Short Story:
Sender had to go out of her home on to the damp streets of Coruscant just to get water.
Her family was very poor and had to get food at kitchens or cheap restaurants just to keep their family alive. Even if their family was struggling, Sender still had many expensive things. She owned a speeder bike after she got a job at a delivery company. She also owned a blaster from her father and occasionally bought amo with the money she owned. She also had to provide for the family since the money she received was enough for the foursome to get food in their bellies every day.
When she was not working, she was getting water. Although she was also going to work.
The underground of Coruscant were all the same. Dark, wet, poor, lonely. Sender knew that someday, she would have saved up enough to get to the UC. University of Coruscant and study politics. She was even studying it now in her shared room and spare time.
And other than feisty, people would call her a devoted worker. She did not talk back unless she was forced to. She seemed to love everyone around her as if they were her family, and she had a lot of friends who were just like her. She was probably better than them since she actually had a job.
The only thing she disliked, were the guards of Coruscant. The people called them bucket heads behind their backs and families like hers called them names that would get a tiny piece of soap in her mouth. She never called them anything but troops and when she did call them bucket heads, she only wrote it in journals afraid that there was one of the damn troops behind her back.
"G'morning Sotu," she said to her boss.
"Ah," the twi'lek saw her and walked over, "We got five brand new crates today, and there are so many thing in each crate that we've decided to give you one of each product from now on."
Sender hung her mouth, "Wait, are you serious?".
"Of course!" He replied.
So Sender did and put them in her satchel. She drank water she had from the water pump and climbed aboard a random bike. She didn't even examine her treasure but there was really no point. Everything that was shipped out from that docking business was already checked by the Coruscant police. No black market material whatsoever.
"See you later boss," Sender said. She saluted and rode away.
The reason she adored the bikes was because she could have a reason to go up in the sky and breath fresh air.
As she escaped upwards the oxygen pushing back, she felt a rush of excitement and thrill that she always felt running up the hill. As she left the underworld, she finally felt the sweet smell of fresh breathable air that didn't smell as if you'd pissed in it or lived down there. You would smell the fresh air of what nobles smelt every day.
Nobles, she thought, what do they get to deserve this?
In her opinion, even Padme Amidala didn't do anything about their cause. Her father even helped create a petition that was taken to the City Council but was denied since they needed to fund a war.
No one cared about them. No one at all.
Abruptly, she felt a lurch in the bike and she screamed as she was thrust out the bike and began falling to the ground. She yelled for help but the wind pushed up on her mouth. Any reasonable person would believe that she was committing suicide and would not help her. But if anyone saw the falling bike they would also scream.
Sender quickly remembered a documentary she had watched many years ago. It was about sky diving and how to survive without a jet pack or parachute. She went into a position that would slow her fall. Then, when she neared the ground, she became ready to land on a garbage can close by. She centered her self than fell towards it and fell right into it.
Immediate pain struck her and she yelled in panic. How was she supposed to get back down to her family? What the hell was she supposed to do?
She remembered the bag on her back and with all her strength, grabbed it and moved it so that she could see it.
Her short blonde hair and white skin made her look like a wreck, but also a hot mess at the same time. She was about nineteen years of age and was ready for college already.
The bag opened with a click of her hand and she found her blaster, Amo, and all the thing she received from the crate which was: A box of food which was pretty big for herself, dual blasters that were tinier than her own blaster, more food that she was gonna give to her parents, a maloorun, and another box of food for her family again. She started to cry.
Her family could go without food, again! Not for the sixth time in five years.
She heard walking and looked up to see a man in white armor. He had red streaks down his helmet and on his arms. Even with those tiny details, Sender felt like she was gonna scream.
"Sir," he said, "I saw it happen in here."
Another man without the armor came through and examined the alley. He looked like a fish. A rude fish too.
Sender wouldn't scream, she wouldn't even try and yell for help. She would wait for them to go.
"I don't sense anything sergeant."
Wait, what if she was dead than? Couldn't Jedi sense anything?
She cleared her mind and tried not to breath but gave up since her lungs and legs were still killing her. But it wasn't anything she hadn't experienced before. Well, the pain part, she'd never thought she would've survived if she fell from deadly heights.
"Wait- no- Sergeant there is nothing here."
The clone looked down, "Yes sir."
He walked off and went back down the alley.
The Jedi stayed.
"Get out of the dumpster child."
Sender wouldn't, it was too dangerous, she'd seen what a Jedi did to a man in the lower levels once. He'd killed him with his magic air stuff.
"It's safer to get out."
Sender replied with a tiny thought, no.
"Why not?".
That surprised Sender. But she responded, because you're danger to me and my family.
"How could I be the dangerous one."
Go away please.
"It-".
Go!
The man felt her thoughts leap and he froze up in shock.
"As you wish."
He walked away leaving Sender still stuck in the dumpster.
Great, now what?
She found a bandage in the very back of her bag and tied it around her leg. She stepped out of the dumpster after she was sure the fish Jedi was gone. She started limping at a quicker pace than most people who just landed in a dumpster.
But none of that surprised her. What surprised her, was that even in this alleyway, it was clean. Even though she was still in the upper levels, it was safe here. Well, maybe not, it was infested with bucket heads. She found a box full of food next to a door. She grabbed so much and stuffed them in her backpack. The weight was weighing down on her and she walked to the side and ate one of the juicy malooruns she had found in the box. She ate it with ease and got up to continue walking. She exited the alley and almost screamed.
