The Prettiest Star - Star Wars - Kylo Ren

XIV

The ship rattled dangerously as they entered the atmosphere. Inside, it was gloomy and claustrophobic. Crammed next to numerous, motionless, stormtroopers, Aya gripped the railing above her head. The small room was pitch black save for a red light that rotated quickly on the ceiling. Every few seconds her vision would erupt in deep red reflections bouncing from the armour each figure wore. They were deadly still, like upright corpses, silent.

The only way to quietly approach the rebel outpost was via small shuttles and parawings that strapped to their backs like parachutes. They could silently and swiftly approach the outpost undetected. That was the plan anyway.

Aya's face was blank as she stared at the light. She had wrapped a piece of black material across her nose and mouth like a scarf to reduce the possibility that she might be recognised by the rebels. She listened to the cacophony of noise that was being produced as it invaded and assaulted her eardrums. Every few seconds, she glowed red. She waited.

Suddenly but noiselessly, the lights stopped turning and flickered into blue. Aya flung herself into action and quickly turned to face the stormtroopers. "Make sure your parawings are secure." She shouted over the noise, rustling shortly ensued as each trooper double checked the straps. "Discard them as soon as you land and meet at the control point where I will be. Good luck."

With that the light finally turned green and the floor opened up to reveal a gaping hole in between the rows of stormtroopers. Aya signalled for them to start moving and they jumped out of the shuttle one by one, silently. As soon as the last stormtrooper had stepped off the edge, Aya shortly followed.

The jump wasn't too big of a problem. They were out of the rebel's range so remained unseen. For a few brief seconds the wind whistled ferociously past her ears as she plummeted towards the ground. Not attempting to focus on the blurred landscape around her, she pulled the cord on her side and the parawings opened up.

Instantly, the world stopped moving. She halted suddenly in the sky before slowly drifting downwards. She could see nothing but the trees below her and the silhouettes surrounding her. The dark metallic membranes of the parawings looked like bats against the clear night sky. It was littered with them.

Having used the devices numerous times with the rebel base, Aya had no problem guiding herself down towards the forest. As soon as she descended to a small clearing, she pulled the lever on her chest and the wings collapsed. Shaking them free, she then began to walk towards the point on the lightly glowing map that rested on her arm.

When she reached the control point she found herself alone in the dark. But this didn't phase her. On her map, she saw the red dots approaching. All twenty-four of her allocated squadron had made it and were approaching her. So far so good.

Within seconds they all stood around her quietly. Up until that point, it hadn't occurred to her how bright the white stormtrooper armour would appear at night. They seemed to glow like an army of ghostly spectres. She silently pointed towards a particularly muddy patch of the forest floor. Understanding her gesture, a few of them walked over to it. Within minutes they stood before her once more, covered in a layer of dirt that dulled their glow. With a single hand signal, she directed them towards the outpost.

The walk to the rebel outpost was short but difficult to make. The darkened trees cast looming great shadows that obscured her view as she led her squadron through it, her blaster in hand along the way. However, months of training allowed them all to pass through the forest swiftly and quietly.