Thrawn and the Rebellion Chapter 9
Sabine learns that mercy is better than revenge. The Lothal rebel band finds themselves the guests of honour of a Psadan feast. To their shock and horror, they discover that Ezra Bridger and Zare Leonis are on the dinner menu. All recognisable Star Wars Rebels and Thrawn Trilogy rightfully belong to Lucasfilm, Disney, and Timothy Zahn. Feel free to read and review.
Sabine Wren: The Art of Mercy
By the time that the dust from the battle had settled, Sabine realized that she and her rebel band had been saved from imminent death by a group of unlikely allies: the Psadans, hard-shelled mammalian sentients who resembled giant, walking rocks. The forest floor was piled with the bodies of the grey aliens.
Sabine and Zeb had ducked in time to avoid the hail of arrows. The air had rang with the cries and wails of the dying commandos. Psadans showed no quarter to these Imperial commandos even though they were aliens. Sabine looked away while the Psadan warriors finished off the remaining commandos. She tried to ignore their deafening wails and screams. Warfare was not pretty. Even "rebels" were capable of atrocities in war. After finishing their dirty work, the Psadans looted the corpses of their foes.
After reuniting with Kanan, Hera, and their new-found Psadan allies, Sabine accompanied them on their journey back to the Psadan village, which lay about eight kilometres away. While walking there, Sabine heard an audible wail in the bushes.
"It sounds like some dying beast," said the Psadan chief Ba'han Said "The gods be blessed. Another fine beast for our banquet tonight."
"Let's put it out of its misery," added Zeb, as he switched his bo-rifle to electrostaff rod.
"Count me in," smiled Sabine Wren. The battle had made her hungry and thirsty. While her mother had been a vegetarian and Sabine had toyed with vegetarianism in her past, living on the run meant that one could not be a choosy when it came to food. Food was fuel, no matter its origins.
As Sabine and her companions waded deeper into the bush, the cries grew louder. It didn't sound like an animal but it still sounded alien. To their surprise, Sabine and her companions stumbled upon one of the grey aliens that they had fought earlier. The alien had an arrow piercing through his lower right leg. He was bleeding badly and his clothes and the ground around him were soaked in blood.
Sabine usually had a soft heart for the wounded and dying. However, any sympathy for the wounded alien had evaporated due to the trouble that his kind had caused her and her companions on Castell and now Wayland. Worse of all, this alien was fighting for the "evil" Galactic Empire. Sabine's mind burned with rage and hatred. This alien's kind had killed her Gungan friend Maroosa Tarpals. To her shock, she found that part of her delighted in the suffering of that alien foe.
"Good girl, you caught one of those Imperial devils," said Ba'han in his accented Basic Standard "You found him first. So finish him off."
"With pleasure," smiled Sabine. She savoured the thought of avenging the deaths of Ashoka Tano and Maroosa Tarpals. This guy was also complicit in the kidnapping of her friend Ezra Bridger, the young street urchin from Lothal who had become her fellow ship-mate. She raised her blaster and pointed at the ailing alien. She had the alien firmly in her gun sight. Before she could pull the trigger, she heard a loud shout.
"No, Sabine no!"
Sabine turned and found herself staring into the stern face of Kanan Jarrus. The Jedi wielded his blue lightsaber.
"No, we will do no such thing," barked Kanan firmly "We do not kill our enemies in cold blood."
"But, he's an Imperial," protested Ba'han "These Imperials drove my people from our lands."
"Killing him in cold blood would bring us to their level," replied Kanan sharply "We are Rebels, not murderers. We are certainly better than the Empire."
"But this guy's people killed Ashoka and Maroosa," shouted back Sabine. She could feel the rage in her rising. "Let's put him out of his misery."
Kanan took a deep breath before replying.
"I sense the anger and hatred you," Kanan said in a softer voice "But killing him will not bring Ashoka, Maroosa nor Ezra back. Plus, he could be of use to us."
