It started as a whisper.
A tug in the marrow, a pulse beneath the skin, a soundless beat pressing against the inside of Indra’s skull. She had stood in silence for nearly ten minutes, helmet under one arm, red-orange eyes unfocused… until something behind those eyes blinked open. A presence—alien, insistent—wrapped around her spine like a serpent, guiding her hand before the thought had even formed.
The shuttle was not a target. And yet it became one.
——
EXCERPT: CIVILIAN SHUTTLE "GALMERIAN DAWN" - INTERNAL SECURITY FEED
CAM 07 - [Entry Hall | Timestamp 19:04:56 GST]
The outer doors collapse inward. Smoke pours in—then her. Indra. Helmet off. Her blood-slicked curls stick to her cheek, eyes glowing like twin furnaces. Civilians scream. One man raises his hands in surrender. With a flash and hiss, her lightsaber ignites. The monochrome feed doesn’t show its color, but the glow carves the shadows apart. She slices through him from shoulder to hip—limbs falling before they hit the floor.
CAM 14 - [Rear Corridor | Timestamp 19:06:22 GST]
A child runs. A mother screams. Indra moves like a phantom through the smoke, cutting through them both with the same downward arc. The saber leaves no blood, only cauterized silence. Her face shows no pleasure—nor mercy. Just command.
CAM 03 - [Midship Lounge | Timestamp 19:06:41 GST]
Two children cry beneath a table. Indra walks past them. For a moment, the camera jitters—like even the feed cannot look directly at what follows. She turns. The saber hums again. The strike is deliberate. It is not quick.
CAM 19 - [Navigation Compartment | Timestamp 19:10:02 GST]
She wipes the saber’s hilt across her thigh, the blade retracting. A crew member groans nearby—half his face gone. She steps over him, leans into the nav console. Her fingers type with cold efficiency. Coordinates set. Not random. A known route—classified, maybe. Her gaze lingers on the display like it speaks to her alone.
CAM 09 - [Cargo Hold | Timestamp 19:12:29 GST]
Indra moves among the crates. One by one, they hiss open. The contents are obscured by poor lighting—metal glints, power cells maybe, something else. She kneels beside one and trails a hand inside. Her lips part in a faint smile. Then she turns to the mounted cam.
She sees it.
Steps forward.
Her lightsaber ignites again, filling the lens with radiant static. One swipe—and the feed goes dead.
CAM 01 - [Cockpit | Timestamp 19:13:57 GST]
The last crewman, slumped and bleeding, drags himself across the console. His trembling hand slaps the databurst control. The light turns amber. Sending…
The cockpit doors explode open.
Indra enters.
Her armor drips. Her eyes are monstrous with something that has stolen her name. She tilts her head at the crewman, then speaks for the first time. “I didn’t want this.”
The saber ignites once more. She runs him through before he can speak.
The databurst completes. The feed cuts to black.
