossed through the air, illuminating the small village houses in blue and red light. The staccato of gunfire and booming of explosives echoed through the hills and ravines of the countryside. Shouting and screaming pierced the deafening cacophony of battle.

Pedro stood atop the village elder's house at the center of the settlement, observing the skirmish from a safe distance. The initial attack had easily overwhelmed the few guards that supervised the village and its nearby mining operation. When he, however, had arrived with reinforcements, the attackers were quickly repelled to the outskirts of the settlement. There, outnumbered and outgunned, they had dug in.

It didn't make sense to him. Whoever the invaders were, they had shown no interest in actually claiming the village or the mines. Holding their ground at the edge of the settlement, neither advancing nor retreating seemed to be on their minds. It seemed as if they were satisfied with just keeping his forces occupied...

"Sir!"

One of Pedro's lieutenants came running up the stairs to the house's rooftop, panting.

"Sir! The alarm at your estate has been raised!"

Pedro's eyebrows shot up.

"It's under attack!"

Of course.

Without a word, Pedro shoved his lieutenant aside and stormed down the steps to his nearby speeder. His subordinate followed him, shouting orders at nearby men to board their vehicles and return to the mansion. Angrily, Pedro leapt into his air car's driver's seat and gunned it out of the village, back the way he had come mere minutes ago.

Even over the whine of his speeder's engine, he could hear the gunfire coming from his estate. Descending over the surrounding walls, he could make out bodies strewn over the lush grass and smoke billowing from the villa's main entrance. More crashing than landing, the car settled down on the lawn and Pedro jumped out, hurrying towards his home. A Cretan caught up to and ran beside him.

"Sir, it's a small group, no more than four or five."

Pedro didn't slow down.

"Then how the hell," he barked angrily, "did they make it past your men?"

The Corsair visibly shrunk together at the scolding. He knew better than to come up with any excuses.

"One of the attackers was seen heading towards the living quarters."

This stopped Pedro dead in his tracks. His eyes widened and a series of curses exploded from his mouth. He spun onto the man beside him, grabbing the heavy pistol he was carrying.

"Secure my god damn home!" He shouted furiously and charged through the shattered double doors into the mansion. The Corsair and his men, jumping out of their speeders as they landed on the grass, hurried after him.

The foyer was chaos. Bodies littered the marble floor, smoke and dust filled the air. Behind upturned furniture, guards took cover, peeking over to shoot across the lobby at an indistinguishable enemy. Bullets and bolts of energy crossed the hall in return. Pedro didn't have time for this, his troops would deal with it.

Charging through the mayhem, he bounded up the central stairs, clambering over the corpses that lay strewn over the steps. At the top, he nearly tripped over a trio of dead men, their blood splattering his suit. He ran, stepping through shards of blasted stone and broken windowpanes. Finally, he came upon a large, wooden door, a wreath of pink flowers hung to it from a nail. It stood slightly ajar, no light shining out from the open slit.

"Sofia?" Pedro called out, breathing hard. "Sofia, it's Papá."

Silence.

Carefully, he pushed at the door. It swung open quietly. He stepped forward, sidearm swaying from side to side.

"Darling?"

"Papá!" The voice of a little girl pierced the quiet. Two figures stepped into the rectangle of light being cast into the room from the lit hallway. Pedro raised his gun, then froze. It was his beloved daughter. Held at gunpoint by Olivia.

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Olivia Sable