We arrived at the training room, and the others stared at me, Captain staring at me back with anger. "Sir, I would like to apologize for being late. I just-" "I don't want to hear excuses, get in formation," he said firmly to me. I got in formation, my heart pounding in my ears. The training began with basic combat drills, but everything felt different. The low hum in my head, which had once been a constant, quiet presence, now screamed with a frantic energy. It was no longer a guide; it was a blaring alarm, a panicked voice yelling at me to run.
Every trooper seemed to be watching me. Their movements were too precise, their stares too long. Was it just my paranoia, or had the entire squad been given a new set of orders? My movements were stiff and clumsy. I missed a target I could have hit with my eyes closed. My perfect soldier facade was crumbling, and with it, my last defense. Captain Hux's voice, amplified by his helmet, cut through the noise. "FN-2187! What is wrong with you?"
I didn't have an answer. All I had was the overwhelming need to flee. I broke formation and sprinted for the exit, the shouts of my squad and the captain fading behind me. As the door slid shut, I took a sharp left, heading not for my room, but for the ship's maintenance corridors. I knew every ship had a network of service tunnels, a hidden maze for the crew to perform repairs without disrupting daily operations. If I was going to escape, this was my only chance.
The hum in my head was a solid wall of sound now, but I could make out a faint whisper through the noise. "Go to the bay. Get to a ship". I didn't know how I knew which way to go, but my feet didn't hesitate. I slid through narrow gaps and clambered over pipes, my clothes scraping against the metal walls. My only thought was escape.
As I rounded a corner, I saw two stormtroopers standing guard outside an access hatch. The voice in my head, "No, not that way!" I came to a halt and ducked into a small alcove, watching them from the shadows. They stood motionless, but I could feel their presence, a low, predatory hum in the air that matched my own. My palms were sweating, my hands trembling.
I watched as one of the stormtroopers lifted a comms device to his helmet. "No sign of him, sir. We've checked the north end of the corridor." My blood ran cold. They were looking for me.
My heart was a frantic drum against my ribs as I raced through the maze of maintenance tunnels. The faint whisper in my mind, now my only guide, grew stronger, pointing me toward the main hangar bay. I took a hard right, then a left, my boots thudding on the metal grating. Just as I broke into a run, the ship's voice announcement system crackled to life.
"All personnel, this is an official security alert. An unregistered asset has been identified and is to be considered a flight risk. FN-2187 is to be captured immediately and is not to be engaged in combat. He is to be captured alive," Captain Hux's voice echoed through the corridors, cold and precise. The last sentence sent a shiver down my spine. "Not to be engaged in combat. He wants me alive. But why?" I asked myself
The voice in my head didn't care. It was pure, unadulterated terror. I reached a final access door, punching in a code I didn't know I knew, and it slid open with a hiss. A gust of cold, recycled air from the main hangar bay hit my face. My breath hitched in my throat as I saw another two stormtroopers standing guard in front of a TIE fighter. They hadn't seen me yet, their backs turned as they waited for a crew to inspect the ship.
My mind raced. I couldn't get to the ship without a fight. I charged at two of them. The first one turned, raising his rifle, but I was already there. I ducked under his shot, my shoulder slamming into his chest with enough force to send him sprawling. As he hit the floor, his head bounced off the metal, and he fell limp.
The second stormtrooper lifted his rifle, coming up to aim, but I saw it before it happened—the subtle shift in his weight, the clench of his gloved hand. I dodged to the left, his shot going wild. In an instant, I was on him, grabbing his rifle and twisting it from his grip. He stumbled back, disarmed and confused. I slammed my fist into his helmet, and he fell to the floor, stunned. I looked at the two bodies on the ground, my own hands trembling. The voice in my head "They are fine, now go!"