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'𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐬' ════════╝
━━ -ˋˏ★ˎˊ- ━━
...THE RADDUS, HYPERSPACE
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐕𝐀𝐂𝐔𝐔𝐌 𝐎𝐅 𝐒𝐏𝐀𝐂𝐄 was a deadly kind of cold.
Even for all the technological advancements of the last century, there was no saving any creature or human lost to space. It froze whatever it touched, silencing all life with one fell swoop of frigid darkness. From the inside of a starship, it was beautiful. Galaxies glittered with jewel tones of ruby and sapphire, all neatly spread on a blanket of the deepest black. But the closer you came to reality, the closer you came to death. And death didn't sparkle or glitter. It was the dullest of rocks, a stone weight so heavy, even the strongest winds couldn't change its course.
Everyone on the bridge was gone, pulled out into the depths of space, and never to return. Admiral Ackbar, who had fought as a warrior of Mon Cala alongside the Jedi of the old Order. Admiral Statura, who had fought to liberate his homeworld from the Galactic Empire as a teenager. Living legends, but also those who were still forging their own legacies. Lieutenants and strategists and officers alike were gone, their life force cut off at once.
Lyra should have been dead, just like the rest of them.
She collapsed to the ground, heaving a deep breath of the stale air inside the Raddus. Her lungs were raw from smoke and frozen air. She had only been outside for a few sub-zero seconds, but her limbs felt like ice. The fabric of her pants was frozen against her skin, and she felt the overwhelming tiredness of impending collapse.
The Force had pushed her inside the airlock against her own will.
Leia's final act.
Lyra looked up just in time to see Poe, Finn, and Connix scrambling back down the hallway to get to the door. Poe punched the switch, releasing the inner door of the airlock. The next moments were a mixture of yelling and incoherent swearing as everyone tried to get Leia to safety. Somehow, the General was still holding on, and she too had made it back inside the ship.
Lyra's ears were ringing, her head felt like it was stuffed with cotton. She was so cold, it was going to be impossible to ever get warm again. The only consolation was that Leia had survived. She felt her aunt's life force--barely--as they wheeled her away on a gurney. The General's eyes were closed, and she didn't appear to be breathing.
