Chapter 14
"It's a Gorax!" In the morning light, Gary's words fail to describe the enormity of the black-furred creature. Towering over them, Trop is five or six times their size, with a glossy black mane swaying with each step. Even its fur can't hide the scars covering its broad torso. In one hand, it holds a tree trunk expanding to the base from where he uprooted it. The Gorax inhales with a gush of wind, then roars with such power, the commander staggers back a step.
"Trop!" The Dulok crowd howls with glee, chanting, "Trop! Trop!"
"TROP!" The Gorax replies with outstretched arms, reveling in their adoration.
"Remember that bad feeling I had?" Gary demands, pointing desperately. "This it is!"
"I'll admit you're right," the commander laughs nervously. "Got any bright ideas?"
"Is there an AT-AT hidden nearby?"
"No, and I don't think an AT-AT is big enough either."
"You're not making me feel better!" Gary looks around anxiously. "The door beyond it is open. Should we make a run for it?"
"No one gets left behind, trooper."
"Except us!" Gary argues, then motions at Hera, "-and they're not imperials!"
"I'll get its attention," the commander explains. "Help her drag the Sullustan to cover! Then we'll wear it down by forcing it to chase us around the pillars."
"I hate your plan!" Gary complains as he rushes to Hera's side.
The commander blasts the Gorax twice, hitting it in the chest. Trop unleashes another ear-shattering roar as the commander retreats around a column. The sound rattles him to the bone; even his armor fails to protect him from behind the column.
He peeks around one side. The Gorax swings, nailing the pillar he hides behind, shifting its foundation. Dirt and pebbles assail the stormtrooper, only tentatively holding onto the tree roots. He runs to the opposite side, only to have the Gorax surprise him there. He barely rolls away from one stomp before the creature swings its club again. It misses him by inches, and roots lash him anyway. He scrambles backward and dodges away from a massive paw snatching at him. Frustration incites a growl, and the Gorax raises its paw to squash him.
The commander aims, blasting Trop's hand three times. It jerks its paw back and cries out before shaking it off. I can't keep this up. It only has to get lucky once! He rolls to his feet and sprints to the nearest pillar. BAM, BAM, BAM, the club strikes thunderously behind him.
The crowd encourages Trop as the commander hides behind the post, sighing in relief. The Gorax jumps straight over it, landing in front of him. Horrified, he fires in panic. The Gorax yanks its leg away, turning around angrily. Trop takes the club in both hands and swings. Unable to escape, he drops flat. The club whooshes over the commander, slamming the pillar and launching it into the stands. It crushes dozens of Dulok to the stunned silence of the crowd.
Trop stares, giving the commander a moment to escape. Unfortunately, his movement draws the Gorax's gaze, and the monster roars again. The commander glances over his shoulder, only to trip on a Dulok defeated earlier. The fatal error sends him tumbling to the ground with Trop right behind him. The Gorax raises a gigantic foot to crush him.
A barrage of blasterfire strikes Trop from behind. Hera and Gary unleash a stream of bolts into its back, causing his foot to crash nearby. The creature stumbles before spinning on them, growling with fury before it leaps through the air. Trop mashes the arena wall, barely missing Hera, and kicks dirt at Gary. The stones knock him down, forcing Gary to cover his face as he's pelted. He crawls to his feet, fleeing toward the opposite end of the arena. Hera races towards one of the pillars before firing a few more times.
Trop raises a hand to protect himself. The commander blasts Trop's ankle again, pulling its attention from Hera. It turns, but Gary shoots its ear. The ear flutters, and Trop covers it.
"I think we're wearing it down," Hera yells.
Angrily, the Gorax steps closer to Gary and raises its hand, slamming it down on him.
"Gary!" The commander screams.
"No!" Hera cries.
"Gary," Urgah wails from the stands.
Gary pops out from between two fingers, sprinting towards the gate, "I'm still alive!"
"Dank Farrik!" Hera mutters in disbelief, but the commander can only laugh. The Gorax doesn't quit, pursuing him. The commander yells to Hera, "Shoot his ankle, just above the heel!"
He fires twice, clicks to auto, and peppers the leg with bolts—Hera blasts with both hands on her pistol. Trop cries out, collapsing to a knee. Then in a fit, the Gorax hurls its club at them. It spins round and round before the commander drops to the ground, and Hera throws herself behind a pillar. The club bounces off her column, slamming the arena wall before halting with the handle leading up to the seating.
Gary blasts an ear again, causing the Gorax to roar furiously. It spins on its knee to face him, and the commander raises his rifle. It clicks, signaling it's empty. Instead of reloading, he pulls his ax and charges a dozen feet forward for momentum. Then he hurls it, whirling end over end until it sinks into Trop's back. The commander stares, unable to believe he hit.
Trop futilely reaches for the ax, but his sheer size makes it unreachable. Once it realizes that, the Gorax presses its back against a towering gate and wiggles vigorously. When the ax comes free, Trop sighs in relief. Then hate fills its eyes. Pushing off the door, bending it in the process, the Gorax rises again. Its first step is tentative, but soon its confidence returns.
