Chapter XIX – Jedi: The Invisible Beast
It took the better part of an hour for our company and Chirpa's guards to descend from the tree-village and make our way to the lair of the mysterious monster. According to Logray, the beast had laid claim to a great deal of territory, and scouts and other Ewok tribes had reported sighting the beast "many days' journey away." And apparently it was not terribly choosy as to its prey – one of the warriors that accompanied us told a breathless tale of how he had seen the creature take on a phlog and come out the victor.
"What's a phlog?" asked Luke.
"Big giant monster, more or less humanoid, as tall as the trees or bigger," Jessa replied in a disgruntled monotone. "Pretty strong too. If the furball's telling the truth, whatever this beastie is must be tough."
"Of course I'm telling the truth!" insisted the Ewok once I had translated Jessa's comment for him. "Why wouldn't I tell the truth?"
"Because you're also the one who claimed you were late for the last Soul-Tree ceremony because you were busy fighting off a pack of korribas bare-handed," his companion sneered.
"Hey!"
Luke smiled amusedly as I translated the argument for him. "For all our outward appearances, we're not that different from these creatures, are we?"
"I don't want to be compared to an Ewok," Jessa grumbled.
"Exactly what do you have against the Ewoks?" I asked.
"Look, they weren't so bad in the last movie, okay?" she replied. "But then they overkilled their cuteness with the TV series and a couple of really, really lame made-for-TV movies… honestly, if they're going to do a Star Wars spinoff movie, they should at least cast people who can act their way out of a paper bag… and don't get me started on the kid's books…"
Her answer made no sense whatsoever, but at least I knew her distaste for the beings had a foundation, however shaky.
As we passed through the forest, I caught glimpses of strange creatures through the trees – flashes of red or gray fur, glinting yellow or green eyes, a curved horn or a gleaming fang here or there. Our guides were happy to identify them for us, and they assured us that we were perfectly safe from them for the time being.
"The beasts of the forest know that this is a crisis," Chirpa explained. "This monster among us has upset the natural balance of the forest. Until that balance is restored, a truce has been declared. The hunters do not kill any more than they have to for food, and they leave the Ewoks alone. In return, we refrain from hunting and live off our crops and livestock for the time being."
"But your food stocks cannot last indefinitely," I pointed out.
"Exactly, my friend. Even now they are almost empty. Which is why we so desperately need you to eliminate this creature before it destroys the balance of the forest… and comes against the Ewok village. For I fear it will only be a matter of time before it has depleted the forest of prey and begins hunting us."
We stopped at the edge of a ravine, a gash in the earth about ten meters deep. The Ewoks stepped back, whispering amongst themselves, reluctant to go any further.
"This is it," a grizzled red warrior informed me. "This is where the monster lairs."
I cautiously went to the edge of the ravine and looked down… but could see nothing. I probed with the Force… and again, sensed nothing. But the ring was going berserk, one moment searing hot and the next biting cold. What was down there? Another of the mythic creatures Ash and Jessa were so familiar with? Was this to be Jessa's quest after all?
"Perhaps it is sleeping," Chirpa mused. He handed me a rough-sewn leather bag stuffed with fresh meat scraps. "I hate to disturb the beast, but you must see it if you are to plan how to fight it. Throw that in and wait."
I dropped the bag over the edge, and it landed heavily in a scrabble of rocks, scarlet juices oozing from the seams. Nothing stirred within the canyon… but a pair of dog-like, golden-furred korriba yearlings with less sense than they should have had scrambled down the canyon wall, unable to resist the tempting lure. A packmate snarled a warning…
And the very air seemed to heave and slither about the ravine floor.
"What the Sith?" snarled Fett, blaster coming up instinctively.
"It's transparent!" exclaimed Tuck. "Completely transparent!"
The first pup was seized in a pair of glassy mandibles as long as a man's leg, crushed effortlessly, and swallowed. The second korriba gave a terrified scream and flung himself at the canyon wall, claws scratching madly at the stone for purchase. The beast reared like a serpent preparing to strike, and a stream of stringy gray material shot from its mouth and slammed into the fleeing pup. Within seconds the poor animal was coated in the stuff, a grotesque package that twitched and squealed as the beast applied itself to it with leisure.
"Okay Ash, I don't remember reading about this one in any mythology books," Jessa told the phoenix.
"My eyes tell me what it is," Ash replied, stunned. "But my mind tells me that this is impossible… these beasts are supposed to be extinct…"
"The Sith were supposed to be extinct," Fett countered. "And the Jedi."
I stared at the creature, struggling to identify it. It vaguely resembled a giant centipede, with overlapping plates of armor covering its long body and pair after pair of segmented legs beneath it. The first several pairs of legs terminated in shearing claws, and the wicked head sported jet-black compound eyes and jaws powerful enough to pierce ship plating. And as Tuck had pointed out, the creature was as transparent as if carved from crystal. Beneath the glass-like plates of armor I could see bizarre stirrings and pulsings of muscles and organs, and if that was not gruesome enough the savaged remains of the korriba pups were clearly visible sliding down its gullet.
