Kanan opens his eyes and sits up. He feels his head and discovers a circular imprint much like the one he and Ezra had found on the bodies.
"Um – what hit me?" he says aloud to himself.
"The Baraker," comes a strange voice.
Kanan extends a hand out and Force-grabs his out-of-reach lightsaber and jumps to his feet. He looks but doesn't spot anybody.
"I'm Kanan Jarrus. We detected your distress beacon. Are you Jedi?"
"Jedi? Me? My, no – I don't even know what that is."
Kanan looks up to see a small alien creature, much the size of Yoda, sitting on a tree branch, "Who are you?"
"Me? I am Manta. Manta Ere. I live here. Born here, actually."
Kana deactivates his lightsaber, "What happened to me?"
"The Baraker attacked you."
"So you said. I don't remember seeing anything, though," says Kanan.
The small green alien with semi-translucent skin and dark green veins replies, "The Baraker is stealthy. Its skin can change colors and blend into the brush. Saved you, I did."
"Thank you. Where did you come from? My ship's scanners didn't detect any life forms."
"I have an underground niche from which I hide from the Baraker. Perhaps something in the rocks obscured me."
"And the Baraker?" asks Kanan while searching for his communicator bead.
"Ah, forgive me, but I know little of technology and even less about the Baraker."
"Yes," Kanan finds the bead and quickly brings it up to his mouth, "Ezra, can you hear me?" he then turns to see Ere already on the ground, watching him. "Ezra," he says again, waiting for a response.
"Oh, dear," says Ere.
"What?"
"The Baraker must have got him."
"I got to find him, he could be seriously injured."
Ere comments, "Injured? I'd think not."
"Why is that?"
"The Baraker strikes to kill, always. You're only the second that got away."
"Was the first a man in a uniform carrying something like this?" Kanan holds out his lightsaber.
"Yes. The Jedi."
"Where is he now?"
"I could only save him once. Eventually the Baraker got him."
"I don't care how deadly the Baraker is, I have to find Ezra," he heads away.
"Here, I come with you. Maybe I protect you a second time," Ere waddles along on her webbed feet.
After a minute, Kanan cups his hands to his mouth and shouts out, "Ezra!"
"Hum. You make yourself a dinner beacon for the Baraker to find."
"I've survived worse attacks than a forest creature; I'll manage."
"Hum," Ere nods.
"You live here alone?" Kanan asks her.
"Oh, yes. Well, except for my children."
"Where are they?"
"Safe. I was actually out scavenging for their food."
"How'd you come to be on such a baron planet?" Kanan asks.
"Baron? Was not always so. Many, many cycles ago this planet was struck by a glowing small rock from the sky. The sky and land was afire for quite a few cycles. The mountain there, cupped this area and saved me from the blast. The fires eventually stopped, but not before burning off the water atop."
"Not all the water," says Kanan.
"No? Explain?" asks Ere.
"The moisture percentage in the air is around 50%; the planet is obviously recovering. A couple small bodies of water were detected by the scanner when we flew in."
"Hum," Ere says with detectable interest, "You and your friend Ezra?"
"And Chopper."
"Chopper. Where is Chopper?"
"Onboard our ship."
"I should like to meet this chopper. I could introduce him to my children."
"Chopper is a service droid. Of course – Chopper!" Kanan reaches for his communicator bead, "Chopper!"
He waits a few seconds for chopper to reply. Nothing.
"Chopper, come in," he asks and again waits. "Why won't he answer?" Kana says aloud, confused.
"I'm sure he's just busy," ere reassures.
"He could have scanned for Ezra and lead me to him. Ezra!" Kanan cups his mouth and calls out again.
"Perhaps the Baraker got him. Maybe we should check on him."
"If he closed the hatch, he should be fine. Last thing we need are more birds."
"Birds?" Ere says excitedly.
"Yes, little ones that are oddly taken with the head of one of my crew. You're very talkative."
