Spark of the Resistance

by Justina Ireland

  Someone had shot her with a blaster. Set for stun, apparently.

  “You encountered the Resistance while on a patrol,” Commander Spiftz said, sitting back down in his chair and continuing his evening meal.

  “Yes, sir. We were engaged by the Resistance and a local fighter after crossing check point number two.”

  Commander Spiftz brought up the hologram of Minfar once more. “What were the coordinates of the skirmish?”

  As the stormtrooper gave the coordinates, a new spot of color bloomed on the hologram. This one was blue. It was quite some distance from where they’d supposed the Millennium Falcon had gone down.

  But it was close to a spot Glenna Kip had marked as a possible location for the lost laboratories.

  “Did you recognize any of the Resistance fighters that engaged you?”

  “Yes, sir. Poe Dameron was among the group. He disappeared under some brush, but when we searched the area, all we found was debris.”

  “How do you know it was Poe Dameron?” Spiftz asked.

  The stormtrooper shifted slightly. “Who else has that hair?”

  Commander Spiftz gripped his spoon so hard that the metal bent. “Were you not told that the creatures of this planet, the Zixon, live underground? Perhaps they have entrances they have been using.”

  The stormtrooper said nothing, clearly at a loss for words, and Spiftz realized he would have to speak to Lieutenant Nivers about this. There was no reason a handful of Resistance fighters should be able to thwart a detachment of First Order soldiers so easily.

  Not to mention that Poe Dameron, Resistance hero and X-wing pilot extraordinaire, was on Minfar. Now Spiftz knew for certain that the Resistance was there to find the legendary weapon. There was no way General Organa would send Dameron to such a remote location unless there was something important to be gleaned from it.

  “That is all. You are dismissed,” Commander Spiftz said, and the stormtrooper saluted and left. Commander Spiftz went back to his soup, his mind turning over this new development as he ate.

  By the time he finished his meal, he’d made up his mind. He wiped his mouth and dropped the napkin on the table. He needed to speak with Glenna Kip.

  She would be delighted to know that their goals were no longer as divergent as they’d appeared earlier in the day.

  They had to find the legendary Echo Horn before the Resistance did.

  Once the weapon was his, Commander Branwayne Spiftz would lay an epic trap for the Resistance. He would capture Poe Dameron and take possession of the Millennium Falcon. He would be a hero of the First Order. After that, anything he desired would be his for the taking.

  It was a foolproof plan.

  And nothing would stop him.

  ROSE FOLLOWED Rey, Poe, and their furry green guide, Lim, in disbelief. It had been quite a day. First

  she’d fought against TIE fighters, then she’d gotten to explore an underground network of tunnels, and then there had been a whole firefight with stormtroopers. And that didn’t even count meeting the fascinating Lim.

  She never thought when she first started working with the Resistance that it would be so, well, exciting! It was so much more than just fixing things.

  As they walked, she still couldn’t help gawking at Lim and their surroundings. She was agog, not at meeting such a strange little being—she’d met lots of different kinds of people in her travels throughout the galaxy—but at the construction and engineering involved in building such a complex tunnel structure.

  Rose liked to know how things worked. It was what made her such a great mechanic. So as they’d walked along the tunnels, she’d marveled at how anyone or anything could build such a massive underground structure, seemingly without tools. She hadn’t seen any terrain movers or the telltale tracks they left on the ground. The walls were so smooth and perfect, they looked like they’d occurred naturally in the shiny black rock. But the plants that lit the way had a more purposeful feel to them, as though someone had put them there for that reason. It was a mystery, and while Rose didn’t usually mind mysteries, she minded this one.

  Because the tunnels made her nervous.

  Rose couldn’t quite explain the feeling, but it had been there ever since they’d crossed the invisible bridge: the sensation of being watched, of something following and biding its time. After they’d slid into the new tunnel, she’d thought it might be stormtroopers, but the First Order would’ve attacked by then if it was them. This was something else, something or someone sneaky.

