Nowhere/Chapter 8

CHAPTER VIII: FAREWELL, NOWHERE
Anders ran through the corridors of Nowhere, rushing to find the nearest escape pod. Sweat ran across his brows, and tears ran down his face. He kept his weapon close – in case Reemo or the captain came after him. Only now did the ship seems to inconceivably large to him. The corridors were like a maze, connecting to various unused rooms. Before long, the lights shut down. The power had been cut, and Anders was thrown into pitch-black darkness. His heart was racing and his skin was crawling. He heard footsteps behind him coming closer. He shot into the nearest room, hiding behind crates and boxes. “ANDERS! GET OVER HERE NOW!” He saw Serenity and one of the Rodian brothers follow. They hadn’t spotted him. Yet. He needed to move fast. Get to an escape pod and abandon this accursed vessel.

He snuck through the corridors. He figured if he couldn’t see anything, the rest of the crew couldn’t either. He heard screams and blaster shots down the hall. They were fighting and massacring each other. It was an abominable sound to hear – the feeling of dread Anders felt was almost indescribable. He was disoriented and dazed, not knowing which path led to the escape pods. Was it just him or did the ship feel larger than just an ordinary cargo vessel? He wasn’t even sure how long he had been on this ship. Five days? Two months? He tried not to think about it, yet slowly but surely this ship started to feel more like a claustrophobic prison intended to keep the crew insane.

Then he saw it. A single escape pod, still inactivated. A feeling of relief washed over him, yet he was not out of darkness yet. He raced to the pod, but was stopped by Serenity. He was startled and looked at her, eyes widened. “You’re not taking this pod, Anders.” The Twi’lek warned. “We’re taking it. You can go down with the ship. If Reemo doesn’t catch you first.” She smiled crookedly. Impulsively, Anders hit her across the face, which seemed to come as a surprise to her. Nok retorted by kicking him in the stomach, forcing him to ground. “You little bastard!” She yelled as she kicked Anders across the face. “Nok, get the pod ready.” She ordered. The Rodian did as she ordered. “Sorry. I really liked you, kid. But I’m not gonna sacrifice myself for this asylum –“ She tried to explain before she gasped for air. Unsure of what happened, Anders crawled away as he saw the face of Captain Rylex manifest behind her. He pulled his knife out of her back, after which Serenity slumped to the ground, lifeless.

“Serenity! NOOOO!” Nok yelled as he launched at the captain, who gutted him just as quickly. “Farmboy.” The captain called out to Anders, the latter crawled up and began to run away. “Come back here, Mr. Anders!” He screamed at him. The young Anders ran across the ship’s corridors, being greeted by the bodies of Larak and Reemo along the way. Horrified, he charged into a sprint trying to run away from the captain. “I have just about enough of you criminals! Come back here and end it!” He continued to scream. Anders bolted into the cockpit and pressed the button to close the door, yet it was jammed. “No! No! Come on!” He yelled. Rylex bolted in the cockpit also, slashing away at Anders who dodged his attacks. “Captain! Please! I’ve done you no wrong! Let me go back home! Please!” He pleaded.

“You’d wish that, wouldn’t you?! So you can do what? Infect society with your rot?!” Rylex fumed. “I know your kind! Infesting good cities with your filth! Criminals and outlaws who brought Coruscant to ruin! The same scum who massacred my own parents while I was not even old enough to read!” Rylex revealed, knife in hand, while slowly approaching Anders. “And now, as a final insult? They put six of you on my ship? THE AUDACITY!” He roared while slashing at Anders, hitting his stomach. The young farmhand slumped backwards, screaming in pain, crying.

“Please! Please! Let me be! Mercy!” Anders pleaded, crying for mercy. “DID YOU SHOW MERCY WHEN YOU KILLED MY MOTHER?! YOU WILL RECEIVE NONE FROM ME!” Rylex proclaimed as he held his knife high, in an attempt to strike Anders down.

And just like that, Anders’ entire life flashed before his eyes. His first memory when he was gifted that small wooden figurine from his mother. His happiness when his father took him to fly in a starfighter for the first time. His first love, a girl his age, who was beautiful and kind. The many tears he shed when he fell and bloodied his knee. The love he felt when his mother bandaged it. Yet finally, the fear and sadness he felt when he saw the visage of a dark, armored man with a red lightsaber strike his father down. It was the first time he saw his father wielding a lightsaber, yelling at his mother to run – to no avail. That memory was engraved in his mind. It reminded him that he was always walked over. Every fight he was in he lost.

But not this one. He would forgo to lose himself to this madman. Before Rylex could strike him down – Anders launched himself at him and floored the captain. He struggled to keep the vibroknife from striking him, but eventually managed to knock it out of his hands, landing several blows on his face. The knife tossed away, Anders crawling to get it. “You little fiend! Get over here!” The captain roared as he grabbed his legs. Anders just about managed to grab a hold of the knife, impaling the captain’s heart. He screamed in agony as he fell backwards.

Anders stood up, bleeding. Rylex crawled away, sitting against the wall. Anders looked at the captain. He was bleeding profusely, and was exhausted. The insanity that once plagued him seemed to have dissipated, now that he was forced to confront his own mortality. “How – how can we ever win this?” Rylex spoke sadly to Anders, who listened intently. “I… hope you live long enough to see the Empire destroyed, Mr. Anders.” He groaned. “This cycle of violence never ends. It… will never end.” He breathed out his last breath as he died. Anders looked sadly onto the captain, watching this once brave man fade away. His gaze then lifted to a large Star Destroyer heading his way. The captain was correct – the Empire had been called. It was ready to leave.

Anders raced back to the escape pod, seating himself inside it. He detached himself from the ship and flew as far away from the Nowhere as possible. He gave one last look at the ship as it was boarded by an Imperial dropship. The escape pod kept flying as far away as possible. He did not know where he would be headed. He had no coordinates and no means of communication. After a while he stopped. The Nowhere had just about vanished from his purview, and he sat back in his chair. He was still bleeding – but the cut seemed to be superficial.

He did not know why, but he felt the need to document this event. Maybe for when someone will pick him up and he would have died. He could not know. He opened a datapad and began recording.

“My name is Anders. I… have no surname. I come from Corellia. Grew up on a small farm there. I don’t know how much time has passed or if I will be discovered at all but I feel I must tell this to anyone who may be listening. I am the last survivor of the Nowhere – a ship from the Rebel Alliance sent to deliver weapons to an Alliance outpost on Yavin 4. Crewmembers Nok, Larak, Marius Uvall, Reemo the Giant, Serenity, Briggs, Fist, and Captain Rylex are dead. Cargo was confiscated by an Imperial Star Destroyer, but the personnel of the Nowhere were not killed by them. We killed ourselves. Paranoia and suspicion ran rampant within the ship, until we were forced to betray our ideals and descend into insanity. There were rumors of a traitor who removed the hyperdrive from the ship. But at this point I doubt if there ever truly was a traitor – and if there was he was killed in the chaos he helped create. This is my last message to anyone who may be listening in. May the Force be with you.”

He closed the datapad and put it somewhere. Anders looked out of the window, gazing upon a majestic nebula dominating his purview. He was alone with his thoughts – hoping he would be found. Maybe not today, or tomorrow. But sometime. He kept hoping that Rylex’ words were incorrect. That the cycle of violence would someday end – and there would be peace in the galaxy. But it was not in his hands. He saw what came of men who were overwhelmed with vengeance. He would never want to be a part of that again.