I couldn't believe it. Standing there and receiving some sweet purple milk as a greeting were Obi-Wan Kenobi and Qui-Gon Jinn in the flesh. With their identities no doubt confirmed in my mind, I pushed my way through the crowd, ignoring the rebukes from my elders as I did.

  Once I was close enough to hear what they were saying, I listened intently as the vilge elder, Kil'Nah, spoke.

  "Apologies, strangers, I'm sure you are tired from your journey and do not wish to be bothered with us poor country folk. You see, you've caught us in the middle of our harvest festival. If you feel so inclined, you're welcome to join us!" That's Kil'Nah for you, a little too trusting for my tastes, but he was a hospitable man, and since I knew who these 'strangers' were, it wasn't a problem.

  "My Padawan and I would be honored to join you in your festivities; it would be quite rude not to. Isn't that right, Obi-Wan?" Obi-Wan nodded with a grin on his face, and everyone cheered. As incredible as it was to see the two of them, I couldn't help but wonder why they were even here to begin with. Merchants only come here to trade for our milk, and if folks do end up on our pnet, it's usually for sightseeing or because they have gotten lost.

  Curiosity got the better of me, and I attempted to approach the duo but was stopped short with a death gre by Kil'Nah. As the festival resumed, he limped over to me and ushered us over to a less crowded part of the vilge.

  "I know exactly what you're thinking, Jak. And you already know the answer." Kil'Nah grumbled in my face.

  "Do you know who they are?" I asked, subtly pointing over to Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan talking to some of the other elders as other vilgers piled trays full of meat and vegetables onto the table next to them.

  "Indeed, they are Jedi. They're here on a mission to look for someone. I will be aiding them ter, but for now, they are taking some time to rex. Perhaps if you'd been here instead of gallivanting around the mountains, you'd know this already, like everyone else. Look, Jak, I know things have been hard for you since your parents died, but running from your home won't fix things." His voice softened as he said that st part.

  He wasn't wrong, my parents were...everything to me. It sounds silly, I mean, what kid wouldn't say that? However, the amount of unconditional love that they exuded was extraordinary, and honestly, they helped make me a far better person in this life compared to my st. But now, with them gone, living alone in my tiny house on this isoted pnet was starting to become too much to bear. And I wish the elders would understand that. I knew it was a cultural thing for the Torkekians that all of us were one giant family, regardless of being reted or not. Still, it's not that I was unhappy here, nor did I hate my existence on this pnet. But I knew what the wider gaxy had to offer, and I'd be a fool not to take full advantage of the life that was given to me.

  As far as I was concerned, those two Jedi were my ticket out of this pce. And while yes, I did feel guilty for wanting to leave my home and my people. Whatever desire I had to stay here, to be content here my entire life, died with my parents 10 years ago.

  "I'm going to talk to them," I said sternly as Kil'Nah's face contorted with frustration.

  "You will NOT! This is your home, enough of these fantasies, boy! You have no idea what it's like out in the rest of the gaxy."

  "And you do?" I countered. He sputtered that I should 'watch my tongue' when speaking to him.

  "You think the Holonet is a good representation of what it's like out there in the gaxy? It's not! You'll board their ship, get dropped off on some pnet, and next thing you know, you'll end up dead thanks to your naivete!"

  "I'm strong, elder, I can take care of myself."

  "Strong, yes. Mature, I think not!" I sighed. It was times like these when I wished I could expin to him that I did know what the greater gaxy was like. Perhaps things were different in this variant Star Wars universe, but if Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon were here, surely the Jedi and the Republic wouldn't be much different.

  Right?

  Who knows, but odds were that if I tried to expin that I was some chump named Ben that died like a moron only to be reincarnated with a huge amount of knowledge about this gaxy, I'd never be granted permission to leave this pce for sounding like a crazy person.

  Before we could argue further, there were several loud crashes and the tell-tale roars from multiple rampaging Gorr'ak's. I looked over at the Jedi who silently nodded at each other before igniting an emerald green and sapphire blue lightsaber, respectively. With a speed greater than my own, they raced around the vilge to dispatch the Gorr'ak's.

  When I tried to head towards the nearest commotion, Kil'Nah pced a hand on my shoulder and gripped it tightly.

  "Let them handle it, Jak. You will not use this as an excuse to garner their favor to leave this pnet; it is written all over your face." He narrowed his eyes and got right in my face. "I forbid it." I swatted away his hand with ease and shook my head.