Sabine reflected on Kanan's words. He was right; killing the grey alien would not bring any of her friends back. But if they spared his life, he could provide with information to help them rescue Ezra Bridger. Plus, she had joined the rebels believing that they provided a superior and more moral alternative to the Galactic Empire. Unlike the Empire, rebels did not kill prisoners in cold blood. They gave people second chances. She recalled Kanan and Hera's patience with Ezra even though he could sometimes be the most annoying person in the galaxy. She took a deep breath in order to clear her thoughts.
"You're right," she sighed "We don't have a right to kill him. He's our prisoner."
"Fine, fine," grumbled Ba'han "We have another mouth to feed. But if he causes any trouble, his head will go on a spike."
Kanan bent down and attended to the ailing alien. He put his hand on the alien's bleeding right leg and used his Force powers to soothe the pain.
"Someone fetch me a rag," said Kanan
One of the Psadan warriors passed him an old but clean scarf. Too her surprise, Sabine found herself feeling sorry for her hated enemy. She pulled out a clean handkerchief from her trousers and helped Kanan to wrap around the grey-skinned alien's wound.
"Thank…thank you," sighed the alien in relief. Sabine could see a tear flowing down his left cheek.
"Don't worry," said Kanan gently "We won't hurt you or kill you. My name's Kanan Jarrus and this is…"
"Sabine Wren," added Sabine "We're rebels and don't worry. We're not cannibals."
"My name's Khabarakh," replied the alien "I'm from Clan Khim'bar and I'm a Noghri."
The word Noghri rang a bell. The Noghri were a grey-skinned humanoid species from Honogh. During the Clone Wars, Honoghr's atmosphere had been polluted by a Separatist bioweapon. It had been rumoured that the Noghri had become extinct. But here was a living, breathing Noghri sitting right at front of her. She was relieved that she had resisted her urge for vengeance. He and his kind must be some of the few surviving Noghri left in the galaxy just as Zeb was one of the few surviving Lasat left alive. After reflecting on what had just transpired, Sabine realized that Kanan was right. Revenge might appear to be an appetizing fruit hanging on a branch. However, it left a bitter taste in one's mouth.
Hera Syndulla: An Unlikely Reunion
It was evening on Wayland and the sky had turned a bright reddish orange hue. The air was getting cooler and Hera could feel a cool breeze brushing past her lekku or head-tail. Hera welcomed the breeze since it blew away the perspiration tickling her skin. The Psadan village was built on a small artificial island surrounded by a deep moat and a tall wooden palisade that was ringed by a several watchtowers. The walled village had a barbican and a moat bridge which could be withdrawn at a whim.
Certainly, the Psadans were beginning to shift from hunter-gatherers to living in sedentary communities. The planet's rediscovery during the last years of the Galactic Republic had accelerated the development of Wayland's indigenous communities. Meanwhile, the planet's stranded Human communities had begun the process of reconnecting with the wider galaxy. As Hera and her companions crossed the moat bridge with their Psadan hosts, the barbican's portcullis, a large wooden grilled embedded with metal blades, was raised to admit the returning hunting party and their guests.
The Psadan village consisted of a collection of wooden huts with thatched roofs and stilts. All of these houses were supported by large wooden stilts that were driven into ground. A large crowd had gathered to watch the newcomers. The dirt path was lined with dozens of hard-shelled aliens of all ages; infants, children, youths and maidens, adults, and wizened old men and women. Many wore loincloths though some wore flowing robes and turbans of blue, red, yellow, and green.
At the end of the dirt path lay two large cauldrons. Each of them was resting over a mound of branches, twigs, and wood. She saw Hera saw two young human males standing in each cauldron, surrounded up to their chests with water. They were both bound and dressed in black Imperial uniforms. One of the lads had olive brown skin, blue eyes, and long blue-black hair while his companion was dark-skinned and had short crew-cut black hair. To her astonishment and horror, Hera recognised Ezra Bridger. And the skinny lad beside him must have been Zare Leonis, the boy whom he had befriended during an undercover mission at the Lothal Imperial Academy.
