The screams of the creatures echoed through the air as if the beasts were announcing their intentions to the devastated world below them. They circled like raptors hunting for prey, swooping low to scan the ravaged cliffs sloping into the churning seas before soaring into the air again.

Far below them, a family reverently bowed in the scattered clumps of brush as the beasts moved overhead. To this primitive family, the creatures were gods sent from the heavens to watch over them and to entertain them with their seemingly unlimited power.

A rugged-looking man, dressed in crude handcrafted leathers, looked over at his wife and their blonde-haired son. As his gaze locked on his wife and son, his young daughter stepped out from the brush and turned her head towards the skies. She approached the edge of the cliff as she stared at the flying creatures.

Her beautiful blue eyes watched in amazement as the flocks of creatures raced in the sky with their motionless wings. They danced among the parade of clouds that galloped across the blue backdrop like a stampede of white horses. She had seen the creatures dozens of times before as they acrobatically twisted and turned in the skies above the steep seaside cliffs she called home.

In every instance they appeared, she would stand captivated as they seemingly put on a majestic airshow just for her. Today there were even more of them than had filled the skies during her previous encounters. The salt-laden sea breeze whipped through her golden hair as she locked her gaze on them. She smiled when two of the creatures suddenly descended towards the cliffs and paused in the air.

The mother looked at her husband with a furrowed brow. "Go get her, please."

"It's all right. Besides, it's wise not to make any sudden movements," the father replied. He glanced at his wife and noticed the worry etched on her face. He reached out with his hand and took hold of hers. He caressed it softly as he looked into her eyes. "They are just curious."

The mother slowly nodded as she turned her attention back to her daughter gazing up at the creatures hovering fifty meters above the cliffs. The creatures remained motionless as the young girl stared up at them in wonder.

She watched as the sun glistened on the creatures' grey-blue skin. She examined the curved and motionless wings of each beast as they hung in the air. In the face of the beasts, a shadow moved within a single crystal eye. She turned her attention to the shadowy form to see it lift an arm in a friendly wave. She smiled as she waved back at the entity that strangely appeared to be at peace within the beast's eye.

A sudden series of screams filled the air. The young girl turned her eyes towards the skies to see the rest of the beasts fly rapidly into the clouds and vanish. She turned her gaze back to the pair of hovering creatures and watched the shadowed entities within them as they looked down at her.

"Sir, the rest of the squadron have entered hyperspace and are en route to the rendezvous point," Imperial Colonel Tyaal Veriss said as he glanced down at the display in front of him.

He relaxed in his pilot's seat, listening as the humming of his fighter's engines filled his helmet like water gently poured into an empty glass. Several moments followed with no response. Veriss turned his head to the right to check the status of the comm system. The lights were all glowing green.

He furrowed his brow as he pondered on the uncharacteristic silence from his commanding officer and best friend, Imperial Admiral Garren Prolov. In their private moments, the two men often referred to one another by their first names. Even though they were alone now, and on a private channel, Veriss mentally brushed aside calling Prolov by his given name as he chose to adhere to military protocol.

"Admiral?", Veriss inquired again after waiting a few seconds for a response. He turned his hovering TIE Advanced x1 to the left. An identical hovering TIE filled his viewscreen.

"I can run a diagnostic scan on Phantom Leader's comlink if you wish, sir," Phantom Two, Veriss's fighter's AI offered.

Veriss sighed as he kept his eyes on Prolov's fighter. "Begin, diagnostic sequence-"

"Phantom Two, belay that order. I can hear you loud and clear, Tyaal," the voice of Imperial Admiral Garren Prolov said in a soft tone. "I'm just making a few observations before we leave."

Prolov turned his eyes towards the cliffs below, watching as the young girl gazed up at his fighter with her widened eyes. He had noticed her on his previous visits to this post-apocalyptic backwater world in the Outer Rim.

She always stood out to him as he surveyed the rocky surface of the coast. While her family cringed at the sight of his fighter, she consistently ran to the edge of the cliff and gazed up at him, sometimes offering a friendly wave. He always returned the gesture before blasting off into the skies with a smile, knowing he would see her again on his next visit.

However, today was different for them both. He held his fighter in a steady hover as he kept his eyes on her. The emotions on her face almost matched the ones welling within his own heart as if they were connected by an unseen bond. He had become accustomed to seeing her on his visits to this world.

During those times, he emotionally embraced her in his heart as if she were his own child. This particular moment was bittersweet for him as he pondered on the realization that his purpose for the periodic visits to her world had been fulfilled. With his work completed, he had no reason to return.

His mind suddenly drifted back to the memories of his deceased wife Annalisa, and their unborn child, both taken from him so cruelly and unexpectedly. He thought of them often when he visited this devastated world and when he saw the excited young girl waving from the cliffs. In many ways, his memories of his lost loved ones had manifested themselves in the image of this child who intently watched him from her perch on the cliffs.

She reminded him of what would never come to be in his life. Beneath his helmet, a single tear fell from his eye as he looked down at her. His duties with the Galactic Empire prevented him from being there to protect Annalisa and their daughter when they needed him the most. He was determined it was going to be different for this child.

