So as I mentioned in my last post, a Star Wars-themed discord server that I’m part of announced a three-round writing contest. The second round ended the other day, and this time, between myself and two other contestants, I came in last place (with a score of 7.75/10). That said, I still want to share my story from that round here.
There Is No Try
“Pay attention, you must!” Master Yoda pointed in my direction, “When gone, am I, the last of the Jedi will you be.”
But I knew that wasn’t true. It had only been five years since the Jedi order fell, and I knew there were plenty of other survivors out there, hiding from the ever-growing evil Empire, all across the galaxy…
I raised an eyebrow at him, “Is that just something you say to people to motivate them?”
He didn’t answer. Instead, the little green man pointed to a large boulder on his left, “Your next challenge, young one.”
I recoiled at the sight of the natural structure, taller than I even was. Up until then, I had only lifted objects that were a mere fraction of that size.
“Alright,” I sighed. “I’ll try.”
“No,” the ancient one shook his head. “No try! Do, or do not… There is no try!”
I couldn’t help but scoff, “What’s that supposed to mean? Whatever happened to trying your best?”
“By saying try, quit before even beginning, you have.”
“That’s not true! I-” But before I could even finish, I suddenly felt a strange, unnerving sensation all around me. A tremor in the Force. I looked around at the misty swamp that surrounded us, “Something’s not right… I feel cold.”
Yoda pointed to a manhole on the ground, about a dozen feet away, “That place… Strong with the dark side of the Force, it is. A domain of evil… And in it you must go.”
I looked at the strange cave entrance, and then back at him, “What’s in there?”
“Only what you take with you.”
I wanted to ask so much more, but refrained. This wasn’t the same Yoda I once knew, back when I was just a youngling at the Jedi temple. That Yoda told me time and time again that someday I would be assigned a Master, and that together we would travel the galaxy, bringing peace to every world we would visit, all while unlocking more and more secrets of the Force. That Yoda was long gone. The fall of the order had changed him…
I had spent years trying to find him, the wisest of all Jedi, after hearing rumors that he was still alive. Whomever I found instead was someone else. You would think trauma wouldn’t have such an impact on a being who had been alive for nearly a millennium. Guess we all have a breaking point…
But who could blame him, really? He was the grand master. Every Jedi was once his student, at some point or another. One could only imagine what he felt when the purge happened…
So I didn’t ask any further questions. I simply did as he requested, and made my way towards the manhole. As I dropped into the cave below, the first thing I noticed was more mist, identical to that of the surface, still somehow illuminated.
Suddenly, a serpent-like creature, hissing as loudly as it could, slithered out of the fog, towards me. To defend myself, I raised my arm towards it. Tapping into the Force, I gained full control of the serpent’s body, which then began to slowly rise into the air, still a few feet away from me.
As I tapped deeper and deeper into the Force, I began to feel the creature’s throat through my mind. For a second, I thought about choking it, but held myself back. I then let it go, allowing it to drop back down to the ground. Immediately after, the creature turned itself around, darting straight back into the fog from which it came.
A few moments later, I began to hear human voices, a man and a woman, coming from the very same mist. My curiosity getting the best of me, I walked deeper in, until I was surrounded entirely by the heavy steam. For a second, my eyes watered up, but soon cleared. As my vision restored itself, I noticed a middle-aged couple, the source of the voices, now standing before me. I didn’t know their names, yet they seemed familiar…
They continued their argument, staring directly at one another, completely oblivious to my presence. This was clearly a vision of another place and time…
“Ever since we gave the baby to the Jedi you’ve become more and more of a mess,” the woman said. “If you keep chasing this crazy music dream of yours we’ll end up on the streets! I can barely support myself with my job, let alone the both of us!”
“I know,” the man sighed. “I’ll find a way to keep us stable. Please, just let me try!”
And then, out of nowhere, the vision vanished, replaced by a new vision, deeper in the mist. I walked forward once more, only to find the same couple, now slightly older, dressed in dirty rags and sitting down. They each had a pan in their hands for collecting change. They were homeless…
The woman looked over to the man, placing a hand on his shoulder, “It’s okay. You tried.”
He shook his head, “No… No I didn’t… Not really.”
SIX YEARS EARLIER
Yoda wandered through the desert, unsure where he would arrive…
Centuries of training had allowed him to see the future far more clearly than most other Jedi could, but the last few years had been different. The war had allowed the dark side to grow stronger, clouding his vision…
His ship had been hit by the enemy in the middle of the air, causing him to be separated from his battalion. Now here he was, trying to find them… So on and on he went, growing more tired with each and every step, slipping into moments of unconsciousness. Even beings strong in the Force like him could still succumb to the challenges that come with age…
Nevertheless, he trekked onward, until he noticed a tall, hooded figure in dark robes, seemingly appearing out of nowhere. Was this figure really there? Was it an illusion from the dark side? A guiding vision from the Force itself? Perhaps nothing more than a mirage? No matter what it was, Yoda knew he had to face it, so onward he still went, until he was merely a few feet away from his new acquaintance of the desert.
The figure pulled back their hood, revealing the face of an elderly human male, complete with a white beard and slicked-back hair.
“Dooku…” Yoda sighed at the sight of his fallen pupil.
“We meet again, Master.” Dooku smiled, tauntingly, “The end of the war is near, Yoda, and with it, the end of the Jedi. For you, all is lost!”
Yoda closed his eyes for a few moments, attempting yet again to see the future, to see if what his former apprentice had been saying was true. Alas, he saw nothing. Only black. He opened his eyes again, looking straight at the man he once thought of like family. Foolishly, he hoped to see the good-spirited student he used to know. Instead, he only saw a being of pure evil. An individual who had been changed, right to their very core.
Dooku went on, “You seem distressed, old friend. What seems to be the trouble? Are you sad that you failed to make me like you?”
“No,” the ancient Jedi shook his head. “Sad that I tried.”
Click here to read my story from Round 1!
Click here to read my story from Round 3!
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