Star Wars - Ashi's Shame by Daniel Peyton

Article by R. K. Wigal

Chapter 3: Shadows of the Past

Ashi found himself in a strange room. The meager amount of light was diffused by the haze of smoke. A stench of burnt metal permeated every whiff of air. He could see dead bodies, hundreds of them. All friends he had known for years at the Jedi Temple. The view was not of looking down, but looking to the side. Ashi was right next to the fallen body of an Archives administrator. She had been one of his best friends here, and now her blood was staining his fur.

Death, the sight of it terrified him. The sounds of the screams were horrible. The smell of his friend’s blood made him want to weep like a child. How he hated to see death, to be near it. His worst fear was causing it. Every time he had to kill in the name of justice, he got so sick in his stomach he couldn’t stand the thought of going on.

No, I don’t want to see this, Ashi thought, which echoed throughout the world in his mind.

“You cannot deny what happened.” A new, yet familiar voice answered him.

“But, I can’t stand to see it again. Please, make it go away.” Ashi let his vision go black and saw that candle light again. He fought to keep that candle steady and surrounded by nothing.

The old man’s voice answered, “Not this time, Padawan. You must face reality.” At once the dark realm of the candle faded away and the sight of the great massacre returned.

“No!” Ashi yelled and held up his hands in the dream world, hoping to block the view.

“Ashi?” A small voice said his name.

“The children. By the force, are they safe? I can hear them.” He looked around in hopes of seeing the child that called his name.

“Ashi, I’m behind you.”

He turned around quickly and found little Feng, a Jahalan boy. Instantly he was out of his vision and into the real world. Blinking a few times he cleared the blurriness from his eyes and looked across the planes. The horrid world of death was replaced by the pleasant, wind-swept grasses. He was near the village, in the middle of a field. He hadn’t gone to the waterfall this time, for fear that more raiders would return and he would need to be ready to fight them.

Feng, the boy, held a neatly wrapped cloth in his hands. He was only four years old, but very mature for his age. He held up the package “Mr. Ashi, you missed food. I brought you some.”

Ashi took the bundle and unwrapped it to find some cooked fish packed in trath leaves, a typical lunch for the Jahalan. “Thank you, youngling.”

“I did what you told me to.” Feng eagerly said, “You said to focus my mind and I would find you. And I did.”

“Very good.” Ashi took a bite of the fish, “Have you made sure to have quiet time like I told you?”

“Some times. Momma doesn’t understand, she bathes me sometimes when I say I want to be quiet and do nothing.”

“It’s okay. I'll help you more as you grow up.”

“Feng!” A woman yelled from the village.

“Momma is calling. Bye!” Feng scurried across the grasses back toward the village.

Ashi ate on the fish and watched the little boy leave. He could sense a strong presence of the force within the child. It worried Ashi.

Ashi finished his lunch and returned to his meditation. He still needed to calm his spirit after the experience. He crossed his legs better, flattened his tail across the grasses, and softly put his hands in his lap. He used a different technique for meditation than his normal one. He closed his eyes and let the force wash over him. It was a way of sensing the presence of other Jedi or Sith.  It was also a way to hear and feel everything the force touched around him. It could be overwhelming, but at the same time, it was immensely calming, like sinking into a hot pool of water.

The warmth filled him and the sense of all the lives on this planet sang. The harmony of space in this solar system was like a chord of lovely music. He could see the sun, the other planets and moons, the asteroid belts, and some rogue bodies orbiting the system: a comet here, a few bits of natural space debris there. This was a powerful feeling and yet humbling. The enormity of the universe expanded around him, shrinking him to a mere speck in the cosmos.

His vision changed against his will. He felt as though he were looking out across the planes before him, yet it was dark. A hooded figure stood before him, dark and ominous.

“Who are you?” Ashi asked, not recognizing this figure.

The hooded man laughed and faded away.

“It is time, Ashi.” A different voice spoke to him.

There was a familiar feeling he had thought lost ten years ago. “Master Roh, is that you?”

“Yes, my young Padawan, it is I,” Roh replied.

“Master. Where are you?” An anguish filled Ashi, he knew he saw the body of his fallen master on that fateful day. The idea that Roh could be alive was beyond hope, it was impossible.

Roh’s old voice answered, “I’m with you, young Ashi. It is time. You will face your enemy soon.”

Ashi immediately thought of the infamous Jedi hunters, “I can’t, master. I’m no Jedi.”

“Ashi, the past cannot be changed, but the future can.” Roh was infamous for his cryptic nature, he could be worse than Master Yoda.

“What does that mean?”

“Go, young Padawan, into the mountains and face your foe. Only then can you be ready.”

Ashi let go of his meditation and opened his eyes, “I can’t. I have to leave. A Sith will kill everyone. I'm no match.”

The voice of Roh grew distant as the connection to this meditation broke. “Go to the mountains, there you will find your answers.”

Ashi asked, “Where in the mountains?”

“You will know.” The last words trailed off. Only Ashi’s force sensitive ears could hear them, but he knew that the conversation had ended.

 

* * * * *

Drak sat in the lower commanders office, waiting to be seen. Having filled out the paperwork the previous day, they had summoned him for an interview. The more he sat here, the angrier he got. Not just at the red tape he was tied up in, but the growing need for revenge. His team of Rodian slavers were good and loyal. It was hard to organize a gang like that and not have to worry about them stabbing you in the back. They had sold every kind of person into the slave trade and never gotten caught; no one ever sold out for a bounty. It was a perfect crime life. That Jedi had put an end to his gang and he was eager to get some payback.

“The commander will see you,” A protocol droid announced.

Drak walked through the busy offices to the back room where the lower commander worked. Drak let the door shut behind him and then approached the man seated at the desk. This commander was a typical, lower level desk jockey for the Imperial forces. He was a stop-gap for matters before they got to his superiors.