But that was not the strangest thing about the beast. What stunned me more than anything else was that it was invisible to the Force. I could not sense it, could not touch its mind. Trying to sense it through the Force was like trying to grasp a hologram.
This was wrong, very wrong.
"Taozin," Ash said at last. "This is a taozin, a beast that, through freak mutation and natural selection, is practically invisible to the Force. And I had long believed them extinct." She shook herself nervously, shedding a few feathers. "They are not native to Endor, so what one is doing here is puzzling…"
"Could the Empire have brought it?" asked Luke.
"Could have," I replied. "I cannot imagine the Rebellion keeping a beast like this, but Imperials are fond of strange pets and have been known to drag them on missions."
"That makes sense," Chirpa mused. "And when we defeated the Empire, their pet broke out of its cage or pen and had to seek its own sustenance."
The taozin raised its head and glowered at us, its mandibles working thoughtfully. Then, deciding it was not yet hungry enough to bother with us, it sank to the ground and curled itself into a knot to rest. Once it ceased stirring, it was nearly invisible to the eyes.
"Can't fight it," Nightwind noted, shuddering as he looked down at the beast. "Too big, even for me."
"My fire is no use," Ash added.
"We need a plan," Tuck said thoughtfully. "Any ideas, Vader?"
I shook my head. "I will need time to think…"
"Who says this is Vader's quest?" asked Fett. "It could very well be Luke's or Jessa's…"
"Spare me," Jessa groaned.
The conversation ended there, and we remained silent all the way back to the village. All my life I had relied on the Force as an ally, a second sense, and tapping into it was as instinctive as blinking for me. To be confronted with a situation in which the Force was totally useless was shocking to say the least, and it would be a definite challenge to plan an offensive against this beast without the Force's power.
Logray awaited us in the main square of the village. "So you have seen it?"
"It's so strange," Luke murmured.
"Strange indeed," Logray replied. "Very strange. But I have complete confidence in your company. After all, greater powers than the Force watch over you… and there is a Jedi in your midst."
Luke shook his head. "I'm not a Jedi."
"Not a Jedi?" Logray cocked his head, puzzled. "Do you not use the Force? Are you not a Knight, a servant of light?"
Luke sighed. "Logray, I've learned some disturbing things about the Jedi recently… that they have banned emotion from their Order… and forbidden attachment and love. I've decided that, if to be a Jedi means surrendering emotion, then I don't want to be one."
"And you will let the Order fade into obscurity and the galaxy fall into chaos over that?" Logray asked, arching an eyebrow.
Luke could not form a reply.
"It is a shame," Logray murmured, lowering his head. "I had thought that there remained a Jedi to aid the Ewoks in this crisis. It seems I was mistaken." And he turned and went back into his hut.
Luke glared at me. "Don't say it."
"I was not going to say anything."
"You were thinking it."
"Thinking what?"
He sighed. "I'm tired. Where are we sleeping?"
"This way, sir," an Ewok guard invited, leading Luke toward one of the larger huts.
"What's his problem?" asked Jessa.
"Logray called him a Jedi," I told her. "He rebuked him, saying he was no longer a Jedi. Logray strongly hinted that the only person who can avert this crisis is a Jedi. I suspect he touched a nerve."
Jessa whistled. "Poor Luke. Can't say I blame him. The whole 'a Jedi shall not know love' bit always upset me. Why can't Jedi be human too? It's not like having a lightsaber and a few extra midichlorians makes you a god. Jedi make mistakes, and you can't tell me they don't get angry or depressed or scared."
"Not to hear some of the elder Jedi talk," I replied, anger seeping into my voice. "They always considered themselves beyond such scourges as fear and sorrow and anger."
"Hmm. That's not only wrong, it's stupid. You can't have the good without the bad. Like my grandma used to say, 'you can't appreciate the sun if you don't know the rain.'"
"Ah, but the good emotions are banned as well. A Jedi is not to become prideful or know love, remember?"
Jessa rolled her eyes. "So to become a Jedi is to become an emotionless lump of matter, eh? And here Yoda was saying we're luminous beings, not crude matter."
I caught myself before firing off a retort. Why were we having this discussion? It was not helping us devise a plan against the monster.
"Can I borrow your lightsaber?" Jessa asked abruptly.
"What for?"
"I want to try something. I'll give it right back, trust me."
I hesitated. Was this a good idea? I focused on the ring, and to my surprise it pulsed affirmatively.
"Be careful," I urged her, unclipping the weapon and handing it over.
"I'm always careful," she replied with a wink, and she turned and began descending the ladder.
"You just gave a thermal detonator to a five-year-old," groaned Fett, watching her go.
"Shouldn't someone go with her?" Tuck asked. "What if she gets into trouble?"
"She will be fine," I said, more to assure myself than to assure them.
Luke did not show up for the evening meal. Concerned, I excused myself from the festivities and retreated to the hut that made up our sleeping quarters. He lay on his back, staring at the ceiling, hands clasped over his chest. He did not acknowledge my entry.
"Luke."
His eyes flickered toward me. "Oh, it's you."