  She looked over her shoulder frequently, checking for the barest hint of someone walking behind them.

  But every time she looked, there was nothing but shadows.

  BB-8 stopped and moved toward Rose, letting out a mournful beep.

  “You can feel it, too, Beebee?” Rose said, her voice low. She didn’t want the others to hear her. After all, she wasn’t like Rey or Poe. Rey had the Force, and Poe had been a military hero long before Rose and her sister joined the Resistance. Rose was just Rose, and right then she felt like a little kid afraid of her own shadow.

  BB-8 beeped an affirmative to her question, and Rose felt validated. “Do you know what it is? Or who?” Rose asked, and BB-8’s response was clearly a negative.

  “Well, at least you sense it, too,” Rose said, feeling a little bit better.

  Even if they were being tracked by something.

  They walked for a short while longer, a different kind of light filtering in. While the tunnel they’d walked through had been cast in deep blue, the light ahead was a bright yellow, like that of a sunny day. Their guide picked up the pace, fairly skipping along before them. Rose hurried to keep up, the light up ahead seeming infinitely more welcoming than whatever lurked in the ambient glow behind them.

  The noise of the city greeted them before the sight of it did. The tunnel narrowed suddenly, and Rose was forced to crouch to get through the opening to the space beyond. Up ahead, Rey and Poe had stopped on a ledge that overlooked the city, and Rose could see why.

  It was like nothing she’d ever seen before.

  Below them stretched a magnificent city and countryside. An abundance of sunshine streamed into the space somehow, painting everything with a warm glow. Houses were clustered together in seemingly random configurations, octagonal shapes pressed against and on top of one another in a beautiful sculpture. The houses looked small to Rose, like something built for children. Green trailing vines draped off of balconies and hung over lintels, and a riotous assortment of flowers bloomed here and there on the vines. There were a number of the small green creatures talking and walking and doing the usual living of people everywhere.

  Beyond the clusters of houses were verdant green fields with rows of evenly spaced plants. Figures moved between the rows, tending the plants. It looked as though the denizens of the planet lived and worked all within that single space.

  For a moment Rose thought they’d somehow gone back above the surface, but when she looked up she realized that the space was underground. The walls arched upward, disappearing into whatever cast the daylight from above. Once more, Rose wondered how these small beings had created such an amazing place. It would have been a lot of work.

  Their guide continued down a slope, and Rey, Poe, and Rose followed. BB-8 ranged ahead, as though he suddenly knew where they were going. Rose frowned.

  “Where is Beebee-Ate headed?” she asked Poe and Rey.

  Rey shrugged, but Poe grinned. “If I know that droid, he’s been tracking the signal from the broadcast since we got here. It’s probably how he knew which way to go back in the jungle.”

  “Ah, that was a good idea,” Rose said. The little droid was sort of like the people of Minfar: small but very resourceful. No one should underestimate either of them.

  Rose just hoped someone would be able to help her find the parts she needed to fix the Millennium Falcon.

  They continued down the path, which was made of the same black rock as the tunnels. The houses,
though, looked to be made of some kind of mud, and as they walked, the houses shaded from yellow to purple to orange and then back to black, as though the builders had used various kinds of mud to create them. When combined with the flowering vines, the effect was breathtaking. The scent of the flowers filled the air, clearing away the slightly musty smell that plagued the tunnels.

  That place was one of the most amazing things Rose had ever seen, and when Rey and Poe came to a halt, Rose was so busy gawking that she walked right into Poe’s back.

  “Oh, sorry,” she said.

  “It’s really something, huh?” Poe said, gesturing to the buildings around them.

  “Yes! The plants and the tunnels, and what do you think made the walls so smooth? Do you think it was our friend and their people? And how good was that meal?” At Poe’s wide-eyed expression, Rose laughed. “Sorry, I’m kind of nervous and excited. Have you ever seen anything like this before?”

  Poe shook his head. “No, definitely never underground. You’re right, this place is incredible.”

