ADVISORY: The following chapter contains sensitive material relating to: Violence, shooting, death, and police brutality. Remember to practice self care before, during, and after reading.
Chapter: 128 The Spark
- ACCESSING IMPERIAL NETWORK -
IHC: This is Imperial High Command transmitting to all stations along the Rimma Trade Route and surrounding colonies. By senatorial order of Emperor Palpatine, additional hyperspace shipping lanes to Ghorman are henceforth discontinued. From this moment forward...all resources on Ghorman, neighboring worlds in the sector...and any additional lanes shall be rerouted to support the Imperial Center of Military Research on Scarif.
The halls of the Jedi Temple were a mixture of shadows and iridescent hues. Each shade of glimmering blue reflected off the columns as though the entire structure was underwater. And yet each step Elsa took seemed to echo further...and further. Her eyes adjusted well to the darkness and her ears found themselves overly sensitive to the eerie silence. "H-" she breathed and her voice carried down the hall. "Hello? Is anyone here?"
A set of footsteps from the nearby staircase had Elsa craning her neck upward. She squinted with intrigue, observing a swiveling glimmer at the top of the stairs. A trail of twinkling lights melded together to form a translucent stem. The likes of which held the healthy petals of a blooming blueblossom. As Elsa's eyes widened at the sight, the flower suddenly materialized into an ethereal...human figure. It was distorted and quiet. Shifting and surreal.
"Yelena?" Elsa gasped. "M-Master Yelena?" With each advancing step, the figure vanished more. "No," Elsa pleaded. "Come back. It's been too long!" Instead of ascending the stairs, she dropped to her knees and reached up to the apparition. "Please. I need your guidance, master. I need to hear your words. See your face." The column around Elsa stopped casting a reflection and the figure backed up into the void. "No!" Elsa shouted. As her desperation increased, her feet continued to sink into the floor. The columns sunk with her as the rest of the corridor closed in. "Master! Master Yelena!"
Elsa gasped herself awake, clasping at the soot-stained blankets in her shared tent. Having abruptly risen from slumber, she knew it was a miracle to have even found it in the first place. The people of Trito City might've been suffering, but in their pain they'd developed a deep sense of comradery. The likes of which had them piling on top of one another to sleep. No space was wasted in any overcrowded tent and Elsa truly believed she'd only found sleep because exhaustion had taken over her. But now she'd reached the point of no return.
Her mind was wide awake. Thoughts of her nightmare raced while the rampant, pungent odors of those snoring around her bombarded her nose. Elsa grimaced, accepting that her rest had come to an end. Stumbling out of the tent, she was welcomed by Ghorman's early morning chill. The season had been gruelingly cold with unpredictable snowfalls. And while Elsa embraced such a freeze, she felt for the impoverished around her. Between heavy taxations and the mere cost of food, the populace was barely keeping itself afloat. Civilians carried an angered demeanor about them, and Elsa couldn't even blame them. She wondered how many good people had fallen to darkness in the cruel name of survival.
It'd been days since she'd literally fallen on Ghorman and the weight of her circumstance was taking its toll. Imperial investigators had performed a lackadaisical sweep of the city, but cared little to spend the resources searching for Sigmo's body. The enclosed spaces of the slum district were heightening Elsa's anxieties to the point of which any moment in the snowfields would be a relief. Clutching her cloak, she tucked her hood down further and breathed in whatever slivers of fresh air she could find. The sunrise hadn't arrived yet, which meant Elsa at least didn't have to see how bad the smog truly was.
She coughed amid her stride and ultimately settled by a broken fencepost overlooking the slums. Taking a knee, she observed the stretch of civilization and its dark foothold below. Glancing at the fencepost beside her, she wondered what once was. How a lush farmland may have once laid claim to the territory. Now the Empire's drills plunged and whirred into Ghorman's terrain, sucking life out of the very ground. Over the past few days, Elsa had felt the emptiness...the pain of it all...withering within. She'd endured such sensations on other planets in her life. For the Living Force channeled its way through every step she took. And as she reopened herself to the Force, that connection returned. Yet for as much as Elsa wanted to believe, she still couldn't hear the Force within. Evara, the great Force Wraith that once spoke to her had been dormant for years and Yelena wouldn't even materialize in visions. It had been enough for Elsa to question if she'd ever seen them at all. Peering back at the old fencepost, Elsa noticed a severed plank protruding from the snow.
