They were about two hours from Thamasa when Kiri
noticed that something was wrong. She had come up on deck,
hoping to get a breath of fresh air, and her son with her. And then
she'd heard it: a sound like distant thunder. This in itself wasn't
odd, except for the fact that it was a cool, clear day. The sounds
got louder as they approached Thamasa's land mass. Then, she saw
the flashes. Orange and yellow lights illuminated the horizon,
accompanying the booming noise. 'Explosions,' thought Kiri. 'So,
they've brought the war to Thamasa...'

     "What's going on?" Gungho had come up from below
decks, and was staring at the spectacle with a terrified expression.

     "It's a battle," she stated. "The Empire is attacking
Thamasa."

     Gungho paled. "War...We'd feared this, but..."

     "There's no time for discussion. Can this thing move any
faster?"

*         *         *         *         *

     Not much later, the ship dropped anchor a short distance
from the besieged village. Kiri stood by the deck railing, poised to
jump down and charge into the fray. There was only one matter
she had to take care of first.

     "You'll have to take the child," she said, turning to Gungho,
and placed the infant in his arms. "Bring him to me when the
fighting is over."

     "Uh, I don't know..." he said, looking rather dubious.

     "Nonsense," said Kiri, getting up on the railing. "He's only
a baby. How hard could it be?" But the child had other ideas.
Separated from his mother for the first time in his short life, he
began to scream. Kiri, however, did not seem to hear. Her gaze
was turned upward, fixed on the terrible sight in the air.

     Airships. Unlike anything she'd ever heard of. The sleek
black shapes hung in the air silently, without balloon or propeller,
raining fire on the small settlement.

     "Goddesses," breathed Kiri. "What has this world become?"

     Meanwhile, Gungho was still struggling with the bawling
child. "Uh, Miss Miral..."

     "Cope," she said. And, grabbing her spear, she jumped off
the side.

*         *         *         *         *

     Soon, she had made it to the town. The carnage was
incredible. Imperial Soldiers were killing Thamasians left, right,
and centre. But the Thamasians were fighting back, doing a fair bit
of damage themselves.  In addition, there were others fighting with
them; probably Returners. Kiri glanced up again at the eerie
airships. Before she got mixed up in this, she wanted to know what
was going on... She scanned the battleground, and saw a soldier
who had just killed a Thamasan, and was looking for a new target.
Perfect. Circling around behind the unsuspecting man, she grabbed
him and held her knife to his throat.

     "We're going to have a little talk, friend."

*         *         *         *         *

     Gorin Feyd struggled to break free, but the woman's hold
was too strong. The knife she held at his jugular didn't help,
either... "What do you want?"

     "Tell me, soldier," she hissed in his ear, "what is going on
here. And tell me where I may find... Kefka."

     Feyd was confused. "Kefka? Where've you been? The
traitor Celes and her accursed band defeated him long ago. We
now fight under the banner of his brother, Akfek, and Lady
DelAubre!"

     "Really?" The woman's voice became thoughtful. "Well,
then. I'll just have to kill *them* instead. And now, my helpful
friend, it is time for us to say goodbye..." Feyd looked up into the
face of his attacker...and recognized her. Her hair was cut and her
face was scarred, but it was unmistakably her... Kiriani Miral,
former Captain of the Guard at Albrook. But... Hadn't she
been.... How had she escaped? He had to warn Lord Akfek. She
was crazy! He felt the knife slice through the skin of his neck then,
felt his blood pouring down his chest... and then, Gorin Feyd felt no
more.

*         *         *         *         *

     Kiri let the body fall to the ground. There was blood all
over her clothing, but she didn't care. There would be more before
the end of the day...She heard a scream to her left, and turned to
see a petrified Returner facing an Imperial trooper in Magitek
Armor. Her face grew grim. 'They're sending Magitek against
*peasants*?' she thought disgustedly.  'How vile!'  The trooper
lifted his TekLaser cannon and levelled it at the rebel fighter. If
something wasn't done, the man would be toast in a few seconds.
Taking careful aim, Kiriani lifted her spear and threw it as hard
as she could. It whistled through the air, and hit its target
dead on: the mechanical joint of the Armor's walking legs. The
soldier, startled, fired his cannon, but missed by a mile. The
Returner, a young man with long dark hair, circled around behind
the immobilized fighting machine,  and proceeded to push it over,
leaving the soldier pinned inside. 'Innovative youth,' she thought,
as he gave her a wave of thanks, and then dashed off. 'But so
young to be fighting...'

     Then, she heard something above her head.  It sounded like
a pair of wings flapping, but that couldn't be it; it would have to be
one *hell* of a bird...  She looked up.  There was a monster in the
sky.  A huge, black creature, reminiscent of the gargoyles intended
to ward off evil spirits, was soaring overhead. Kiri stared in
amazement.  She had seen the monsters created by Gestahl and
Kefka.  THIS was completely different...  What kind of people were
these new Imperial rulers?  What kind of power did they have?  As
she watched, she saw the creature circle like a hawk, and then dive
towards the land.  Silently, she said a prayer for whoever might be
about to face it....