The man sort of glanced up at the green Rodian, “Are you Drak Ogoro?”

“Yes.”

With a lazy gesture, the commander pointed at a seat. “Please, sit down.”

Drak took the seat and then asked, “Have you looked at my report on the Jedi?”

“Yes. That is why I called you in here. You didn't submit a location for body pick up. The mortician will have to confirm...”

“Body pick up? He's not dead.” Drak interrupted.

The commander quickly pulled up the file on his computer, “You reported a Jedi...oh I see, you only reported a sighting. My apologies. I thought you were bringing in a dead Jedi for the bounty.”

“He killed my crew, I...had to leave. You need to send someone to get him. And I want the bounty for the report.” Drak became more impatient.

“Sir. All bounties for Jedi reportings have been canceled by the Emperor himself. The bounties are now only for bringing in a Jedi, dead or alive.”

Drak angrily pointed at the man, “Your commanding officer, Commander Nellis, asked for a location. I gave you the location.”

“Commander Nellis informed me of your request.” This lower officer spoke with a dry, mono-toned voice, “I followed up with the local Magistrate General. I am sorry to inform you, but we do not send out units to investigate and collect Jedi any longer. If you want to file a 334-W with the Magistrates office, he will see you in...”

Drak slammed his fist on the desk as he got to his feet, “That Jedi killed my crew and you expect me to go back and bring him here?! You have to go get him and you owe me for telling you where he is!”

The commander was not intimidated, he merely glanced over at another computer tablet he had been looking at before the meeting. “Look, Mr. Ogoro, the Empire does not take false reports kindly, and we do not pay just because you want to extort money from us.”

“How dare you! I...”

The commander continued, “Drak Ogoro, suspect in fifteen crimes across five star systems. Spent time in prison for extortion, racketeering, drug trafficking, and prostitute smuggling.”

Drak sat back down, “That has nothing to do with this.”

“I think it has everything to do with this,” The commander calmly stated, “and if you think you can steal money from this office by filing this false report, then you are sadly mistaken. I will not send this report to my superiors at Coruscant, and you would do well to not try this again.”

Drak reached for his blaster, so angry he was going to put a hole in this irritating man’s head. Unfortunately, he was forced to surrender it to the Trooper at the door. Fortunately, this kept him from adding murder to his list.

The commander, seemingly unfazed by this act, pointed at the door. “Now, unless you deliver a body to us for examination, you can leave.”

With a forced calm voice Drak leaned over and asked, “Tell me, what is the bounty for bringing in a dead Jedi?”

The commander sighed and rolled his eyes, but he was obligated to answer. Pulling out a different computer tablet he accessed the bounty database. “Lets see. Any Jedi delivered to an Imperial office, dead or alive, is worth ten million credits. Payable upon full examination and confirmation by the proper authorities.”

Drak's eye's bugged. He had heard rumors it was a lot, but he was informed it was ten thousand credits. “Ten...million. Are you sure?”

“Yes. The information is quite clear on that.”

“Thank you.” Drak turned to leave.

“One more thing, Mr. Ogoro. If you bring us a dead body that turns out not to be a Jedi, there is a special punishment written into the law. You will be subject to a visit by an inquisitor, sent by Lord Vader himself. You do not want that. Now, have a nice day.”

Drak really wanted to shoot this man. He walked out with a plan simmering in his mind.

 

* * * * *

A day had passed and Ashi was getting his stuff packed for the journey. He had to pack lightly, but not forget anything that could prove useful.

Ashi already informed the local chief he was leaving for an unknown amount of time. They wouldn’t be able to rely on him to protect them. The chief gave him some money and extra rations for the journey.

There was one last item he considered. He walked out of the little home he lived in and found the shuttle out back. It was an old transport craft normally attached to a larger cargo ship or carrier. It had light-speed engines, but they weren’t very powerful. The guns were broken and probably wouldn’t work too well. He had thought about completely dismantling it many times. But, it was the only starship in the area. The nearest port city was a few days from here.

He opened the back hatch and found R1 plugged into the charging station. “Hey, wake up.” He slapped the old droids top.

R1 beeped and groaned for a second, then detached the charging arm.

“I’m leaving. I need you to get this ship in running condition.” He checked several small compartments.

R1 beeped and squealed in disgust.

“No, I'm not taking you with me.”

More disgruntled beeping.

“Look, I have to do this alone. Besides, if you’re power cells have any issues out there, I won’t be able to do anything. Just get this ship in working order, make sure the sub-light drive is working for takeoff, and get that light-speed drive operational.”

R1 rolled passed him and beeped in curiosity.

“Because, if that ship that took off warned anyone, they'll send someone after me. I have to get out of here. Smugglers and slavers I can fight off, but an inquisitor hunting a Jedi would kill everyone to get to me.” He finally found the storage unit with a small box in it. He slowly pulled it out and looked at it for a long time before opening it.

R1 checked the box with several sensors and finally beeped in curiosity.

“It’s all I have left of him. I don’t know why I'm bringing it, but I feel it's important to have. Or, maybe I'm just grasping onto the past, not wanting to let go.” He was talking mostly to himself about this. He finally put the small white box in his bag and then tied it shut. Slinging it around one arm he stood up, “Listen to me. Get this ship working, and keep an eye on those sensors.” He turned and walked down the open hatch.

R1 rolled to the edge and beeped at him.

“I’ll be safe. I don’t know where I’m going, but I guess that’s part of the journey. Bye R1.” Ashi left his ship and droid behind as he walked out across the vast grasslands of his home. In the far distance he could see the tall forested mountains looming. Master Roh told him to go toward the mountains and that is exactly what he set out to do.