Chapter 97
Arriving in the Endor System, I got us into orbit over the Ewok homeworld and set about figuring out a way to triangulate where the kyber crystals were. As Endor was mostly unexplored and no kyber crystals had ever been found here, Anakin and Ahsoka did not know where to start looking. Having previously confirmed that inanimate objects were incapable of detecting Force Energy, I had to turn to less advanced methods to locate my crystals. Downloading a classified map of the world from Starfleet Command, I settled on starting our search at the only Ewok settlement I was familiar with, Bright Tree Village.
"So what are Ewoks exactly? Are they some kind of monsters or are they intelligent creatures?", Roxanne inquired, as I set our shuttle down in a small clearing near our destination.
"They are bipedal, fur covered humanoids that stand about three feet tall.", Anakin answered, as we disembarked the ship, "They are not a very advanced race of people, their society has barely progressed past the Stone Age. If they attack us, be ready for bow and arrows, stone weapons, and surprise attacks from above us."
"Bipedal, fur covered humanoids…", Mylene repeated, trying to visualize them in her mind.
"Dear, they look like large teddy bears from our homeworld. While they may look cute, they are stronger than normal humans.", I explained, as we entered the forest, "We should all stay sharp as they will likely attack us the moment they see us. Their experience with other races is not great…people in this region of space hunt them for their meat."
"They what?! How could they be so cruel to something so adorable!", Mylene pouted, looking at Ahsoka and Anakin, "Have either of you eaten them before!? If you have, I will never forgive you!"
"Miss Mylene, while I agree it is cruel to hunt them, the people of the Outer Rim Territories have little choice but to get food wherever they can. Life is very hard for people out here as the prosperity of the Galactic Republic has not reached them.", Ahsoka answered, with a bitter expression, "They were promised a share of the prosperity, a decent life, and safe place to raise their families…and the Galactic Republic failed them on all fronts. Many worlds are one bad harvest away from mass starvation, and if that happens, the Senate will turn their backs on them like they always have."
"Ahsoka, do not drag them into this!", Anakin scolded her, with a pained look, "They are not citizens of the Republic, nor is there anything they can do about it. This is something the Jedi Order must push hard to fix for the betterment of the country."
"…my apologies…", Ahsoka said, as we pressed onward.
Having read countless reports of situations just like this in the Algrand Empire, the Imperium of Man, and so many other galactic nations…it honestly made me sick to my stomach. These nations had the manpower and technology to make life comfortable and easier for all their constituents, but absolutely refuse too. They reserve such luxuries for the influential, powerful, and wealthy members of society alone. If it were me, I would rise up and take things into my own hands to change things, but the people do not have the strength or willpower to do it.
'It is completely unacceptable for an advanced society to still have normal citizens dying of exposure, hunger, and thirst. They possess the technology to terraform worlds, yet they cannot provide enough clean water and food for their people!', I thought, gritting my teeth in anger, 'If I were in charge, the country would function like a well-oiled machine, and no one would starve or go without clean water. Any noble that fell short of that promise would be immediately executed without exception! I did just that in the former Principality of Fanoss, I can sure as hell do it out here.'
Hearing my own words echo in my head, I began to wonder if this region of the universe would be a better place under my leadership. Those who once called Fanoss home had all but forgotten about the days of the former regime because of my guidance and leadership. They had emergency food stores that could last them years, plenty of fresh, clean water for everyone, and the threat of Sky Pirates was a distant memory. While I could not say everyone was wealthy, every family had enough to take care of themselves and had a bit of savings.
'Maybe…maybe I should do it.', I thought, glancing over at Roxanne, 'I have the power and resources to ensure what happened to us as children does not happen anywhere else.'
As I began to ponder the thought deeply, a loud explosion and several dozen screams snapped me back to reality. Noticing smoke beginning to rise from the village's direction, everyone double timed it to see what was happening.
"Warriors, protect the women and children!!", an older male's voice commanded, as we drew close, "Hold the enemy back!"
"Kill them all, I want that crystal now!!", an older female's voice demanded.
As we entered the village, several dozen Ewoks flew past us, crashing into trees close by. Clutching their children tightly, the female Ewoks shielded them with their bodies as several stone golems lumbered toward them. Clearly unable to run away now, I gave everyone orders hoping to end the conflict quickly.
"Mylene! Roxanne! Take those things out, aim for their heads!", I shouted, "Anakin and Ahsoka, both of you back up the village warriors. They do not have the tools to fight these things effectively. I can sense a strong magical power coming from the golems, the attackers are mages."
"Got it, thanks for the heads up!", Anakin replied, "Let's get going, Ahsoka!"
"Right behind you!", Ahsoka answered, as the two ran in the direction the golems had come from.
Dashing out from behind our cover, Mylene bombarded the golems with Water Magic while Roxanne circled behind the enemy. Getting a running start, Roxanne began leaping from tree to tree trying to gain some height over the golems. Powering on her energy sword when she reached her goal, she effortlessly cut two of them down and used their crumbling backs as a foothold to take down the remaining three with a powerful spinning slash.
"Sometimes you can be a bit of a showoff, you know that right?", I teased Roxanne, as she walked back over to us.
