My tale begins in the dingy underworld on Coruscant. My mother, an attractive woman named Zanne, owned a dank bar called The Midnight Sabacc. We lived in an apartment right above the bar. My father was a former Jedi Knight named Alec Venyatuima; he had been honorably discharged from the Order when he fell in love with my mother. He had started teaching me about the Force and the ways of the Jedi when I was very little. I was enthralled by the stories he told me about when he was a Jedi. I always longed to become one, but I knew that I was too old to begin the training. So I contented myself with his stories and building my own custom lightsaber and a variety of gadgets. I was very good with my hands, and I built a lot of things, like a couple of comlinks for me and Father and a translator into which I programmed over 10,000 different languages. (I downloaded the languages from a droid that came into my mom's bar once.) It also translated back what I said in the language I indicated.
My father was, at the time of this story, a freighter pilot who flew all over the galaxy delivering this load of astromech droids here and this carton of Kesselian spices there. He often took me on the shorter flights, which was all right with his boss as long as I didn't get into any trouble or damage any of the cargo. On the longer trips, Dad always came back with some sort of present for me.
On one journey, we were delivering some supplies to a colony of yuzzums on Endor. We had engine trouble as soon as we lifted off, so we had to land on one of Endor's moons, the forest moon. There, Father let me go exploring, as long as I took my comlink with me so I wouldn't get lost. While he was sending for some help from a mechanic on Endor, I went walking through the forests. All of a sudden, I heard some rustling behind me. I froze and peeked slowly over my shoulder. Standing on a log, only about half my size, stood a brown and black teddy bear-like creature wearing a dark red piece of cloth on his head: a young Ewok. He was holding a long stick with a sharpened rock tied onto its tip and chattering in his primitive tongue. I put my hands in the air to show that I meant him no harm. He cocked his head and lowered the stick. He jumped off the log and proceeded to creep closer to me. All the while I was just staring, trying hard not to move so he wouldn't run away.
Finally, I put my hands down, reached into my pocket, and pulled out some stale bread. I offered it to him, saying, "Come here, little guy. I won't hurt you. Here ya go. You hungry?"
He cocked his head again and advanced some more, snatching the bread from my hand. He went back to the log, sat down, and ate it as if he hadn't eaten in days. When he was done, he looked up at me, as if telling me to sit next to him. So I did. I pulled out my translator, hoping he'd start talking. I set it in the primitive language of the Ewoks so he'd understand what I said. I started the conversation, which went as follows:
"Hello there, little one," I said. The translator repeated my phrase in the little Ewok's native tongue.
He cocked his head again and chattered. "Hello. Who are you? What do you want?" the translator said in Basic.
"My name is Ari-Ana Zanne Venyatuima. You can call me Ari-Ana. My father's ship had engine trouble so we had to land here while we waited for help. What is your name?"
"My name is Benjo Watika. You can call me Benjo. You seem nice, for a human, I mean. But then again, I've only met one human before. He was very nice to me and my tribe."
I giggled. "Thanks. I guess I am. So, where is the rest of your tribe? Is the village far?"
"No, it's just a little over there." He pointed behind us.
"I would like very much to see it. Would you mind taking me there?"
"I would not mind."
"Ok, hold on a second. I'll see if the mechanic from Endor is here yet." I pulled out my comlink and asked Father how much longer we had. He said that the mechanic was almost there, so it'd be about another thirty minutes to an hour. I told him about Benjo and my conversation and he told me to be careful at the Ewok village. I said I would and put the comlink back into my pocket.
Benjo and I then headed off toward the Ewok village. On the way, we continued to talk.
"So, Benjo, do you have a family?"
"No. My parents died when I was but a cub, and I am still too young to choose a mate. I do not even really have many friends among my tribe; I am a loner. In fact, I was running away when I ran into you. I was going to start my own village, but now I know that that was a bad idea." He stopped and sat down on a rock that was nearby, putting his chin in his hands. "I feel very lonely."
I knelt down next to him, putting my hand slowly on his shoulders; I didn't want to startle him. He didn't even look up. I saw a tear fall down his cheek onto my knee.
"Hey, Benjo. I'll be your friend."
He shook his head. "No, you will be leaving soon. Then I will be even more lonely."
I thought for a second and said, "Maybe my father will let me take you home with me. Would you like that?"
He looked up and said, "That would be very generous of you, but what about my birth-tree? Do you think we could take it with us? It is still quite young, and I'm eternally spiritually attached to it."
"Well, I'm sure we could take your tree too if it's still small. And I don't have many friends either. So it would be good for both of us. Here, let me ask my father about it." I pulled the comlink back out. He said that the mechanic was there and the engine was almost fixed and that I should be heading back. I asked him about bringing Benjo. He was reluctant at first, but he eventually caved in; being his only daughter, I had a way of sweet-talking him into giving me what I wanted. I put the comlink up and told Benjo, and he jumped up in glee. I followed Benjo to where his birth-tree was planted and we dug it up carefully. It was still a young tree, not much larger than Benjo himself. I helped him carry it back to the ship. By the time we got there, the mechanic was just finishing up.
On the ride home, Father got more accustomed to the idea of bringing a live souvenir home this time. Benjo really charmed over my father. When we were close enough to Coruscant, Father got a hold of Mother and got her used to the idea of my having an Ewok. She was a little more reluctant than Father, but she was finally all right with it.
While this was going on, Benjo and I were in the back talking. I asked questions like, "What do you eat?" and "How do I need to care for you?" Turns out, he could pretty much take care of himself, and he was very low-maintenance when it came to food; he'd eat any just about anything. So, I had a new best buddy.
Benjo and I got really close over the next few months. As soon as we got home, we got some supplies and replanted his birth-tree in a special place in my room. It flourished almost immediately in its new environment. When Father was away on a long trip and Mother was working late at the bar, I finally had someone I could talk to. Benjo started to teach me his language and I started to teach him mine. Pretty soon, we could communicate fluently without the need of my translator, each other us speaking in our own language. Benjo and I also went out into the city together a lot. Mother felt more comfortable about my going out since I had company. I had built another couple of special comlinks for Benjo and me to use when we were apart.
One night, Benjo and I were sitting in the back of Mother's bar. I was working on my lightsaber, and Benjo was telling me stories about his life on Endor. All of a sudden, I felt a cold feeling run through me. I looked up and saw a tall cloaked man at the bar waiting for a drink. His cloak was black and the hood was over his head so I couldn't see his face. Beside him stood a tallish figure, a boy of about sixteen, a few years older than I. He also wore a cloak, but his hood was down. He was pale and had dark hair.
I figured that the tall man was a Jedi master and the boy was his Padawan apprentice, who had not yet had his hair done it the typical Padawan style: cut short with a ponytail in back and a thin plait behind the right ear. My suspicions were confirmed when the two turned around. Their cloaks parted a little and I could see their lightsabers hanging from their belts. The tall man never took his hood down.
All the rest of the night, I wondered about that cold feeling and the mysterious black-cloaked man.