Title: Last Breath
Author: Emjen Enla (Fanfiction)/emjen_enla (Wattpad)/emjenenla (Tumblr)
Teaser: The last of the condemned was always the most dangerous of them all. However, no one got what they were expecting this time. [post-ROTS]
Rating: PG-13/T
Canon/Timeline: Either; after ROTS
Dominant Characters: Absolutely no one who is actually Canon!
Pairings: none
Warnings: death by firing squad
Notes:
-This story is inspired by A Night to Remember by Girlbender875 in the sense that her story got me thinking about how the rise of the Empire would look to non-Canon minor characters. Jetki is an old OC of mine (not a self-insert). Her original story was actually a lot different from this, but I decided to repurpose her for this story.
-I am working on Brume part two, and I hope to get it out to you soon, but I'm back in school now and don't have as much time. (I'm actually writing this right now because I just had a crazy week and needed to relax. Hopefully, this week hasn't been an indication of what the rest of the semester is going to be like!) I'm also playing with a couple Modern AUs as well tossing around the idea of continuing a couple of my short stories that people have been begging for more of. I won't make any promises on that count, though, but I would suggest following me if you want to know if I do (to put that bluntly: If I do continue Somebody to Lean On, Brave Girl or Give All My Secrets Away it will be in the form of short stories published separate from the original story.)
Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars.
Tyliun Minor was a planet in the middle of nowhere; a planet where galactic politics had no effect. In fact, it was a planet where the local politics of its sister planet, Tyliun Prime, had little effect either. Before the Clone War even began, Tyliun Minor had technically been ruled by a dozen rulers in a single decade as the endless Tyliun Civil War raged. By the time the Republic and the Separatists went to war the inhabitants of Tyliun Prime had so ravaged their homeworld that they had no choice but to crawl to Dooku for help rebuilding.
Like everything else, joining the Separatists had no major effect on the people of Tyliun Minor, however. They were still poor farmers eking out a living on a planet that the great public starships only stopped at every once in a while. Every week still began with the public execution of all traitors just as it always had. The only difference was that their streets were patrolled and the executions were carried out by droids and not natives of their sister world.
So when news finally reached them that the Separatists had lost the War and that the Republic had been reorganized into the Galactic Empire, no one was overly surprised. No one was surprised when a contingent of clone troopers—Stormtroopers, now—showed up to take the place of the droids. After all, they were no strangers to the outcome of civil wars.
For a number of months, things went on just as they always had. The people continued farming, the executions happened every week like clockwork. The only somewhat confusing thing that anyone heard was that expressing any admiration for the Jedi would be executed immediately. That wasn't really a problem for anyone, though, because they had no particular feelings about the Jedi. After all, the Jedi had never helped them, and no one had ever seen one.
The capital city of Tyliun Minor hosted the most executions, but they were fairly normal save for one very special day. On this particular Execution Day, the city square was packed with people just like always. Attendance had once been mandatory, but that had been decades ago. People came now because that was what people did on Execution Day.
One by one the condemned were brought out and chained to a pillar before the Stormtroopers. The Stormtrooper captain read the charges the condemned faced in a crisp, mechanical voice that made him sound like the droids who had done this deed before. Then the condemned was offered a chance to say some final words. Once that was done the lower ranked Stormtroopers would raise their blasters and fire. Then it would be over and the next condemned would be brought out.
This Execution Day would be different, though it was not obvious at first. The people crowded the square and watched as the Stormtroopers worked through the list of condemned. The charges were normally fairly simple—things like stealing from the Empire and failing to respect the Stormtroopers—but today there was an added element of excitement. Rumor had it there was a man to be excited for attacking a Stormtrooper. People whispered to each other about the news, everyone was of the mind that this person was totally insane. After all, they all knew better than to attack whatever army roamed the streets of their city.