  “It took the elders a hundred years to build Ghikjil,” someone said.

  Rose tore her gaze away from the architecture and turned toward a person standing next to their guide. Like Lim, this being also wore a purple tunic, but a shiny star-shaped plant smaller than Rose’s palm dangled from the newcomer’s neck. Their guide seemed to defer to this other person, and Rose wondered if it was the mysterious Jem.

  “You are the Resistance,” the being said without any hesitation.

  “Yes,” Poe said while Rose and Rey nodded.

  “You called us for help. We got your transmission,” Rose said. “I’m Rose Tico.”

  “Poe Dameron,” the pilot said, smiling widely.

  “And I’m Rey. Uh, just Rey.” She placed her staff back in its holster, and Rose took that as a signal to put her blaster away. It wouldn’t do them any good to look hostile to their new friends.

  “Very nice to meet you, Rose, Poe, and Rey. Oh, and Beebee-Ate, as well.” The green-furred person addressed the astromech droid as he beeped a greeting. “I am Jem, the leader of the Zixon, which is the name of our people. This is Lim. She was sent out to greet you.”

  The Zixon who had led them through the tunnels inclined her head. Jem cleared his throat. “I am glad you were able to make it past the grobel unharmed.”

  “Grobel?” Poe asked.

  “A massive beast that devours everything in its path. It is supposed by our scholars that once upon a time the grobel ruled these underground passages, but then the Zixon came to this place and made it something different. There have been fewer and fewer grobel of late, which means there are more and more Zixon.”

  “Do the grobel . . . eat you?” Rey asked.

  Jem’s whiskers twitched, which Rose took to be a sort of smile. “Only if they can catch us. They stalk the tunnels but will only attack if they think they have a clear advantage. We have many tricks to keep them away.”

  “This explains the cavern with the invisible bridge,” Poe said.

  Jem nodded. “Yes. The Zixon’s enemies are numerous, but we are very good at defending ourselves. Come, follow me and we shall discuss the reason I sent for help.”

  Rose followed the rest of the group, sparing one final glance at the tunnels they’d come from. At least now she knew why she’d felt like she was being watched.

  Because she was.

  REY TRIED NOT TO STARE at the Zixon as she followed Jem, but the residents of Ghikjil seemed

  just as interested in her as she was in them. From their curious ears to their beautiful homes, Rey couldn’t help feeling a connection to the peaceful creatures. She supposed it had something to do with the Force. Lim’s strange comment when they met about how the leaves whispered her name pricked at Rey, so she made a note to ask Lim about it when they were alone. With all her frustration in the Force, it might be nice to talk to someone else about the connections of the galaxy, someone who maybe didn’t know anything about the legends of the Jedi. How did the Zixon feel the Force? Did they know something about connecting with it that she didn’t?

  But Rey was certain that the sense of peace and harmony she felt inside the Zixon city wasn’t just the Force making itself known. The place really was serene. Minfar was far from the First Order and the fallen New Republic, away from all the woe that followed wherever the First Order turned its attention.

  At least it had been.

  Rey tried to imagine the First Order storming Ghikjil, knocking down the houses and taking the Zixon away to a work camp. Or worse, designing weapons on Minfar and testing them on the local population, as they had on Rose’s planet. Rey’s fists clenched and her jaw tightened. Not if she could help it.

  “Are you okay?” Rose whispered, and Rey relaxed her hands and gave Rose a wan smile.

  “Yes, sorry, I was just thinking about the First Order coming here and . . .” Rey’s voice trailed off, but understanding lit Rose’s face.

  “Don’t worry, we aren’t going to let that happen. As soon as we know what’s going on we can send for help. I’m sure General Organa will send assistance.”

  Rey nodded, but she wasn’t so sure. Not because she thought General Organa didn’t care but because she didn’t know how much help the Resistance could send. So far, thanks to a lot of work and a little luck, they had a small fleet of Mon Calamari and Corellian ships, and droids to help with operations. But there were not nearly enough Resistance fighters to take on any kind of significant First Order threat. And the First Order was a danger everywhere, not just on Minfar. Rey didn’t know if perhaps other operations were happening, and if they were, how far away they were. What if there wasn’t any help to offer?