  "I love you, old man, I love this vilge, and I love this pnet. Please, don't doubt that for a second. But...I'm leaving with or without your blessing. And you're insane if you think I won't protect the vilge from a few stupid animals."

  "That's if they'll take you, Jak. Don't be foolish, listen to me! You're safe here with people who care about you. Is that not enough? You're only a child!" Guilt washed over me as he said this. It looks like I've underestimated how strongly Torkekians felt about one of their own leaving their home willingly.

  "Sorry, but I've got to try." I turned and dashed towards the sound of the nearest Gorr'ak while Kil'Nah screamed a few choice obscenities at me for my obstinate behavior.

  When I found the Gorr'ak, it was looming over the vilge baker, Morah, a kind elderly woman who was screaming for help while waving a stick around in the air wildly in a meager attempt to frighten the creature. Picking up a rock, I used the Force to chuck it as hard as I could at its face. Unfortunately, my aim sucked and while I did knock it off bance by hitting it on one of its armored stomach ptes, it was enough to take its attention away from Morah and onto me. With another guttural roar, it charged towards me as I filled my body with as much of the Force as I could before running towards it and smming my fist into the side of its face.

  I then dodged a few errant swipes of its cws before jumping and kneeing it in the jaw, except something was off. Normally, two blows at my max strength would have been enough to scare a Gorr'ak off, but this one seemed to shrug off my blows rather quickly.

  Too quickly for my liking.

  Furthermore, based on how numb my leg and arm had become after colliding with its body, it was clear its skin was almost as hard as its armored pting. Fucking great. Looks like Star Wars lore YouTubers weren't kidding when they said an untrained Force user was considered a child to a true Jedi or Sith. Still, this Gorr'ak wasn't average, not by a long shot.

  More wary now at this point, I realized I would need a weapon to take this thing on. So, as it lunged at me with serrated teeth and dagger-like cws, I dodged with practiced ease, narrowly avoiding getting eviscerated. And then I saw it, a loose metal rod amongst the rubble from when the Gorr'ak must've smmed into a nearby building. Picking it up, I quickly dodged another cw swipe before winding up the rod like a baseball bat and smming it into the Gorr’ak's side.

  I heard a sickening crack and internally cheered, knowing I'd done some damage. I celebrated too early, however, as it rebounded angrier than ever, and rushed me despite its injury. Startled by this dispy, I stumbled back and fell to the ground, barely able to get the rod between me and its mouth. It used its strong paws to push down on the rod as it continued to growl and bite down on it. I had to use all of my strength and summon every ounce of the Force as I could just to keep it from crushing me.

  Despite my best efforts, I was losing this contest of strength fast. I'd gotten cocky, thinking just because the Force was with me that I was a match for anything save a Jedi.

  How wrong I was.

  In a st-ditch effort, I pushed up and to the side to prevent myself from getting crushed and to roll away from danger. My little gambit was successful, although it came at a cost. I was too slow to evade a quick swipe from its cws, and it managed to scrape its cwed paw down my back. I screamed in pain as I struggled to get to my feet, as I felt the warm blood ooze out of my body.

  With my weapon gone, my chance of surviving this encounter was slim, but I couldn't just run. I could see several vilgers hiding, attempting to stay silent so as not to draw the Gorr'aks' attention. They were counting on me to take care of it, and if I wanted to prove to them that I could handle myself, I'd have to win.

  "Alright, you big fucking bear, come get some!" I shouted, to which the beast returned with a roar of its own. We charged one another yet again, except this time I unclipped the Yactha bottle from my hip and threw it at its face, shattering the bottle and blinding it momentarily. I dodged to the side and made a mad dash for the metal rod again.

  Just as it spun around, I smmed the rod into the side of its head, again and again and again.

  Still, it stood tall.

  "Just go down already!" I screamed. It ignored one more crack at its head and hurled its body at me with its cws extended, sshing them across my chest. I clutched my midsection and waved the rod around to keep it at bay just as Morah had done minutes earlier. My strength was waning, I was losing blood fast, and my eyesight had gotten blurry.

  So, this is how it ends, huh?

  Killed by an animal I assumed was beneath me.

  "On me, Padawan!" I heard Qui-Gon's voice ring out behind me as the two Jedi blitzed past me to engage the Gorr'ak. Feeling that the vilgers would be safe now, I allowed myself to fall to my knees as I started to lose consciousness. Before I did, I felt a few pairs of hands grab me gently from behind and on my side, telling me that I had done enough.

  Everything went bck after that.