"Oh, forgive me – whom else would I speak to? Before the sky rock, we had birds, bugs, creatures of all sorts. Their deaths was a profound loss."
Kanan continues walking and searching.
.
Chopper looks at the patch of forest off nearby from the ramp of the skiff. He backs up and closes the ramp, coming about and motoring toward the cockpit.
Once back in the cockpit he uses his short arms to try the communications panel.
"Bah bub. Bah bub," he waits. "Awbub."
.
Ere follows Kanan as Kanan continues his search.
"This Jedi … why do you seek to help him?"
"It's what we do. It's what I do. I presume your people did the same," he pushes some brush back.
"Same? No. We looked out for our young only."
"Well, I and my people – in fact a number of alien species come to the aide of other species when needed."
"Others? I thought it was just you and the one you call Ezra, since Chopper is a droid."
"There's also my crew. We split up to answer the distress beacon."
"I should very much like to meet all of them as well," says Ere.
"If you wish, we could re-locate you to a world not so desolate."
"No, I … I can't leave."
"Okay. It was just a friendly offer."
"Your offer is generous, but I cannot leave this world."
"I understand. I was attached to my home world, too. At first Ezra didn't want to leave his either. In fact, if it hadn't been for the Force calling out and awakening me, I may never have left. I wouldn't be the man I am today," he stops to examine a bush, "These look like the kind of barriers Ezra described. I must be close. Are these edible?"
"Oh, yes. They are most alluring."
"I'll have to try some later," he pulls out his communicator bead and tries again, "Chopper," he waits a few seconds, "Still no answer. He's probably looking for us right now."
.
The engines on the skiff fire up. The skiff hovers off the ground and moves quickly away. Chopper pulls upwards and increases the speed. The skiff breaks out the dust bowl into space, pulling debris with it. Once out, the skiff shoots off into hyperspace.
.
Kanan looks around, pushing aside grass, searching.
"I don't get it. I should have found Ezra or at least his body by now. Would the Baraker have taken him somewhere?"
"Taken somewhere? No. This crew – what will they do if you do not return?"
"They'll come looking for me. Ohhh, I'm starting to feel tired; I think this air is affecting me."
"Perhaps. How many are in your crew?" Ere asks.
Kanan looks out above the brush, his back to Ere, "Ten. Two ships."
"Ten? Oh my. I should like to meet all ten of them."
"Tell me something I don't know," Kanan turns around and stands fully.
"Such as?" Ere says, seemingly confused.
"No, really: tell me something I don't know. You've told me about you bit not anything else I personally don't know."
"Then I am sorry," replies Ere innocently.
"Tell me about Robin Kor."
"Who?"
"I mentioned her earlier. Did you forget?"
"No, no … she's a…" thinking.
"Nonexistent; I just made the name up," Kanan quickly takes his a hold of lightsaber and activates it.
"You are quite resilient," Ere says, looking square at Kanan, eyes unblinking.
"Amongst the training received from a Jedi master is the ability to awaken one's self from forced slumbers or stimulated electronic hibernation, with the Force; a normal person could not do that. I smell a ruse. This isn't real, none of this is."
"I am quite real," Ere replies.
"It's been nice chatting, but when I awaken, I'm going to be quite unpleasant," says Kanan, deactivating his lightsaber out of habit.
He closes his eyes and closes his fists. He then crosses his wrists over his heart and breaths in and out heavily in steady takes.
"Going? I should think not," says Ere.
Kanan opens his eyes, "I can't awaken. I can't feel the Force," he says with alarm.
Ere chuckles aloud, "No. My babies are hungry. I'm hungry."
"What have you done to me?"
"No … you won't be going anywhere…"
The breeze from strong air moving threw the forest rustles leaves and plants in the forest, scattering fallen leafs upon the floor, onto Kanan, who lies on his back motionless; a slimy long and thick tendril snakes down from his forehead where it's stuck. On his exposed skin the small orange beetles bit by bit eat away at his flesh.