Hera quickly reasoned that Ezra and his friend had escaped Imperial custody only to fall into the hands of the Psadans. Due to their Imperial uniforms, the Psadans had automatically assumed that they were Imperials. The fire had just been lit. Hera quickly realized that the Psadans intended to boil these "Imperials" alive for dinner.
"Oh my goodness," screamed Hera in shock and horror.
"Nothing to be alarmed about, my rebel friends," said Chief Ba'han "We caught these Imperials in our forests yesterday. Since you are the enemy of the Imperial occupiers, we decided to serve them as a feast in your honour."
"Wait," shouted Kanan "You're making a big mistake. These are our friends. They were taken prisoner by the Empire and they managed to escape. One of them is my apprentice."
"Oh, my humblest apologies," apologized Chief Ba'han. The stocky Psadan immediately fell to his knees and prostrated himself before Hera and Kanan. "Great Lightsword Warrior and friends, I on behalf of Clan Said beg your forgiveness."
"A little help here," shouted Ezra "The water is starting to heat up."
"Yeah, it's getting hot here," added Leonis
Before the Chief could order his men to put out the fire, Kanan stretched out his hand towards Ezra and Zare. Immediately, a raincloud appeared above the cauldron and unleashed a heavy downpour, drenching both boys and quenching the fire immediately. Ezra and Leonis were drenched by the rain but they were now safe.
"How did you learn how to do that," asked Ezra, who was shivering but very much relieved to have escaped a hot, painful death.
"I learnt it on the job," replied Kanan
"Thank goodness you came in the nick of time," remarked Leonis "I never imagined seeing you guys again."
"Well, the Force works in mysterious ways," commented Hera "Now that you're escaped, that saves us having to break into that Imperial mega-fortress at Mount Tantiss."
"Oh damn it," sighed Zeb "There goes another opportunity to smash some bucket heads together."
"No wait, we can't leave Wayland yet," said Ezra "There's a mad Jedi clone called Joruus C'baoth who's working for the Empire. He's discovered some ancient Sith weapon and he's planning to use it to rule the galaxy. So, we still have to break into the base."
"Wait, Ezra. Master Jorus C'baoth is dead," replied Kanan "I was there at his farewell ceremony when he left on some Jedi expedition into the Unknown Regions."
"Not Master Jorus. It's Joruus with an extra U," responded Leonis "The Emperor cloned him because he needed a Dark Jedi to run his secret storehouse at Mount Tantiss. He's really mad and he wants to rule the galaxy."
Hera sighed at hearing the news of this new Imperial threat. They had managed to recover Ezra safe and unharmed just in the nick of time. However, this good news was overshadowed by the emergence of a new unexpected threat – a mad Jedi clone in the Empire's service. Boy, being a rebel meant no vacations. There was always some trouble or threat to contend with. Hera had been hoping to avoid having to assault another Imperial fortress. Now, they had to attack another one.
Zeb seemed delighted at the news since beating up Stormtroopers was the hulking Lazat's hobby.
"Allright, more bucket heads to bash around," said Zeb "And it's a good thing we have some local allies now."
"I think we could also use Chopper and the Patronus' services," added Hera.
Endnotes
Fans of Star Wars will recognise a resemblance between Ezra and company's reunion and Leia's reunion with her rebel friends at the Ewok village in Return of the Jedi. However, I made up the bit about Ezra and Zare almost getting boiled alive and Kanan coming to the rescue by using the Force to command rain. Now, we have a final showdown between our favourite Lothal rebels and Master Joruus C'baoth, Thrawn, and the Empire. Who will win?
Thank you all for the long wait and my apologies for the delays in churning out more chapters. I have been a bit bogged with university work and other commitments but will dive back into it asap. I promise the story will be complete before The Force Awakens comes out in December this year.
Andrew Lim