"What does it take to kill it?" Hera asks. She fires, but the Gorax protects its face again and blasts to its chest seem harmless. The commander reloads and switches back to single, shooting its hand. It twitches but continues. He pricks it with blasterfire, but the Gorax ignores him. Hera runs one way, and the commander sprints to the other. It hesitates until deciding to follow her. She dodges behind a spiked column when Trop kicks rocks at her.
"Commander, I got an idea! " Gary yells, returning from beyond the doors. He hurls a thermal detonator through the air. "Make it roar!"
The commander catches it, then looks at the Gorax, swatting at general Syndulla while she sprints towards another post. Aiming, he shoots it in the ear, drawing its ire with its gaze.
The commander takes a few bold steps forward before roaring its name. The Gorax's lips peel back, he snarls before bellowing, "TROP!"
The commander clicks the grenade and throws it in Trop's mouth. It bounces, and Trop swallows it before taking a few steps closer. For a heartbeat, the commander is horrified that he failed to trigger it. Or worse, the grenade had no effect!
The thump is muffled. Trop shudders, coughing smoke, and a gasp erupts from the Duloks. The Gorax grabs its stomach even as it falls on its butt, leaning against the stadium wall. Trop appears confused, a child with a bellyache and unable to understand why. Sniffling, then sobbing, tears roll down its cheeks. The enormous creature rises to its feet weakly, still holding its stomach, and shuffles to the exit. Its blubbering carries long after it passes beyond their sight.
"I can't believe we're alive," Hera cheers before looking at them carefully. "What now?"
"I hope it's not going to get its mother," Gary says, still looking towards the gates.
"I want a word with the king," the commander growls.
He slings his rifle, climbs onto the tree trunk club, and uses it to reach the seats. A warrior thrusts a spear at him. He grabs it and backhands, then shoves the Dulok over the wall. The commander presses forward, and a Dulok jumps in his path dramatically. He blocks an overhead blow, uppercuts it, then socks it in the jaw. He throws that Dulok in the arena too.
"Commander!" Gary yells, before tossing the Ewok ax to him. It's an impossible throw, twenty paces flung underhanded, but somehow it lands perfectly in his hand. The commander doesn't waste time thinking about it. Instantly, his anger flares, and he feels complete with it.
The change in the Duloks is immediate. They shrink away from him while the rest of the tribe point and cry out. Their fear opens a path directly to king Gorneesh. The commander doesn't even pick up speed; he marches up to Gorneesh, who searches for help.
"You have Ruin!" King Gorneesh fidgets. "You killed Chief Kushi. I like you!"
The commander is so furious, he responds before thinking, "I like me too!"
He winces when he realizes what he said. The king's face creases with confusion, trying to puzzle out the meaning behind his words.
"What a great warrior," Urgah interrupts, whispering intimately. "Maybe a great king."
Gorneesh throws a cross look at her, but it evaporates when the commander moves closer. Gorneesh raises his arms defensively, whimpering as he lifts the ax.
"Don't kill him, commander," Hera calls, arriving from behind him. The Sullustan and the Human hang on each other, and Hera struggles to support them. "He's not worth it."
"Yes, he is!" Gary insists. Their voices pierce his fury, barely. The commander clenches his hand into a fist, struggling with his temper. Then a thought occurs, "Who is the witch?"
"Charal," the king nods, happy with the change in direction. "She sees things far away. Once, she could change into a bird and fly. Now, she trapped between bird and human."
The commander seizes him by the throat, snarling, "Do you think I'm stupid?"
"NO! It's true!" Gorneesh claims, pointing at the remains of the Deathstar. "Our shamans saw it. It drove them mad! They warned a dark god comes with a new moon and war."
Urgah moves closer, too close, and strokes his arm. She whispers, "The witch was trapped here for many years with a warband. Then her magic broke, trapping her as a bird until HE came, robed in shadows. Our shamans warned of dark omens, of a burning moon. There it is, burning in the sky above us. She angered HIM, and as punishment, he trapped her like this."
The commander looks up slowly because doubt fills his heart. In the bright morning light, he knows where to find the ruins of the Deathstar. He wonders, is it possible?
"So, wait," Gary inquires. "Vader did this?"
"I don't believe so," the commander shakes his head. "Lord Vader is cruel enough, but it's too nuanced. He'd have burnt half the forest down…but it may have been an inquisitor."
"There are rumors among the rebels," Hera begins cautiously. "Some say the emperor is more powerful than Vader."
Gary's tone is skeptical, "You're saying a senator from Naboo is more powerful than the man that destroyed the Jedi Order? Are you listening to yourself?"
"How else could he hold Vader's leash?" Hera persists. "I saw him from a distance, and even then, he was terrifying! Do you think he'd bow to any normal person?"
Suddenly, almost simultaneously, the commander and Gary's radio is full of binary from Vee. The commander recognizes his beeps immediately, even if he doesn't understand. The coppery protocol droid cries out, "Oh no! Incoming debris from space!"
Hera's radio beeps before a rebel warns, "General Syndulla! A large cluster of debris has slipped by our cruisers, and it's projected to strike your region! Take cover immediately!"