Chapter 2:

The hits to my world didn't stop with the death of the Wookiee girl. I went to visit Ulchewbuk shortly after. I became concerned that he had not been seen since the night of the raid. His home had suffered from the bombings as anyone else's had. It was scorched and pot-marked from blaster fire, and looked like a dollhouse that had been shaken violently and left to sit on its precarious foundation. My mind screamed as I approached the house telling me something was terribly wrong.

I broke the door down and found The Elder lying in a pool of his own blood, trying to raise his hand to the ceiling as if he were reaching for someone to help him stand. The Ryyk Blade, the one he had taught me to use, the ancient weapon of my family, was embedded in his chest. I ran to his side, my body almost went into convulsions as I hovered over him. I didn't know what to do. There was nothing to do. I was scared to touch him, fearing he would wilt and die in my arms as well. As the last of my world crumbled around me, The Elder opened his eyes to speak his last words.

"Echobe…" His voice gurgled as he choked on his own blood. "A man is coming…he knows the truth…you must…." The Elder's voice trailed off as the life left him. I felt it leave him. Ulchewbuk's eyelids half-closed. His eyes became empty, and dilated with the same lifeless abandon. I gathered The Elder in my arms and hugged him closely as if to hold his soul into his body. I did not cry, but just closed my eyes and let my mind wander, hoping to wish it all away. I had no more tears left.

My consciousness raced back into my body when I felt someone approaching, and then heard the footsteps. I laid Ulchewbuk's body gently onto the floor, not making a sound. I gripped the handle of the Ryyk Blade, and mustered all of my strength to force myself to pull the blade free from his body, and I then ducked into the shadows. I waited, ready to strike and kill whoever was approaching. I thought of nothing else but avenging The Elder.

The wood of the threshold creaked slightly under the weight of the person. The light of the dancing fires outside silhouetted his frame into the room through the many holes in the wall and door. I could see that he was humanoid. He was skulking, doing his best to not be heard or seen. The light shone for a moment off of the dark metal of the blaster that he had in his hand. He pushed the door open and peeked inside the crack, and that's when I leapt for him. I grabbed him by the collar of his coat, knocked the blaster from his hand, and slammed him onto the ground next to Ulchewbuk's body.

"Who are you?" I hollered at the person, unsure if he understood me or not. I placed the Ryyk Blade at his throat fully intending to sever his head from his body. I figured that I probably sounded like a roaring monster to him until he responded after a moment of regaining his lost breath.

"I am here for The Elder, where is he?" The human tried to speak despite my arm pushed against his throat. Between the shadows, and me the human's view of Ulchewbuk was obscured.

"The Elder is dead," I said. The human's eyes widened in shock as I revealed The Elder's body to him, my eyes widened when I realized that the human understood what I was saying. I answered the question his eyes were asking before his mouth could form the words.

"No I didn't kill him. He was my Father." The human turned his head sharply away, and muttered something under his breath I didn't understand. He then opened his eyes and looked back at me, the pain was clear on his face.

"You're Echobe, aren't you? Ulchewbuk told me much of you," said the human while struggling against my arm on his neck, the point of the Ryyk Blade pierced his flesh drawing a spot of blood. I slowly released my grip on the human and stood up from him. The human then cautiously stood.

"I found The Elder lying here. This was buried within him." I held up the bloody Ryyk Blade. "It belonged to him. He told me a man was coming." I did my best to not let the anger and sorrow I was feeling strain my voice.

"You are Echobe, aren't you?" asked the human, again needing to confirm who I was.

I looked at him with arched brow.

"Yes."

"Ulchewbuk was my contact here. There is much to explain to you." The human wiped the blood from his neck, straightened out his clothes, but did not try to pick his blaster up. I kept the Ryyk Blade pointed at his chest.

"My name is Burmar," began the human while brushing himself off. "I was in the Senate before it was dissolved. I knew your birth Mother and Father, and Ulchewbuk." Burmar then knelt to The Elder's body in reverence, placed his hand upon The Elder's face and drew his hand down over the eyelids to close them. Burmar hung his head. My brow hardened when I heard those two words. Mother and Father. Immediately I had so many questions form in the confusion of my mind, but I kept silent and let Burmar continue.