So people watched with curiosity but not pity as one by the one the condemned went to their deaths. They counted them off on their fingers, waiting. No one was quite sure how many condemned there would be, but the Stormtroopers always saved the worst crimes for last. The last one would be the man the rumors were about.
Time passed and finally the man charged with attacking a Stormtrooper was brought out and chained up. The Stormtrooper captain read the charge, the man snarled some things about how the Empire was wrong. Everyone watching thought it was quite entertaining, because surely that man knew that there was nothing anyone on backwater Tyliun Minor could do about it. Even if the Empire was wrong, even if it was worse than all the other rules they'd been subjected too, there was nothing to be done. The only thing they could do was endure and wait for some new rule to come along.
The man died and people began to file out of the square, after all there was no way anyone on Tyliun Minor could commit a crime could be worse than that man's without people knowing about it. However, some people very close to the stage upon which the executions were carried out noticed movement in the direction from which the condemned came. "Wait, there's another!" they called to the others.
Some kept walking, ignoring the calls, but others paused to see what was going on. Had the Empire messed up? They wondered. What other explanation was there for this turn of events? Murmurs rippled through the crowd, but they all fell silent when the last of the condemned was pushed onto the stage.
It was a human girl, thirteen or fourteen years old. Long, matted dark hair fell over her shoulders, and she had bright blue eyes and a small, pert face. She was barefoot and dressed in dirtied clothes of a style similar to the farmers, but the fabric was much richer. Around her neck was fastened a strange metal color. Her hands were cuffed behind her back and she was escorted by a full squad of Stormtroopers each of which aiming a blaster at her.
The people watched as the girl was shoved against the pole and chained up. She stood straight and proud like she wasn't a condemned criminal. She was offered a blindfold but refused with a quiet shake of the head. The Stormtrooper captain lifted his datapad and began to read. "Jedi Padawan Jekti Amarroo; you have been found guilty of sedition and treason against both the late Galactic Republic and the glorious First Galactic Empire. You have also been found guilty of conspiring with and hiding other Jedi, Jedi Hopefuls and Stormtrooper Corps deserters as well as abandoning your post at the end of the Clone War. For these crimes you have been charged with death to be carried out by firing squad. Do you have anything to say before these charges are carried out?"
The girl drew herself up and took a deep breath. "Yes," she said her voice surprisingly strong and clear. "I am a Jedi. Degrade me, mock me, torture me, take away my connection to the Force, but nothing will change that. I lived as a Jedi and I will die as a Jedi."
The entire square was hanging on her words and evidently the Stormtrooper captain knew that, he motioned for the firing to begin prepping their weapons.
The girl took another deep breath. "There is no Emotion, there is Peace," she said quietly like she was reciting something. "There is no Ignorance, there is Knowledge. There is no Passion, there is Serenity. There is no Chaos, there is Harmony…"
The firing squad raised their weapons. A series of clicks sounded as they turned off the safeties. The girl took a shaking breath. For one instant she looked scared then her face smoothed out and she went on, her voice loud enough for the entire square to hear her. "There is no Death, there is the Force."
It was all over half a second later, but the silence remained. Even as the people went home things were eerily silent. The Jedi-girl and her last words weighed heavily on them all but no was sure why.
That was the day that nothing and everything changed on Tyliun Minor. The people kept farming, the Stormtroopers kept patrolling, the executions kept happening, but something was different.
It wasn't until a few years later when the Alliance to Restore the Republic became galactically known that the true effect of that day become obvious. When the young people of Tyliun Minor heard of the Rebellion many of them flocked to the all-to-irregularly scheduled starships and left the planet to join. Many of these young men and women went with the name Jetki Amarroo on their lips. The name of the Jedi-girl who had showed them that just because you were helpless didn't mean you were beaten. That you could fight to your last breath and if you didn't win perhaps you would inspire others to carry on the fight…
Not sure how I feel about the ending, but I hope you enjoyed.
Fav, follow and review!
Emjen