It was no bigger than her arm, and had Elsa checking to see if anyone was around. With the area clear, she dared to kneel beside it. Taking a deep breath, Elsa shut her eyes and focused on the plank. She pictured it in her mind's eye, just as she had the wires holding Sigmo. Clenching the edges of her cloak, Elsa exhaled once more. Snow started to shift as the plank rattled under her control. Moving to her will, Elsa slowly lifted the plank out of the snow. With each passing moment, Elsa found her concentration faltering. The plank struggled to stay levitating as Elsa furrowed her brows. The more she connected to the Force, the greater pain she felt. The more she saw faces of those she'd lost.
Elsa bit back a whimper and nervously pursed her lips. With a hurried push, she guided the plank into the frosted fence and fastened it into a slot. As she opened her teary eyes, a single whisper caught her completely off guard.
"Wow," a young voice remarked and had Elsa choking in shock. Her head swiveled behind to Avett, who was standing along the slope. With a hallikset instrument slung over her shoulder, the Twi'lek was as confident as she was awestruck. Her gaping mouth fell to silence once Elsa looked her in the eye. "Uhoh," Avett gasped and tried to make a run for it.
"Avett wait!" Elsa yelped while stumbling out of her meditation. "Stop! Stop!"
Avett didn't make it far down the slope before taking a tumble. Her hallikset's strap suddenly snagged on the fencepost during her fall and she struggled to break free. "I'm sorry!" she panicked while wriggling. "I didn't mean to snoop! Please don't hurt me-"
Elsa cautiously approached Avett with open palms raised. "Easy," she spoke calmly. "I'm only going to undo the strap, but please don't run." Looking Avett in the eye as she did so, Elsa freed her from the post.
Still Avett pulled back, causing that momentum to send her plopping on her rear. Hugging her hallikset like a chid, she swallowed hard. "I didn't mean to snoop. Honest! I come out here to play in the mornings before Makari needs me. There's usually no one else up here." She peered down at the instrument and gently strummed its strings. "This was my father's. He used to play such beautiful songs for us. When I use it, I feel like maybe a part of him is still here."
"You shouldn't be out on your own," Elsa partly scolded. "It's not safe out here."
"I'm not on my own though," Avett quipped. "You're here. And speaking of which...How did you-" Avett wildly gestured with her hands as though to lift something up.
Elsa glanced back at the fencepost. "I-...well...You see-"
Avett's light brown eyes suddenly widened as she thought about the stories of old. The great tales Makari and her father would tell about the liberators of Ryloth. "Are you...a Jedi?"
If Elsa's stern stare could tape Avett's mouth shut, it would. Shock took hold as she was unsure how to react. Half of her wanted to acknowledge while the survivalist in her feared for their lives. "I don't follow," Elsa played dumb. "A what?"
"A Je-"
Elsa's impulses kicked in as she physically brought her finger's to Avett's lips. "Maybe we...don't use that word? It's a dangerous one."
"So you are," Avett affirmed and Elsa's silence had her grinning. Suddenly, the teen put together every 'miracle' she'd experienced. From being mysteriously pushed to safety during the raid to Sigmo's body being recovered. "It was you, Menzel-" she inquired and squinted to Elsa. "-wasn't it? You saved me!" Elsa raised a hand, hoping Avett would lower her voice. "It's just us."
"You never know," Elsa worried as her eyes peered across the snowfield.
"Thank you," Avett whispered. "For saving my life. And for bringing Sigmo to us." Realizing her cover was blown, Elsa offered a gentle nod and nothing more. "My father said that the Order saved us all." She bit her lip and hummed while trying to recall a name. "Bibi...Bobi...Bobi-wen?"
A flame sparked in Elsa's heart as she glanced at the Twi'lek. "Obi-wan," she corrected.
"Him!" Avett snapped. "Father said he saved our village from the droids. I wish I could've seen him."
