Young Gedu adjusted the cloth mask wrapped around his mouth and nose, then stepped carefully into the burning refuse and pushed the burning vaporator deeper into the fire. He leaped back quickly as the falling machinery kicked up a cloud of sparks and smoke. Stepping aside, he motioned for one of the other children to throw some more chems onto the fire to get it burning a little better.

“Gedu! Tiggi etu diggigie uatu diggi! Diggi!”

“Yes, sir,” said Gedu, nodding to the Jawa overseer.

Gedu made his way over to another pile of burning scrap. It was early in the day, but already the suns of Tatooine were punishing the world. He could hardly see the blue sky, but only looked straight ahead, his eyes slitted as if angry. He was not angry. In fact, Gedu hardly felt anything at all, but only moved from one task to the next.

Gedu tried his best not to breathe in the stench of burning refuse and chems, but even with a mask it was impossible. It was his job to gather the garbage after the scavengers had picked out all the easy finds, and after burning it, to sort through and pull out whatever bits of metal he could from the ash and melted plastic. He was good at his job, but he looked forward to becoming an actual scavenger as soon as he was old enough. His mother called him her Little Man, and he was proud to help out. But he knew that if he could sort through the fresh piles of garbage with the other grownups, then he could really bring in some money that would help his family.

“You what?!”

Gedu’s attention was drawn to one of the overseers, a big shirtless Gamorrean. The green brute stood over one of Gedu’s teammates, a young boy who had gone almost as green as the Gamorrean.

“I’m sick, sir. I think I’m… I just, my head, it’s-”

“You wanna go home, then? You don’t get paid if you don’t put in a full day!”

Gedu immediately raced toward the pair. “He’s just sick from the chems, sir,” said Gedu. “I’m here, I’ll take over. He just needs a few minutes!”

The Gamorrean overseer spread his arms wide, as if overwhelmed. “Go on, then, Gedu! You work hard while this one kicks up his heels!”

Gedu ran to the smoldering pile of ash and picked through it with quick, deft movements. A small Rodian and another human boy crouched down beside Gedu and did the same, tossing out bits of metal from the refuse.

“Big man Gedu,” the Gamorrean mused aloud as he sat back down with two other Gamorreans, overseers paid to make sure the children earned their wages. “When any of these humans decide they want a big, long break, old Gedu runs distraction for ‘em.”

Gedu ignored the overseer, tossing out a hot piece of metal and quickly rubbing his fingers together.

“These humans hardly work at all, and push us around whenever they feel like it,” the Gamorrean continued, to which his companions snorted, nodding their heads knowingly. “They’re lucky we keep them around! Bunch of humans have been on a rampage murdering nonhumans on Coruscant. Bunch of stormtroopers! Shooting nonhumans in their sleep, is what they’ve been doing! Yeah, I’m tellin’ you… these humans. Gedu, you listening to me?”

“Yes, sir,” said Gedu. “I’m trying to work, though!”

“Trying to work! Yeah, trying! Gedu, you’re lucky we’re peaceful here on Tatooine. You’re lucky! Don’t you know how lucky you are, big man Gedu?”

Gedu winced. Ever since the terrorist attack on Coruscant, times had gotten ever harder for humans in Mos Eisley. While he wished the human terrorists would stop trying to ruin everything, he also wanted to remind the Gamorrean that the nonhumans were doing a pretty good job of getting their payback, too. Gedu’s father had come home the other day bleeding from his ear and telling a story about falling down some stairs, but Gedu knew he had been roughed up by some of Viddu’s thugs.

“Here’s the thing about humans,” said the Gamorrean. “Gedu, I want you to listen to me. You’re a smart little boy, so I know you’ll listen. You’ll go far in life if you take my advice. You still listening, Gedu?”

The Gamorrean’s companions chuckled as he mocked Gedu, but one of them suddenly pointed skyward. Several ships flew over Mos Eisley. Gedu thought nothing of it, but watched from the corner of his eye as they swept past the spaceport and disappeared within the city. Gedu was unfamiliar with their design, as well as the strange icon of black and gold painted on the side. Gedu had never seen a troop dropship before, and was about to turn away when he noticed the overseers all muttering nervously.

The sound of blaster fire rang throughout the city.

“Hey,” Gedu said to one of the human children. “Let’s… go take a lunch break.”

Though it was not lunchtime, and they would normally have to ask to take a break, the overseers did not notice as they quietly got up and made for the rest tent.

“What’s going on?” said the boy. Ignoring him, Gedu fixed his eyes on the gate leading to the city.

