Spreading the Light

Chapter 1

I woke up late that morning. The night before, I had been investigating the crashes I had heard earlier that day. I had grown used to the sound of speeders racing through the forest but the crashes were new. I discovered about seven crashed speeders, all accompanied by bits of plastoid armor. Well, almost all of them. There were two that didn't, but even these were near ones that did. I also found three seemingly lifeless stormtroopers. There must have been a fight.

Several questions ran through my head. Who were the stormtroopers fighting? Who had won? Had it been the rebellion? Is the rebellion even out there? Had the Empire failed to destroy it? All I knew was that someone was fighting against the Empire, I only wished I could be helping them. I had never liked the Empire, but now I hated them. They had destroyed my home and everything I loved. I had been safe here so long as I stayed away from the Ewoks but when the Empire had shown up and built their shield I was forced to be more careful, especially since I was trapped on the inside.

My questions kept me up late, much later than normal. That's why I woke up late.

I could have slept longer, I wanted too, but the sound of blaster fire was echoing through my dreams. At least, I thought it was a dream. However, when I pulled myself out of bed and poked my head out of the abandoned Ewok hut I called home, I saw stormtroopers running off in the distance. One fell having been struck by a spear -- an Ewok spear.

More questions flooded my mind. I shoved them aside. Knowing that it would be safest if I didn't go out, I grabbed something to eat and went through my escape bag.

My escape bag was the bag I always kept close at hand. It consisted of food, fresh water, a blanket, and a number of little trinkets I wanted to keep as memories. The one I was most drawn to and puzzled by was something that had belonged to my father. It was a black and silver tube nearly a foot in length with some grips on one end and a few buttons, none of which did anything. It wasn't that heavy and it fit comfortably into my hands. I always kept it in my escape bag which, in turn, I always carried with me in the hopes that  I might someday escape the planet.

I had considered stowing away on an Imperial shuttle but had abandoned this idea after I realized they only went to the man-made moon that looked like the Imperial's Death Star. I had watched as they built it and had nicknamed it the Death Star II. I later found out that this was its name.

It was midafternoon when I heard the explosion. Jumping up, I scrambled outside just in time to see the shield generator blow sky high. I knew for a fact that the Ewoks hadn't done this, but who had?

"It must have been the same people who attacked them yesterday," I murmured.

I stared at the empty stretch of forest where the shield generator had stood. Several minutes later, my gaze was pulled to the sky when the Death Star II suddenly transformed into a fireball.

Over the next hour, ships of all different shapes and sizes landed around the Ewok's village. From where I sat I could see fires starting across the forest and, in the darkening sky, fireworks were going off. It had been years since I had seen fireworks so I watched until they stopped. Then, having stood up, I took one step back, ran forward, lept off the platform, caught a vine, and slid down. It was a longer jump than most people I had known could do but I had always been able to jump further and I practiced a lot now that I had lots of free time.

I made my way towards the village, stopping only to examine the figures around the different fires. Many of them were Ewoks but there were also many other species that I hadn't seen in years. There were even some humans in the mix. Part of me wanted to rush out and talk to them, but something held me back. Staying in the shadows, I crept up to the first tree with a platform, grabbed a vine, and climbed into the tree.