Elsa sighed, losing herself in the moment for a sliver of solace. "There's...a way to," she said. Avett tilted her head with intrigue as Elsa shifted to sit directly across from her. Reaching deep into her satchel, she retrieved her personal holocron. Before accessing it with the Force, Elsa took one more look around and hoped they truly were alone.
Tapping into the Force, Elsa let the floating cube's mechanisms swivel and click as Avett watched in disbelief. The teen gasped as a hologram of Obi-wan projected into view.
"This is Master Obi-wan Kenobi. I regret to report that both our Jedi Order and the Republic have fallen, with the dark shadow of the Empire rising to take their place. This message is a warning and a reminder for any surviving Jedi. Trust in the Force. Do not return to the Temple. That time has passed, and our future is uncertain. Avoid Coruscant. Avoid detection. Be secret... but be strong. We will each be challenged: our trust, our faith, our friendships. But we must persevere and...in time, I believe a new hope will emerge. May the Force be with you. Always."
Elsa was quick to reseal and stash the holocron as Avett remained starstruck. "He's as dashing as I imagined."
"He was," Elsa lamented and Avett slouched.
"Did he...die?"
Elsa sighed, "I don't know. In fact, I don't know what's become of many of us."
"Menzel," Avett said, already prepared to ask another question. Elsa braced herself as the youth leaned in. "Are you here to save us?" Elsa's silence only made the Twi'lek sit closer.
"Avett I-"
"The Jedi saved Ryloth. They can save Ghorman."
"This isn't the Clone Wars," Elsa murmured.
"What does it matter?" Avett scoffed. "Think about what Obi-wan said. And in time, a new hope will emerge. You're the new hope, Menzel!"
"Avett-"
"Once the other's hear you're a Jedi-"
"No!" Elsa snapped and instantly regretted it. Her sharp tone had Avett shrinking back into the snow and clasping her hallikset for safety. The sight of making a young girl cower was almost enough to make Elsa silence herself again. Instead, she shamefully hung her head and lowered her voice. "Avett, Obi-wan also said to be secret, but be strong. The galaxy's changed for all of us, but especially Jedi. We used to stand for peace and justice, but we failed the people we swore to protect. If I reveal myself to all of you, I'd be putting everyone at risk. The Empire would bring about horrific suffering on the people of Ghorman because of me. You'd all be arrested and worse for just knowing who and what I am."
While she understood, Avett shook her head in defiance. "I refuse to believe you aren't here for a reason. Why did you come to Ghorman if not to help us? If you didn't want to show yourself, why save me? Why even get Sigmo's body?" Elsa pursed her lips, unable to form a proper response. "Because you can't stay out of the fight. Just like Sigmo!" An image of Sigmo's bloody, frosted, and strung up corpse flashed in Elsa's mind...making her shudder. Even young Avett could see the suppressed fear in Elsa's eyes. "I'm scared too," she said. "I've been scared ever since I was little. But you give me hope."
"Young one," Elsa began until she noticed Avett's frustration with the age remark. "Avett," she corrected. "I can't just fight the entire Imperial garrison stationed here. It won't even solve anything in the first place."
"So what are we supposed to do?" Avett asked.
Elsa took a deep breath and observed the city before them. No matter how many years had passed, she reached deep within and clasped the ideals that made her a Jedi in the first place. And only then did she respond. "We take a stand. The right way. Avett, the Republic and the Jedi failed because no one listened. Because people lost faith in democracy. If you want true change...the change the Empire's ideals stand for...then we need to bring them to light. Not through violence, but through intellect. Even Obi-wan was called 'The Negotiator' during the Clone Wars." Elsa rose from the slope and helped Avett to her feet. "We'll organize a rally. Gather the concerns of those living in turmoil and then peacefully protest those issues. It is the right of every citizen to challenge the government and ask for fairness."
"But the Empire has responded with violence," Avett worried.
"I'm not justifying it," Elsa assured. "But think of the language that has been spoken back. A group of Ghormans attacked one of their ships and raided supplies. I've seen such desperation before. When I was only an apprentice, I witnessed protests on Rodia during a pandemic. If the Republic had listened to the Rodians' sooner, we could've reached a better resolve."