The clouds parted, allowing a beam of golden sunlight to shine through. It soared over the cockpit of his fighter and flowed down upon the girl as if the theatre of the cosmos were shining a spotlight upon a talented actress. She resembled an angel of the light as the sunbeam radiated around her.

Enamored with the sight, Prolov nodded as the tear tickled his cheek. His face broke into a radiant smile as he watched her. "I'm going to see she has all of the opportunities that my daughter never got to enjoy in life. Our work here is done. We won't be coming back, but I'm not going to leave her defenseless, Tyaal. "

"I understand, sir," Colonel Veriss replied as he looked down at the young girl. "What do you have in mind, Admiral?"

"We'll bring the planetary defense system back online as we leave the atmosphere," Prolov replied as he steadied his ship. "And we'll leave the rest to fate."

"Sounds like a plan and I'm ready to head out when you are, sir," Veriss replied as he turned his fighter away from the cliff.

Prolov held his position for a second and then offered a friendly wave. The girl's face lit up with a smile as she waved back. Satisfied with her response, Prolov turned his fighter towards the skies and accelerated into the clouds with Veriss's ship taking up his left flank.

On the cliffs below, the girl watched as the pair of creatures ascended before disappearing into the clouds. She replayed the scene of the shadow's friendly wave in her mind as she continued to watch the skies. She pondered on the curious symbols adorning the creature's left wing, similar to the inscriptions on the debris that occasionally washed up on the beaches. The young girl's mother walked up to her and reached out to her.

"They waved at me again, Mother," she said as the woman scooped the little girl up in her arms. "I think they like me."

The woman chuckled as she kissed the girl on the cheek. "Then you should be proud the gods have smiled upon you...Phasma."

As her mother carried her towards her father and her brother, the young Phasma continued to gaze at the skies hoping to catch another glimpse of the "gods" her mother had mentioned. Her face stretched into a confident grin as her eyes scanned the heavens.

Someday, I will join you up there, she thought to herself as she held on tightly to her mother. And I will be as great as you...

With a roar like an exploding volcano, the landscape broke apart. She fell from her mother's arms and tumbled through the decades until she arrived in 34 ABY. Her fully grown form felt another vibration rumble through the durasteel surface supporting her chromium armor-covered body. Suddenly, the deck of the Supremacy's hangar bay crumbled beneath Captain Phasma and dropped her into the fiery expanse far below.

The flames stretched upwards like demonic arms reaching out to take hold of her armored form before dragging her into hell. The exposed skin beneath her shattered left lens began to redden as the heat of the fires slightly seeped into her broken chromium helmet. Instinctively, she grabbed her armor weave cape and wrapped it around her head, covering the opening as she plummeted towards the smoldering debris on the deck beneath her.

She relaxed as she fell, knowing the impact would be harsh and would probably break or even shatter bones in her body. There would also be internal injuries as well that would require a long bath in a bacta tank. Her body suddenly slammed into the deck with such tremendous force it felt as if someone had rammed her with a rapidly moving landspeeder. The jolt rattled through the armor covering her like the concussion of cluster bombs. She gasped as the air pushed itself out of her lungs. Spasms of searing pain raced along every nerve in her body. She grimaced beneath her helmet as bones snapped and ligaments popped in a morbid symphonic chorus.

She gritted her teeth and groaned as a terrible pain raced from her head to her feet. She tried to move her legs and winced as the pain burned fiercely through her thighs and calves. Her ankle turned with an excruciating throb as she felt a sensation like thousand burning needles piercing her flesh.

She tried to lift her arms but let out a muffled scream as aches shot through muscles and nerves connected to pulverized bones. Her head swam as blood rushed to her brain. She fought against a rising wave of encroaching unconsciousness as her vision began to cloud. The excruciating pain of her injuries was compounded by the presence of heat slowly penetrating her armor. She winced while trying to pull fresh air into her lungs. Each breath brought a stinging, burning sensation that parched her lips and scorched the back of her throat.

She glared at the broken deck above with her right eye, safely concealed beneath the lens on her helmet. High pitched screams filled the air just before a pair of TIEs soared out of the shielded opening of the hangar bay. She continued to watch in agony as another trio of fighters screeched into the safety of space.

None of them are coming for me, she thought as a spasm of pain raced through her damaged body. They don't even care that I'm here. Those are the fruits born from apathy and I sowed the seeds by teaching them to ignore the plight of the weak and wounded...

"I tried to teach you differently, Phasma," a gentle voice said from somewhere in the flames. "I reached out to you when no one else would. I tried to show you a better way."

Phasma closed her eyes as tears fell across her cheeks. "I remember those times. Let me go back to them. Let me see what we once had."

A calming peace came over her suddenly as if she had been embraced by the arms of an angelic being. Around her, the burning hulk of the Supremacy wavered and disappeared into the darkness. A light suddenly broke through the black void. She reached out with her hand to take hold of it, longing for the hope it offered.

Let me see what once was, she thought just before the light absorbed her.