It was so bright up here.
There was so many people with fancy clothes.
There so many bucket heads.
Sender ran as fast as she could with a busted leg and went inside a restaurant. She fished out three spare credits from her bag and gave them to the waitress.
"Milkshake please."
She never tasted one but she didn't see the problem with doing so anyway.
The waitress nodded, "Brown sugar or cane sugar?".
"Both."
The waitress laughed, "Yes ma'am."
She left to get the drink and Sender looked around. The only other person there were two men that had cloaks on their backs.
Jedi.
Her milkshake went on the table. She sipped it and felt heaven. She gasped.
The two men stared at her and she looked back down.
"What's your name?" One asked.
Sender looked up.
"Sender."
"What brings you to the upper levels?".
Oh, the usual. I crashed into a dumpster and now I don't have a way to get back to my family without help from a Jedi.
"Oh," the second man said, "we're Jedi, we can help."
Does it look like I want your help?
There was silence.
"Well I'm afraid you don't have clearance to come up here."
"What?"She said aloud.
"You will have to come with us anyway."
She didn't care who said that. She was already out the door and running towards a building that looked beaten down and was about to collapse. She rushed into it and fell onto the floor in large breaths.
"Who's there?"A voice inside asked.
What the hell?
"I'm sorry-" she said, "I'll leave I should never have accepted some stupid job."
She almost got up to go but was stopped again by the voice.
"No wait."
She could tell that the voice was a woman's, but she had no idea who it was. She saw a shadow from deeper inside the room.
"Who are you?".
The voice laughed and Sender flinched, "I was a Jedi."
Was?
"I left after I committed a serious crime."
Sender frowned, "What was it?".
The voice was silent.
"I have a blaster," Sender said, "I'm not afraid to kill you with it."
Though she was afraid. The only ever target practice she'd received was from her dad who only managed to hit the target once. But a human was most likely a easier target to hit. Especially if they were averaged size.
"Okay, I'll come out."
The shadow grew smaller and smaller until Sender could see a person. Well, not a person, a different species Sender didn't know about at all. She stared. The woman had greenish skin and diamond tattoos on her cheeks and nose. She had short black hair and dark eyes. Her face was dirty and she was hunched over as if she carried large weight. She obviously used to be beautiful.
"I'm Barriss Offee."
Sender gasped, "But-".
"What the Senate and Jedi don't tell you, is that people can escape from jail. Now even though it's not easy, they don't do very well trying to imprison a Jedi."
Sender stepped back, "Please don't-".
"I won't," Barriss sighed, "The Jedi don't know they're ways, and even though I scared numerous people, all I wanted was to scare them into sense."
"Why did you blame it on that togruta girl?".
Barriss shook her head, "Ashoka was always better than me. Pretty, kind, talented. If she was found guilty anyway, than I wouldn't be here."
Sender frowned, "She didn't deserve to be guilty."
"Yes she did," Barriss growled. "She thought the Jedi were perfect little angels. Well, I'll tell you one thing, they're not. They're stupid no good little freaks who will do anything to steal power from the whole galaxy!".
Sender sighed, "You're not the only one who feels that way you know."
Barriss perked up, "Really?".
"Sure, the entire underworld hates the Jedi," Sender said.
There was a pause as Barriss turned around and took something from a small table. She walked forward and handed Sender a price of paper.
"This is a map of Coruscant."
But the paper was rolled up. When Sender unrolled it, she saw a picture. It was of Barriss and another girl. The girl was Togruta. Barriss smiled.
"That girl is Ashoka Tano. She was my best friend."
Sender didn't understand until Barriss continued.
"This is the map we made when we went exploring Coruscant. We went everywhere. Everywhere except the underworld. We went everywhere, but no where."
Sender looked at the map.
"The picture is the place we first met on Geonosis. She was the informal one at the time. But she saved the day anyway. Typical her."
There was a harsh breath from Barriss, "Sender, I know what it is like to feel forgotten. My reason I rebelled against the Jedi is because I agree with you and your people. The Jedi have forgotten their ways. They don't remember what they fight for. Freedom or peace. They fight for war."
Sender nodded.
Barriss took the picture but left the map in Sender's hands.
"That map is what connected me an Ahsoka. But we're not connected to longer, it's time for someone new to fill the holes. It's time for you to fill them out."
And just like that, Barriss was gone.
Sender didn't even get to ask how she knew her name.
Sender followed the map to elevators that would take her down to the lower levels. She thought about what Barriss said. Was she right?
We're the Jedi flawed?
She went home. Her parents already knew what happened and were thankful she was back in one piece.
She went to her room and hugged her brother though he didn't know why. Then she sat down.
She took the map out and the first thing she wrote, was a drawing shaped as a house in the middle of the paper.
There she wrote: home.
HeyPeople!
I haven't written in a while since I've been busy and haven't any ideasbut this is something I've wanted to write for a very long time. Something that addresses the poverty here on Earth and the real things people face.
The reason I chose now to write it is because it's Christmas break in CA and I feel like COVID had put a lot of us in despair. So anyway...
I hope you enjoy the story and I'll see you all next time.
-fan