The sound of blasters shrieked nearby. Gedu’s mouth fell open as he saw beams of blue light zipping past. Several Cheka raced into view, only to be gunned down by blaster bolts. Gedu heard the boy beside him scurrying behind a stack of boxes. Unable to move, Gedu stood and watched, his terror mixed with curiosity.

Stormtroopers marched through the gate. Gedu felt himself rocking on his heels, unable to comprehend the sight of the eternal bogeyman stepping out of every alien’s nightmare and into reality. The stormtrooper at the lead wore a long black cape over his gleaming white armor, and carried a long rifle in one hand. As several Gamorreans grabbed their blaster pistols, the leader did not fire, but only signaled with his free hand. The Gamorreans were immediately drilled by blaster fire, the stormtroopers seeming eager to turn the aliens into smoking husks.

Other overseers ran. Gedu watched a Jawa leap into a trash bin while a Gamorrean crawled behind cover, his rear end in the air, tiny eyes forced open into big black ovals. The image of the aliens fleeing before the stormtroopers froze in Gedu’s mind, awakening something long buried in his heart. In an instant he knew that his dream of digging through garbage in exchange for credits, and hoping that he could somehow buy his freedom by crawling ever deeper into slavery, was a lie. Nonhumans had sold him the lie, and then he had repackaged the lie for himself every day. And just like the aliens, that lie fled before the sight of stormtroopers marching shoulder to shoulder. Gedu knew that they had not bought their freedom by begging for credits from creatures who despised them. No, they had taken it by force of arms, risking their lives together, even dying together. The forbidden feeling of hope rose in Gedu’s heart.

Again the leader gestured with his free hand, and several stormtroopers fanned out, their weapons held ready. Gedu forgot his hope, suddenly feeling fear once again as the soldiers turned their masked faces left and right, searching the camp over. He knew they were going to find him and kill him. Just like that, his life was over.

The lead stormtrooper pulled off his helmet, revealing a bearded human face. “Gedu! Gedu!” he called out.

Though Gedu said nothing, and in fact was frozen in place, the man’s eyes fell on him. He smiled.

“Gedu, it’s me, Regis! You remember me, don’t you, boy?”

Gedu knew the name, but he did not recognize the man. The Regis that he remembered was a bent over man wearing the padded pants of a scavenger. He would come by in the morning and pick up a meal from Gedu’s mother, just as many other scavengers did. At night, he would stop by and drop off the dirty dishes, and either give Gedu a kind word, or only shuffle off in resentful silence, depending on how fortune had favored him. This man looked nothing like him, but stood tall in armor that shone under the sun. His smile was unfamiliar as well. It was the delighted expression of a man wealthy beyond belief, like a nobleman who was used to getting what he wanted in life. Gedu only stood and stared, dumbfounded.

“You okay, Gedu?” said Regis. “Come on, now. Get your friends together, and then let’s go see your family. We’re taking all the humans off of Tatooine and bringing them into the Core.”

“The… the Core?” Gedu managed to say.

Regis laughed. “Yeah, the Core Worlds. Haven’t you heard? The New Empire is consolidating its territory. We’ll leave this dump for the aliens. They can come here if they need some chem-fried dewback. Tatooine’s not fit for humans. You ever heard of Naboo?”

Instead of answering, Gedu watched as a stormtrooper made his way back to Regis. He carried a human girl balanced in one arm - it was one of Gedu’s coworkers - while a young boy walked with one hand wrapped around the soldier’s utility belt. Regis nodded and threw a thumb over his back.

“Good,” said Regis. “Put ‘em with the others. I want us out of here in ten minutes. Understood?”

“Yes, sir!” said the soldier.

“Regis!” Gedu suddenly shouted, then clenched his teeth together. Though he desperately wanted to believe that there really was an easy way off Tatooine, he had learned, over and over again, that hope only led to disappointment. Still, he forced himself to say, “Are you being serious? Do we really get to leave?”

Regis sighed impatiently, then shook his head. “Gedu, we’re either leaving this rock, or we’re going to sit here all day and talk about it. I’d rather get out of here! Wouldn’t you?”

“Well, yeah, but-”

“No buts about it, kid. Let’s grab your family and come on! You just enlisted!”

“What about all of our stuff? How am I going to carry all my-”

Regis shook his head impatiently. “Only your people matter, boy. Leave everything else behind.” Suddenly smiling again, he added, “Emperor Skywalker will give you everything you need!”

THE END

STAR WARS

EPISODE VII

A CORPSE THROUGH WHICH THE FORCE SPEAKS

BY

KYLE B. STIFF