"I was there when we voted our power away to Palpatine. We were all so foolish. There were only a few who did not agree with what was happening. I was not one of them. I was against your Mother and Father, I voted for it, but your Mother and Father did not, so I also bear some responsibility for what has happened to them. I have been working to try and right some of the wrongs I caused." Burmar said, and looked up at me, removing his hand from Ulchewbuk's face. I loosened my grip on the blade. Burmar looked at my arm, and traced it down to the still dripping blade in my hand as I faltered.

Burmar took a breath and looked down at The Elder.

"It was not long after the dissolution of the Senate when your Mother and Father disappeared, as you already know. Many, including myself, assumed that they were killed. I discovered that they were abducted by Imperial agents and taken somewhere we don't know. There's an Imperial on Coruscant who carried out those orders. I came to tell Ulchewbuk of the news and hopefully get him off world. Threats to his safety have been mounting for some time. I didn't want to endanger his life anymore than I had already, but it is now too late."

Burmar rung his hands, his brow was furrowed, the grief aged him, wearing him down, advancing the wrinkles on his face. He breathed in and out slowly, and looked back up at me.

"There are Imperial agents and Trandoshans all over the planet. I had no way of protecting The Elder here, so taking him off world was my only hope for his safety, which he always refused. He wanted to stay with his people, and stay for you."

A pang of anger at myself tore through me realizing that Ulchewbuk basically agreed to his murder for me.

"I know you want to avenge you're The Elder's death, but we are severely outnumbered here with no allies. It's not safe for you here any longer."

My initial instinct was to dismiss Burmar's suggestion that I actually run away and hide as I had done for too long already. How could I have let Ulchewbuk's murder go unanswered? I turned away from Burmar, but he grabbed me by the arm.

"Echobe, you cannot stay here. We will avenge Ulchewbuk's death, but you cannot remain, or you could be next. You cannot stand alone against the Empire."

"Tell me this Imperial's name and where I can find him, and I will get the information. I absolve you of any further responsibility, Burmar. This is my fight." I said, sheathing the Ryyk Blade.

"No, I cannot stop here, Echobe, and you cannot do this on your own. I must pay for my sins of helping to bring about what has happened to the Republic and your parents. I have joined the Alliance against the Empire that was formed by Senators of the Old Republic. We will do what we can only with their help."

"The Alliance?" I asked, skeptically. Scant word of an Alliance Rebellion had reached Kashyyyk despite the blockade.

Burmar nodded.

"Three key Senators formed a resolution against Palpatine's growing power, a treaty between the three organizations headed by the Senators, a Declaration of Rebellion." Burmar looked around as if he were afraid the Empire would come bursting through the front door at any moment, and then continued. "I have a ship hidden in the lower levels below the city. It's the only place where the Empire won't go. You must come with me, Echobe." He let go of my arm and picked up his blaster, and placed it in his holster under his arm.

"Please." He added.

All I could think about were the swirling images of The Elder, that Wookiee girl, and my parents.

How could I leave my people now when they needed me the most? I asked myself. Being brutally forced out of my apathy and into the reality, what was I to do? Burmar approached me, and looked up to me. I towered over him. Even though Burmar was tall for a human, he was still short compared to almost any Wookiee. Burmar was able to see the struggle going on within me. Apparently, The Elder had told Burmar much about me.

"You cannot stop what is happening here, Echobe," started Burmar. "The Empire cannot be stopped here. The Rebellion will open a hand of friendship to you if you accept it, I will personally vouch for you, but you must make up your mind and decide now. I will tend to The Elder while you gather your thoughts. I prefer not to leave you here, but I cannot force you into anything. Just know that Ulchewbuk was most concerned for your well being."

Burmar paused for a moment to let the words sink in. I couldn't tell if the human said what he said to make me feel guilty, but I did anyways. The thought of ruining The Elder's intentions for my safety was the weight that tipped the scales. Burmar then continued.

"I will remain here for a hour while you think it over, I cannot wait longer. If you have not arrived by then, I will have my answer. I will leave you now." Burmar walked past me and went to Ulchewbuk. I watched the mournful, former Senator stand over Ulchewbuk's body. I couldn't stand being there any longer with The Elder lying there dead while the decision of my lifetime hung there in empty air.

I skulked out of The Elder's house, taking one last look back at the murdered Wookiee whom I looked upon as a father laying on the ground. Burmar gently, and with great care and reverence, wrapped Ulchewbuk's body in a sheet, being careful to position The Elder with respect. Burmar then started cleaning up the blood from the floor around him.