"Talk to me," I ordered. "What is troubling you?"
"Nothing… and everything." The first was said in a short, irritated tone, the last in a quiet, heavy voice.
"Which?" I sat down on the cot next to him.
He sighed heavily. "I'm so confused." He rolled over to stare at the wall. "I wanted to be a Jedi for so long. It's what I've been preparing myself for and training to do for years. I still want to use the Force to do good… but I don't want to deprive myself of emotion either. I don't want to lose my friends and those I love. And I don't want to lose you either."
I could not fault his reasoning, but I knew, as Logray did, that the Jedi were the only ones who could restore justice to the galaxy. If we could only find some middle ground…
"Perhaps," I suggested, knowing I would have been lynched for blasphemy had I proposed this in the days of the Old Jedi Order, "it is not you that needs to change."
Luke twisted about to look at me. "What?"
"The Order has been virtually unchanged for thousands of years," I replied. "Unfortunately, the rest of the galaxy does not work that way. It has evolved over the centuries, and many aspects of life – government, commerce, advertising, public services – have been forced to evolve with it in order to survive. The Jedi refused to evolve. And how could they better serve the galaxy if they still clung to the beliefs and edicts of the Order's pre-space days?
"I am not saying that every aspect of the Order is flawed. I am only saying that their adherence to the old ways was a mistake. Had they been willing to alter the rules a little, they might not now be an extinct power."
Luke's brow furrowed. "I never thought of it that way. That the Jedi Order needs changing."
"You had no reason to." I met Luke's eyes with my own. "Luke, I do not, in any way, condone my own actions or suggest that I am not responsible for my crimes. I only say that things might have turned out differently had they been more accepting of love, marriage, and emotion."
Luke sighed. "So it might not be such a good idea to bring back the Order after all."
"The Order must live on," I countered. "But it must be ruled wisely, with the welfare of the people foremost rather than the maintaining of ancient traditions."
He nodded. "That sounds reasonable…"
Nervous chatter broke out outside the hut, and I stood and strode out to investigate. Luke hopped off the cot and followed me.
The Ewoks were fretting over a just-returned Jessa, and for good reason. The cyborg girl was a mess – mud caked her joints and smeared her face plate and torso shell, plant matter was caught in her machinery, her cloak had great rents in it, and one of her legs was bent at a strange angle, giving it the appearance of having two knees. Upon seeing us she shrugged off the Ewoks who were fussing over her and limped toward me, holding out my lightsaber.
"Well, that didn't work," she grumbled. "Hope you two were discussing a plan in there…"
"You tried facing it alone?" I asked, dumbfounded.
"Um…" She ducked her head guiltily. "Wanted to give it a shot… I felt kinda bad about my comments earlier and wanted to make it up to them…"
"Did you find anything out?" asked Luke.
"Yeah." She tossed my saber at my feet. "That doesn't work right with taozins."
"What do you mean by that?" Luke asked.
"Exactly what I said. Oh, it hurts the beastie, but not terribly. When the blade goes in…" She made a thrusting motion with her arm. "…it dissolves. No, that's not the right word… diffuses? Diffracts? Like a beam of light in a thick fog. The energy goes in all directions inside its body."
"Certain energy fields have been known to do that," I noted. "But I have never heard of a creature's body material altering a lightsaber's energy emissions."
"You just did." She lifted her mangled leg. "Think you can look at this, Darth? Damn thing just about took it off."
Break…
In the morning, I had planned to hold a conference amongst the members of our party regarding the taozin, but plans changed upon waking.
I sat up and turned to Luke's pallet… only to find it empty. He was sitting before a low table (then again, in the Ewok village, all tables were low to us), balancing a wooden spoon on its end. He released the utensil, and it fell over with a soft clatter. Then he raised it again and watched it fall. He repeated the process several times, oblivious to my gaze.
"What are you doing?" I asked at last.
He did not turn to look at me. "Thinking."
"About the Order?"
He shook his head. "About the taozin."
"I see," I replied, though in truth I did not see.
He balanced the spoon again, let go, and frowned as it fell to the table. "Wrong way… have to direct its fall somehow…" He lifted it again, paused, and let go. Again it fell, and his frown deepened. "And something will have to keep it up until the time is just right… I wonder if I'm strong enough to hold it with the Force…"
"Try tying it… whatever it is," suggested Tuck, and I realized he was also awake, propped up on one elbow and watching Luke toy with the spoon.
Luke gave him a thoughtful look, then returned his attention to the utensil. "Tie it… cut carefully…"
"Explanations are nice, Lukey," Jessa pointed out, emerging from her corner. She still favored her damaged leg slightly; I would have to redo the repairs once we reached a more technologically advanced world.
Luke looked up at her, a slight smile on his features. "Good news for you, Jessa – I don't think this is your quest."
"Oh?"
He released the spoon a final time, and its resounding clatter seemed to be a note of finality.
"We're going to need every Ewok in this village – man, woman, and child – to help us. We need everyone to cooperate in any capacity they can. And we'll need rope. Lots and lots of rope."