  The group walked a little farther, the houses getting a bit larger, until they came to a place that seemed to be a gathering hall. As they’d walked Zixon had been following along, coming out of their houses and leaving their work to join the procession. They murmured back and forth in a language that wasn’t Basic, a series of whistles and chirps that were soothing rather than menacing. They could be talking about their visitors, but they seemed more curious than anything else.

  A few Zixon were already in the gathering hall, and like Lim they were heavily armed. Their bandoliers held numerous blasters, all of them much older models. Rey wondered if the Zixon even used the blasters, since Lim seemed to prefer her ball-and-string weapon instead. The blasters didn’t look very well cared for, and it would be difficult for the Zixon to use the trigger mechanisms with their large claws. It seemed like the blasters were more for decoration, and Lim was wearing more than any of the other Zixon with bandoliers.

  Jem led Rey, Rose, and Poe to seats in the front row of a circle of small stones, all made of that strange, shiny black rock they’d seen in the tunnels. There was a fire pit in the middle, like the one at the guardhouse where they’d met Lim. In the pit, rather than a cook fire, was a communications module.

  “This equipment doesn’t seem to match the rest of their city,” Rose murmured, and Rey agreed. How had the Zixon come by all these bits of technologically advanced tools?

  “This is where we called out for assistance,” Jem said. “This unit was given to us by a friend, who said to use it should there ever be trouble here on Minfar, especially should the stormtroopers return. They showed us the channel and programmed it for us. And here you are. Thank you for answering the call.”

  “Who is this friend of yours? Do they have a name?” Poe asked.

  Jem’s whiskers did another smile twitch. “We only know them as our friend.”

  “Wait, so this was given to you by your friend. You don’t have any other stuff like this?” Rose asked.

  “The Forbidden Lands have plenty of technology,” Lim said. “But we forbid all from going there. It is a place of much sorrow.”

  Poe frowned, and BB-8 beeped mournfully. “Maybe you could explain what you mean?” Poe said.

  Jem nodded. “Long ago, just as now, a group of
others came to Minfar. They taught us Basic and gave us gifts.” He pointed to the blasters worn by Lim and the others dressed like her. Rey guessed they were the Zixon army. “But the gifts were just a ploy to distract us.”

  “They built a weapon and they tested it on us,” Lim said, her voice low. “When it was turned on, we were hopelessly pulled to their land and unable to do anything but obey.”

  “A mind-control device?” Rey wondered aloud.

  Jem’s whiskers twitched in agitation. “No, our minds were our own. We were powerless to leave their land, however. And the people controlling us were not afraid to hurt us if we resisted their commands. It was more like we’d heard a song, a delightful song that we could not resist, even though we tried. It was like sleeping while awake.”

  “I tried fighting it,” Lim said. “But the more I fought the more I began to . . . lose myself. And so I, we all, learned to listen and wait instead.”

  There was a subtle shift in the gathered crowd as the Zixon remembered those terrible days, and Rey was even more certain that they had to help the Zixon, no matter what. She couldn’t let such an awful thing happen again.

  “That’s horrible,” Rose said. Rey thought she was probably remembering the terrible things that had forced her and her sister to leave their own home on Hays Minor.

  “How did you get free?” Poe asked.

  Jem’s whiskers twitched once more, this time in a glad way. “Our friend liberated us by stopping the machine, and then they taught us how to use the communication unit to call for assistance should the others return.”

  “But the machine is still there?” Poe asked. At Jem’s nod, he crossed his arms. “That’s why the First Order is here. They’re probably looking for the weapon the Empire built.”

  “We have to stop them,” Rose said, standing. “And we have to find a compressor housing to fix our ship before we can fight. We’re better with a ship. At least we have better odds of winning.”