Avett sighed, loosening the grip on her hallikset. "This is all very scary. But...I trust a Jedi."
Elsa nodded to her. "Let's just keep that as our little secret though." Their conversation was cut short by a sudden raucousness. Irate yells came from the slums as Elsa and Avett hurried back down. What they found raised more concerns as Ghormans were gathered in droves. Frustration took hold as they shoved and shouted at one another. Avett was quick to run to Makari, who was trying to quell a group.
"Sister!" she beckoned. "What's going on."
"What else would it be?" Makari scoffed. "It's the Empire. They've just cut off the rest of our shipping lanes. We and neighboring planets in the sector are no longer a priority."
"Banthashit is what it is!" Grisk roared. His stained and crooked teeth peeked out from his bulky scarf. "They're writing us off as expendable is what they're doing!" With each passing declaration, the crowd bellowed in agreement. "To those fat sleemos in the Senate, we're just losing supplies. Yeah? Well that supplies is food! Medicine! Fresh kriffing blankets! Who's gonna run their fancy factories if we're all dead, eh?"
"Droids," Makari retorted. "Or prisoners forced to do it. We are all expendable to the Empire and they know it, Grisk."
Her coworker glared at her amidst the light snowfall. "Love-" he began. "I've stood by you and your lil sister ever since they took your father, but I'm not quitting. I'm not submitting! You're telling me that our only option is to just exist? Until we all starve or die of disease and then the Empire just replaces the lot of us? What kind of life is that? Are we even alive?" Grisk flailed his ragged, gloved hands across the slums. "Sleeping in stained tents among the whiff of our own piss and shit? This is surviving? No no no." Grisk retrieved a tentpole and raised it as if it were the finest sword in an armory. "I say we grab what we can and take the fight to them!" His rally garnered a mixed following as more disorder ensued.
Makari hung her head, unsure what to make of the chaos. As Elsa observed the arguments, she suddenly felt Avett nudge her. "We need you," the teen whispered.
Elsa swallowed the lump in her throat, feeling as anxious as the first time she'd spoken to the 213th. Knowing what was at stake, she stepped on the same set of battered boxes to reach Grisk's level. "Fighting the Empire won't solve anything," Elsa spoke up. Her voice was strident, yet calming to some.
"Who the hell are you?" Grisk questioned.
"A refugee," Elsa professed. "Like so many of you my world has been taken from me in this changed galaxy. Or maybe I never had it to begin with. And it's just been false promise after false promise. But I've seen where the path you want to take leads. And it only ends in more loss."
Grisk rolled his eyes. "So you'd have us just sit this out too, eh? Await the inevitable and wither away?"
"No," Elsa answered. "We make our voices heard. We challenge the Empire on our terms and call their legislation out. Call out all they stand for. Peaceful protest."
Elsa's proposal also spurred mixed results as Grisk rose to oppose her. "Miss," he coughed. "I don't know what hole you just crawled out of...but these animals don't understand the word peaceful."
"And that mentality is what keeps setting any movement back," Elsa countered. "Someone has to break the cycle." With each passing word of rhetoric, she felt more like herself from years ago. Stepping into her power, she stood tall beneath the cloak. "I will stand to do so."
"I will stand!" Avett blurted. Heads turned as her yellow lekku swished through the crowd. She stood beside Elsa and nodded in agreement. Glancing at her sister, the hesitant Makari obliged. For any option was better than Grisk's offensive approach. Speaking of her coworker, he watched in disbelief as more Ghormans rallied to Elsa's side. Being outnumbered, he understood that there was no victory without support and cautiously joined her ranks as well. "We're with you, Menzel." Avett declared. With so many eyes on her and after years of dormant submission, Elsa had forgotten what it felt like to be a leader.
Trito's morning was unusually quiet. The sounds of industrial work had nearly silenced...for no one from the slum district had shown up for their shift. While factory overseers tried to make sense over the absences, a distant murmur would herald an answer. This gentle hymn grew in size, with a cadence traveling through the city. Its echo reverberated through the streets as a tumultuous march, getting louder with each passing moment.