"I must say goodbye at least. They sheltered me for years, I have to do that much." I said to myself thinking of my foster family Ulchewbuk had placed me with. I turned away from The Elder's house, and walked back through the ruined city, and back to thank my foster family, and to say goodbye to the creatures who I called family, and then returned to The Elder's house only stopping briefly at the charred remains of that little girl's house. I swore that day to do everything in my power to fight the Empire, to never again become blind to what was happening, to stop the murder and enslavement of my people.

When I arrived back at The Elder's house Burmar was waiting for me quietly, sitting in a chair, fingers interlaced before him as if in prayer. The Elder's body was wrapped and bound very ceremoniously at Burmar's feet. He was saying a prayer; a prayer in what I can only guess was his native tongue. I took some time lingering in the house to give the time that Burmar needed to finish his reverie. A river of memories flowed through my mind as I looked over the now soulless, joyless house of The Elder. I took in all of the sights and smells I had experienced over the years I spent there, and finally said goodbye to it all. I went to Ulchewbuk's wrapped body and laid a hand upon his forehead.

"Thank you for being there for me. I hope you can forgive me for not saving you, Father. I will avenge your death." I stood up and stepped away from The Elder. With great guilt, I took the sheath for the Ryyk Blade, a long leather coat, and a belt all belonging to The Elder, then turned to Burmar. "I am ready."

"Very well," Burmar said, and then stood to face me, keeping his fingers interlaced at his waist. "I have a small ship hidden in the lower levels of the trees. There are no Imperial agents or Trandoshans, but there will be animals that could cause problems. The chaos and bloodshed in the city has stirred them up like I have never seen." Burmar patted at the area under his arm where he kept his blaster and nodded in reassurance.

We stepped over the threshold of The Elder's house for the final time. The Ryyk Blade of Ulchewbuk's family hung at my side safe in its equally ancient sheath. Sporadic fires burned still, making the shadows of the branches, leaves, and houses dance. We turned to face the house, and Burmar pulled a flare from his belt pouch, and threw it inside igniting the floor. The fire flickered at first, and then slowly spread to The Elder himself, consuming him. I closed my eyes and turned away.

We did our best to not let anyone see us as we made our way to the edge of the city where there was a lift that descended into the lower levels of the forest. A few sparse groups of Wookiees mulled about what remained of their homes salvaging what they could. One, a female, was on her knees, her hands embracing her pained face. She wept before a giant pile of ash. Another, a parent, was scavenging through a pile of burnt timber yanking out an unidentifiable, charred toy, and then gave it to his son who clasped at it with love. They did not see us as we passed them in the darkness, I don't think they would have paid much attention if they had.

The guilt became overwhelming as we swam through the shadows like thieves, or cowards, watching the Wookiee people piece together what lives they had left. I felt even worse being so disconnected from them for so long, only then coming out of my selfishness. I felt like an outsider again, as much as Burmar must have felt being human among Wookiees. I asked myself over and over what I was doing. I felt like I was abandoning those people, my people. The words echoed in my head like the pleas of the dead, dying, and suffering echoing in a cave. My legs jerked and hesitated as I walked, as if some part of me was trying to force me to turn back, but I forced myself on. Burmar didn't hesitate.

My justification felt weak, but I had to find out what had happened to my family and avenge Ulchewbuk's murder. My desire to leave wasn't completely selfish, as I was determined to strike back at the Empire and the Trandoshans for what they had done. I did want to help my people then and there, but I just didn't know how to do it while remaining trapped among them. I felt helpless, not being able to avenge Ulchewbuk's death the moment I witnessed it, or save that little Wookiee girl, or do anything useful for anyone.

"How many can I hold as they die in my arms, how many times can I help rebuild a house only to have it bombed again the next day?" I asked myself. It all seemed pointless to me, and I hated myself for it and still do.

The time slipped away while I drowned myself in the storm of justifications. I didn't realize how much time had passed until we reached the edge of the city where it dropped down into the darkness of the jungle. A wooden lift waited. Steel cables attached to a series of wenches that ended at a small rusting motor was the mechanism for descent, and a directional pad connected to the railing of the lift that indicated up or down with two simple arrows was the means to descend.

