I was a child. All I can remember.... is... fire. And Screaming.

~~~~~~~~~~

"Mommy!!!"

"Valza! Valza!!!!!"

Screams echoed through the thick forest. People left their burning homes trying to escape their fate.

An extermination of a race was coming to an end.

"Hurry! Get her out of here!" A father said handing his young daughter into the arms of her mother. The child hadn't a clue what chaos was going on around her as she smiled to her panicked father.

Many still bodies laid on the charred ground. Others still being shot down as they tried to run into the forest. Blaster fired to anyone who ran.

The mother was able to get past the attackers, running into the surrounding forest. She clung to the child holding her close to her chest as tears trailed down her face. She took a quick glance behind her, checking to see if she was being followed. To her dismay, one of the invaders had seen her.

Quickening her pace she was able to weave between trees and her follower had lost her for the moment. She hid behind a tree taking a breath, before sliding down to the ground, the young girl in her arms.

The oblivious child looked up to her tearful mother giving her a sweet smile. Her mother gave he a smile back, trying to hide her fear and concern as she place her into a crook of the tree roots. Moving some brush to conceal her child, the mother put a finger to her lips and gave a quiet hush. She stood up, turning around and walking away before there was a blaster fire and she dropped to the ground.

One of the invaders came into view, small horns protruding from his jaw as three braids hung from the baldness of his head. The girl watched as the killer passed, her smile fading as she waited for her mother to return, tears slowly seeping down her cheek.

~~~~~~~~~~

"And... Pirates."