Demas Cordd's Final Hour

The night on Hosnian Prime was beautiful. The skyscrapers shimmered with artificial lights inside the windows. And the sky. The sky was stunning. The elegant structure of the buildings helped it to stand out. Demas Cordd took it all in. It had been 29 years since he had fought in any battle, and that was Jakku. No. He didn't want to think about those days anymore. Hekter Stag's death as well as the losses too numerous to count were gruesome, but it was all done now. Demas leaned against the balcony overlooking some streets down below. "Hey, Demas!" a voice called out from behind him. The Rodian turned around. It was his friend from the war, Lansor Onn. The Ishi Tib was wearing elegant-but-not-too-elegant robes and was sitting on a metal bench. Demas walked over to him.

"Hey, Lansor." Demas said, staring at the fellow alien. "C'mon, sit!" said Lansor. He gestured his hand to the empty spot on the bench. Demas sat down. "So," said Lansor, "I was wondering if you were gonna head to the club with me and a few other guys. Wanna?" Demas widened his large, blue eyes. "Well," he began, sounding disappointed, "I have to get back home soon. Kira worries when I stroll out in the city at these hours." Lansor frowned, or at least did something resembling one. "Alright, Demas. Your old lady is more important, I understand completely." Demas stood up. "Well," he said, "See you tomorrow." "Oh," began Lansor, "and I've got work in the morning." Demas turned around just as he began to walk away. "Wow." he said, surprised, "I didn't think you'd get a job again so soon after Senator Idira's office laid you off. Congratulations, Lansor." Demas smiled. He began to walk away again, back to his apartment.

- 10 Minutes Later -

"Oh, you're home." said Kira, who was doing housework. "Yeah," said Demas, laying his work bag down on the couch. There was a show playing on the holoscreen. ''Dateline Coruscant. ''They were doing the segment where Kriiz Fanson caught alleged child predators. It was Demas' favorite. He sat down on the couch, next to his work bag. Kira sat next to him. She put her arm around his shoulder. He was wearing simple robes that were a dull brown-gray color. Kira kissed Demas on the cheek. His green, scaly skin was starting to wrinkle. Natural signs of age, of course, but the Rodian knew that his deteriorating skin was essentially the beginning of the end. He didn't linger on it. He still had 20 or so years left in him to keep kicking.

- 20 Minutes Later -

Demas and Kira were laying in bed. The lights were off and everything was pitch-silent. Kira was asleep. She always was before him. He still lay awake, her arm wrapped around his. Even though the night sky was beautiful and the city was as well, Demas couldn't help but have a bad feeling about tonight.

He got up, and headed to the washroom. He grabbed the faucet of the sink and turned it. He wet his hands down and splashed water on his face. He still didn't shake the feeling of unexplained dread in his mind. It's probably just... Demas thought. He couldn't think of any rational explanation. The night was perfect.

- 20 Minutes Later -

This was a sleepless night for Demas. He left Kira to have the bed for herself, and he went into the living room, laying on the soft couch, staring out of the window in front of him. The view was flawless. The skyscrapers still enhanced the beauty of the sky, just like almost an hour ago. He began to drift off. Finally.... he thought as he closed his eyes and rested his head on the comfy pillow.

- 7 Minutes Later -

There was a loud knocking at the door. Demas was awakened from his light sleep. He groaned. He slowly got up, trudging towards the door. It opened with a mechanical whoosh. It was Lansor. "Huh... Lansor?" Demas asked groggily, "What are you doing up this late? Don't you have new work at Senator-" Lansor interrupted him. He pushed Demas to the side, entering the apartment. "Is Kira here?" asked Lansor. "Yes." said Demas, "Why? What's going on?" Lansor stepped close to Demas. "Look," Lansor said, "Something's about to happen. I don't know what, but something horrible. We have to get you and Kira off of Hosnian Prime now."

- 3 Minutes Later -

"Look, Kira. I don't care how crazy I sound, some kind of cataclysm is going to happen." said Lansor. He got up from the couch. "I..." began Lansor, "I feel sick... we need to go!" He rushed towards the door, when he heard Kira scream. Lansor turned around to see Demas and Kira in each other's arms. The darkness of the apartment was glowing red. Lansor's eyes widened. He ran towards the couple.

Demas and Kira held each other. The red beam grew ever closer and ever brighter. The sky was red. He could hear screaming all around the surrounding city, even through the closed window. Lansor ran up to the two of them, Lansor closed his eyes. So did Kira. Demas didn't. The beam continued to grow closer and brighter until Demas could no longer see. Then... everything was black.