"Straight down from here," Burmar said, as he stared over the edge looking out into the yawning dark below. He stepped onto the platform, white-knuckled, and with a sweaty brow. He pulled his scout blaster from its holster with a shaking hand. The lift swayed and creaked when I stepped on it making Burmar grab for the railings nervously. He smiled at me warily and pressed the down button on the pad. The lift slowly started to descend. The motor hummed angrily and squealed in protest. The screeching of the ailing motor, and the light from the fires in the city find no way into the shadow. Both light and sound was drowned out before we were even a hundred feet down. It was like going into space, only that the stars winking in that void were from the life that thrived. It was wild, untamed but I could feel the energy from it all the same. Some of it salivated when it caught our scent. I never had, nor did I then, fear what was out there. My family was out there I knew. That foggy, gray connection I did not understand, but was at least partially aware of. Burmar was not nearly as calm. With each unknown squawk, call, hoot, or chirp, Burmar gripped his blaster tighter, his knuckles draining of blood once again. I thought it was funny.

The city, or what was left of it, disappeared into the canvas of the darkened moonlit sky and vertical horizon stretching into space above us. It became increasingly humid the further we descended. The sounds of the jungle echoed throughout the entire grounds and rebounded off of the trees. Footfalls from a huge beast could be heard in the far distance heading away from us. When Burmar spoke he stuttered, and I could see sweat on his face.

"We better be real careful. I was almost eaten by some spider on my way to The Elder's house." Burmar jerked his blaster at each new sound like it was a torch to ward away the night. I shook my head and smirked. I found it oddly amusing how scared humans were of what lied beneath our cities. I couldn't imagine what it would be like to be a small and fragile creature as Burmar. I thought humans couldn't survive a parsec in the lower levels of Kashyyyk, but then I thought of how far and wide humans lived throughout the galaxy, the Empire itself mostly human. I underestimated them greatly then, and still do at times now.

Allowing my thoughts to flow in the current of feelings and sounds of the jungle quickly passed the time it took to reach the feet of the Wroshyr trees. The lift met with the ground with a moist thud, and we made our way to Burmar's ship. Burmar was all too eager to be way from the rickety lift. I was so busy dwelling in my own feelings that gave me such calm and unity, that I hardly noticed the time pass. After ducking under boughs of tree roots and jungle foliage, we made it to the hiding place for Burmar's ship in the break of a young Wroshyr tree that, despite its age, was more than big enough to house the small ship. As we approached the tree I sensed something, and I grabbed Burmar by his jacket forcing him to stop.

"What? What is it?" he said, looking back over his shoulder to me gripping his blaster even tighter, and pointing it into no specific direction in the darkness ready to fire at the slightest movement.

"There's something inside, wait here," I told him. Once again came that feeling that pulse of life I couldn't explain, but knew it existed. It was like seeing music. I went towards the break in the tree, the image of what was inside became all the more clear the closer I approached.

It was a kliknick, a very common spider-like creature on Kashyyyk. There are untold legions of them scurrying on the floor of the planet and the lower levels of the trees. That one was a young male looking for food, curiously picking at the hull of the strange metal object sitting in its usual feeding spot. The kliknick's hard exoskeleton caught tiny beams of light glowing within the cockpit as it mulled over the ship. When I concentrated, I could hear its thoughts, and it was hungry. It then took notice of me. Fear was its first reaction, and its second was to run. I called forth whatever ability I had and called out to it. I reached out to it from my being and received a familiar response.

Curiosity.

It approached me, cautiously at first. I bent to one knee and waited for it. I called out to it in the strange language in my mind, and it approached. I put my hand upon its head, but it didn't recoil. I stood and walked out of the tree with it following close behind, sniffing at the mud clinging to my feet and chittering calmly.

Burmar was wide-eyed when he saw it. Before he could react by leveling his blaster at the animal I put my hand up, gesturing for Burmar to put his blaster down. I knelt again to the creature and told Burmar to get inside the ship. Burmar did a ledge-walk around the animal and me to get into the tree. When I heard the cockpit open, I stood and calmly walked away from the creature. It watched me with its doll-like black eyes as I walked backwards away from it.

It stood there, as if waiting for my cue for what to do next. I raised my hand and made a very gentle shoo motion, and it slowly turned around and then sped away into the darkness. I shook my head to snap me out of my stupor that I often go into because of the strange feelings the ability gives me. Burmar was already powering up the craft. He spun his head around to look at me when I entered.

"How did you do that?" he asked. "Some Wookiee beast-talking?"