Citizens in the other districts first thought the military had sent a new garrison in. For what else could possibly create such powerful, proud stomps? But as civilians peered from their frost-coated windows, they observed a sight they'd chosen to forget. One born of their own ignorance and neglect. The slum district had emptied into a single unit, marching as one down the snowy streets. With torn and tattered clothes, this diverse group of species remained united. Although some were barefoot, they persisted on sheer willpower as the snow chilled their soles. Despite being their own version of oppressed citizens, those in the other districts looked at the protesters in shock. While some hid in their homes, others dared to sneak footage on holodevices.
Leading the march, Elsa held the line alongside Avett and Makari. In a twist of events, it was now the eldest Twi'lek sibling who'd become nervous. Makari had to keep steadying her breaths while Avett stood tall. Ever since she'd learned that 'Menzel' was a Jedi, her morale had soared. As for Grisk, he maintained a perpetual sneer as they marched towards the city square.
"Street scum!" a civilian hollered.
"Get back to work!" shouted another. "You're going to get us all in trouble!"
In an effort to drown out the hecklers and rally the protesters, Elsa started a chant. "Liberty for Ghorman! Open the lanes! Liberty for Ghorman! Open the lanes!"
Avett was quick to join, starting a wave of fists raised to the sky. "Liberty for Ghorman! Open the lanes!" Their voices were like battle drums, silencing those who opposed them and carrying on to the square. By the time they reached the rallying point, the Empire had prepared a counter.
Just the sight of snowtroopers marching against them was enough to have some protesters faltering. If Grisk was going to be part of a march, he was going to commit. "Hold the line!" he roared, keeping his comrades strong against the Empire.
The snowtroopers assembled their own barrier, keeping the Ghormans from reaching the square. Their soulless goggles were the only hint of black on their pale and insulated bodies. One of the heavy transports hovered behind the unit, dispensing even more troopers as backfill. An officer who couldn't even be bothered to freeze his boots and exit the vehicle, spoke through the speakers. "This is an illegal gathering! Disperse immediately!"
Silence fell across the street as Elsa felt concerned eyes on her. So she boldly spoke up, hoping others would follow her. "The Empire promises to protect its people," she said. "But the people of Ghorman are dying!"
"We're starving!" someone shouted behind her.
"We're being worked to the bone and you cut off our bloody lanes!" Grisk growled.
"The Empire is failing its people," Elsa declared as others spoke their needs. "The promises have failed. Ghorman is a priority. Ghorman has rights!"
"This is an illegal gathering!" the officer yelled again as if nothing they said mattered. "Disperse now! Those of you who have shifts in the factories are to report to them effective immediately!"
"Ghorman has rights!" Makari brought her own voice to light and rallied others to shout with her. "And no matter who you replace us with, you cannot take that away. We are alive! We are alive!"
The chant grew and grew as Avett found inspiration in her big sister. She couldn't help but smile, seeing her father living on in Makari. Feeling motivated, she took the chant a step further. "We are alive!" Avett shouted at the top of her lungs. She boldly unstrapped her father's hallikset and strummed a powerful tune. Whatever melody she played in protest sounded so much better in her mind, because the world around her seemed to stop. A sharp crackle echoed through the cold air as wood chips splintered upward. By the time Avett felt the burning warmth, a blaster bolt had already gone through the hallikset and into her chest. Screams were already sounding before she hit the snowy ground.
Makari couldn't even bring herself to yell her sister's name, and instead unleashed a bloodcurdling scream. She fell to her knees and scooped up the trembling Avett. Terror gripped Elsa as any bravado and confidence she'd rebuilt cracked. "Imperial bastards!" Grisk roared, tears in his eyes. "She's just a kid! She's just a little girl!"
"Kid had a gun!" the snowtrooper brayed, nervousness in his tone as his smoking rifle shook.
"It's a bloody instrument!" Grisk screamed, his voice straining in grief as he gestured to the broken hallikset. His sneer deepened as he listened to Makari's cries. The crowd grew restless while Elsa tried to regain control.
"Hold!" she choked up. "Everyone...hold!"
"Disperse and return to duties!" the officer coldly declared. "Now!"