"I do not want to hear that from you. You are always showing off your skills and technology to other people.", Roxanne laughed, with a smile, "Thank you for distracting them for me, Mylene."
"I was honestly trying to destroy them, but I guess distracting will have to do.", Mylene giggled, before looking back at the Ewoks, "Is everyone okay? Does anyone need healing?"
"Who…who are you people…? How do you know our language?", one of them asked, shielding her baby from our view.
"We are here seeking guidance from your elders, our group came running to help when heard the explosions.", I answered, kneeling to their level, "If anyone is hurt, I can use healing magic to mend your wounds."
Nervously stepping forward, a few of the mothers showed me their gruesome wounds. Using my magic to immediately heal them completely, the others quickly came to me for help as well. Once all of them were treated, I inquired who was attacking them as another series of explosions rocked the village.
"Morag the Witch launched another attack on our village, and this time she came herself to take our treasured Sunstar.", one of them explained, "Please help our warriors before it is too late!"
Turning to me for further explanation, I gave my fiancées a shrug as I had no idea who this Morag was. Only remembering the Battle of Endor itself, from the original trilogy, anything before or after that was a complete mystery to me. Assuring the Ewoks that we would lend their warriors aid, three of us ran after the two Jedi.
"HAHA!! DIE!!", an older female cackled, as a third series of explosions sent the Ewok Warriors and the two Jedi flying backward.
"Damn that old hag…!", Anakin spat, spitting out a mouthful of blood, "Victor, we cannot get close to her without being bombarded with explosions."
"Leave it to me.", I said, as my fiancées rushed to administer aid to the Ewoks, "Alright witch, show yourself!"
Stepping through a dust cloud, I expected to find a human or other large humanoid but instead I was met with a two-foot tall, yellow humanoid. Pointing her staff at me, the creature cast an Explosion Spell at me, but I smacked it away with the back of my hand.
"How!? How did you do that!!", Morag hissed, waving her staff at me.
Recognizing the gemstone on the tip of her staff as the one I was looking for, I snatched it out of her hand and plucked the stone out of it. Enraged by this, Morag ran at me demanding I give it back. Kicking her high into the sky, I blasted her with a repulsor blast turning her into nothing more than ash.
'Shit…I should have shout Pull before doing that.', I thought, regretting not thinking of that sooner, "Alright everyone, the show is over."
Blowing the dust away with Wind Magic, I used Healing Magic on everyone to mend their wounds. Picking themselves up off the ground, Anakin and Ahsoka apologized for their pathetic display.
"We uh…kind of underestimated her because of her size.", Ahsoka remarked, with an embarrassed look.
"Do you mind not telling the Jedi Masters about this incident? We will not hear the end of it if this comes to light.", Anakin said, dusting himself off.
"I suppose we can overlook it, but you two should be more cautious in the future. You are fortunate this was not the Rabbit of Caerbannog. If it were, we would be hauling your corpses back to the Jedi Temple.", I stated, hiding my grin behind a solid poker face.
"The Rabbit of Caerbannog?", they inquired, having never heard of such a creature before.
"Reports indicate that it is a monster that resides on one of the fringe worlds of your galaxy. It has the appearance of a small, albino rabbit which it uses to lull its prey into a false sense of security. When they get close to check it out, it lunges for them, rips out their throats, and beginnings eating them bit by bit.", I elaborated further, "A famous king and his knights are said to have fought the beast once, the resulting battle cost the king half of his men forcing them to hastily retreat."
Looking at me carefully, Anakin and Ahsoka were uncertain if I was joking or being serious. Before they could ask for further details, one of the Ewoks stepped forward to speak with us.
"Thank you, humans, for coming to our aid. Without your assistance, I am afraid this time Morag would have done us in.", the elder said, lowering his head, "While tradition usually dictates that the victor gets the spoils, would you kindly consider giving us the Shadowstone? We need its power to help safeguard our people from the Griagh."
"You mean this purple kyber crystal?", I remarked, showing him the stone, "Truth be told, we came to your world hoping to track this crystal and a golden one down."
"Ah, you mean the Sunstar!", he answered, producing the stone from his pocket.
"Yes, that is the one!", I acknowledged.
"That would explain why it became so excited just a short time ago.", he said, with a conflicted look, "As much as I would like to give you the stone, we need it for our protection."
"Hmm…maybe we can come to some arrangement then. If this Griagh you mentioned were to be slain, could you give the Sunstar then?", I inquired.
"We would have no use for it then so I would gladly give it to you.", he promised.
"Very well then, I will temporarily leave the Shadowstone with you. We will return to get both stones once your foe is slain.", I agreed, handing him the kyber crystal, "Where is the entrance to the monster's den?"
Pointing us toward a distant rock face, the elder explained that there was a cave there that would take us to the Griagh. Warning us that it was an absolutely terrifying monster, he urged us to be cautious or consider walking away. Assuring him that we were more than capable of handling it, the five of us started walking toward the cave where this monster lived.
"Now about that rabbit…", Ahsoka stated, getting back on track, "Tell us more about it, and this king you mentioned."
"His name was King Arthur, and his men were called the Knights of the Round Table.", I explained, "The reason they challenged the beast was because they were hoping to find a powerful relic called the Holy Grail…"