I didn't know what to say, or how to say it. I was never very good at technical explanations. I didn't think Burmar would've believed me anyhow.

"It's just what I do," I answered, shrugging. "Let's get going." Burmar shook his head and closed the cockpit as I stepped in and sat down in the read seat of the small, two-seated cruiser.

Burmar's craft was a triangle-shaped, A-wing looking ship. Large round jet pods sat under the wings. It looked like an old Jedi Starfighter I had once seen on holo-screens that The Elder had shown me, but that one was drastically modified in a makeshift kind of way, and dotted with carbon scoring. It must have seen many battles. Burmar activated the repulsor-lift motor, and backed the craft out of the tree scraping against the trunk, and then slowly we rose up into the sky dodging around vines and boughs, and slowly gaining speed as the canopy opened.

"Now comes the hard part," started Burmar. "I secured a clearance pass from a Trandoshan mercenary, but if they catch on to us we are going to have to go to light speed for a short distance, and then recalculate and jump again to get out of the blockade's blaster range; a zigzag sort of way. Luckily they don't have an Interdictor here…yet." Burmar pushed many a colored buttons in a dizzying sequence I couldn't have begun to understand.

"An Interdictor?" I asked.

"Yes, some Star Destroyers have gravity-well reactors that nullify hyperspace travel. We would be out of luck if there was one in this system." Burmar narrated our trip while I just sat and listened. The blue sky of Kashyyyk fell back and receded like a settling body of water as we broke from the planet's atmosphere. It was my first time in space and it commanded awe as I looked into the void that was dotted with tiny eye-like, winking stars. I never thought I would ever leave Kashyyyk back then. I assumed that I would meet my death there as I had come into life. The words small and meaningless came to mind.

"Makes you feel small and meaningless doesn't it?" chimed in Burmar in a philosophical tone.

Looking back down to the planet by pushing my face up against the glass of the tight cockpit, I could still see the fires burning like faint candle. I was lost in the vision as Burmar was about to enter his security clearance when green laser blasts started coming at us from the direction of the blockade.

Space released its dark grip as TIE fighters sped towards us from the distance. Beyond them was the gray Imperial ships forming the blockade, making artificial rings around Kashyyyk. The quicker TIE fighters quickly closed in, flying towards us to intercept, calling for us to identify and turn ourselves over. Burmar tried contacting them to transmit his security clearance, but they were jamming the radio, and had no intent of letting us go on our way.

A few green blasts of the TIE fighter's cannons rebounded off of the small ship's shields as Burmar quickly entered short-range coordinates into the hyper-drive computer. A few moments and impacts later, we entered the hyperspace tunnel for a few moments to escape the barrage of TIE fighters. The stars elongated like glowing pieces of string, and then the hyperspace tunnel opened in front of the ship and engulfed us. I thought I was going to be sick.

When we exited hyperspace moments, but millions of miles later, Kashyyyk could still be seen, but more as a green star far in the distance. The blockade had disappeared against the backdrop of the planet. Burmar began working on new coordinates when green blaster bolts shot towards us again. An Imperial shuttle had followed us, the white, triple-winged, Lambda-class shuttle. It was bearing down quickly as Burmar scrambled to evade the blasts.

"Damn, I was hoping we could avoid this. Hang on!" yelled Burmar.

I didn't realize how serious he was until my head hit the glass of the cockpit as he veered the craft into a corkscrew spin down and then arched back up under and behind the shuttle. Burmar jammed hard on the trigger to the single cannon on the ship scoring some superficial hits on the shuttle, which was scarcely agile. The shuttle then took a wide arch to try and turn to face us, but Burmar stuck right behind its vulnerable rear.

"We just have to stall long enough to get into hyperspace. We can loose them when we get to Coruscant!" Burmar punched some buttons on the nav-computer, and yelled his narrative while jeering the small craft to evade the Imperial shuttle with bewildering movements. "Almost there!" Burmar yelled with strained voice as we were slammed into the back of our seats with a quick climb and roll to dodge out of the way of the Imperial shuttle's blaster fire which could have easily decimated the lightly armored, scarcely shielded ship.

The nav-computer beeped.

"I got it!" Burmar again yelled as he quickly punched the coordinates into the computer, and jammed the throttle back on the hyper-drive and we entered the hyperspace tunnel again. This time we were in hyperspace for several hours, safe in the embrace of lightspeed.