Fed up with it all, Grisk took one last look at what had become of Avett. Seeing an innocent shot by Imperials solidified the only language they spoke, and he chose to answer. Unzipping his coat, he revealed the tentpole he'd brought along with him. "Grisk," Elsa worried. "Don't-"
"Has the Empire not taken enough from us?" he growled. "Follow me!"
Before Elsa could gain any control back, Grisk led the masses in an all out charge towards the troopers. The protestors became rioters...all of which didn't make it to the point of contact before reaching blaster bolts. The snowtroopers were quick to launch defensive countermeasures, opening fire and gunning down entire rows of Ghormans. The rest of the civilians immediately broke ranks, scattering and fleeing back down the street. The snowtroopers kept firing, shooting people in the back as they fell atop one another. Grisk's body lay facedown in the snow, piled with those who'd taken a final charge. Those fleeing in the panic stepped on the fragments of Avett's hallikset, sending wooden pieces crunching everywhere. Betwixt the chaos, Elsa helped Makari carry Avett out of the street. They kept their heads down as red lasers darted overhead. In those moments, Elsa felt as frightened as she did during the temple attack. Any semblance of leadership was gone as the need to survive took precedence.
The slums were hauntingly silent as blasterfire rang out through different parts of the city. The Empire mercilessly hunted down the protest's scattered remnants while Elsa and her companions laid low. Returning to their tent, Makari set Avett down. "Be still," she assured. "It's going to be alright, Little Sun." Even as her little sister barely moved. Makari rummaged through a knapsack for medicine while Elsa held Avett's tired hand.
Elsa couldn't bring herself to look at the blaster wound in the teen's chest and instead looked at a far worse sight. Avett's gaze was full of brokenness and disappointment. Not once did she look away from Elsa as she uttered, "Why?"
"Try not to talk," Makari insisted through her panic. Her pace quickened as she struggled to find any form of medicine.
"Why, Menzel?"
"Avett! Stop talking!" Makari wept. She'd searched the same three empty spots, knowing there was no medicine and yet hoping some would magically appear. "Please...just-" Hearing Avett's whimpers had Makari rushing back to her. "I'm here, sis. I'm not going anywhere. We're in this together, remember?"
Still, Avett kept looking at Elsa. "You're...a Jedi. Why didn't...you help us?" she wheezed.
Makari was too focused on Avett to fully listen to the revelation about Elsa. Without medicine, all she could do was grab the Kalikori...the only possession they had left. "Little Sun," she sniffled while pointing at carvings. "Look. Grandmother...and grandfather...and-"
"Mother-"
"That's right," Makari said.
"No, Mak." Avett whispered as her listing eyes widened. "Mother. She's-" Despite being in horrendous pain, a blissful smile formed on her lips. "She's beautiful." Avett's smile dropped as her grip on Makari's hand loosened. And as her head went limp, Makari broke down into hysterics.
As Elsa stood over the grieving sister, she found herself reliving the deaths of everyone she'd lost. Tears streamed from her cheeks as she barely found breath to say, "I'm sorry."
"It should've been you," Makari croaked. Elsa froze as the Twi'lek looked up. Her eyes were red and teary as she still cradled her sister's corpse. "This was your idea Jedi. Avett trusted you. Walked this path with you. She was innocent! You should be dead! Not her!"
Elsa's heart nearly stopped at the words as she backed out of the tent. The tears fled her eyes and yet no sound left her lips. By choosing to walk the path of the Jedi, she had only caused more death and destruction. Her principles...her reawakened ideologies...had killed innocents. The Force...the Jedi Code...had paved more destruction in this changed galaxy...and Elsa saw herself as the vessel for all of it.
She ran from those slums and into the fields. Even when out of range, Elsa could still hear Makari's heartbreaking wails. All culminating to the solemn thoughts within as Elsa declared to herself, "I renounce the Force...I renounce the Code. For I am a failure...a monster. I am no Jedi."
Author's Note: Thank you so much for reading this week's chapter! I'll see you next time for the beginning of ACT III - KRISTOFF.
Long Live Imagination and May the Force be with You,
~ Sparks