Before Ben reached the river, he took a different trail, one that led into the forest. Whispers on the breeze sent shivers up his spine.

Follow me. Deeper. Come. Just a little farther.

He had heard voices before, a raspy one he never wanted to hear again, but this one was different. This one even felt like he should know it. Something about in the Force was familiar.

He sensed it long before he saw it. A blue light glowed in the dense undergrowth.

The teen followed the ... footsteps? Are those really footsteps? 

Dislodging kavak plants and small trifoil flowers in his path, he steered his hover chair down the overgrown trail.

Deep in the forest, a pack of boar-wolves yapped as they moved through the trees. At first they barked calm, ranging yaps to keep the pack together. Then an alert. And, now, an all-out call to flight.

Ben surveyed the area. Benae stood guard ahead of him. To his left, the tall Jedi from Onderon  braced herself for the attack. She held her rifle so steady that not even a braid swayed in the breeze.

Here they come. What's she waiting for?

But the young woman stood strong, not budging a centimeter. The pack flowed around her, moving through the feathery kavak plants and leaping over fallen logs.

"Shoot!" Ben yelled.

Benae ignored him. Something bigger was coming. He could feel it. He was sure they could, too. The rest of the Jedi pushed through the undergrowth and stood in a defensive line.

He pulled back from the group about a meter and pulled out his lightsaber. He held the hilt low, ready to ignite it at a moment's notice.

A saber hummed to life on Ben's right. He snapped his head at the yellow blade and swallowed hard.

Great, Pilar. Don't take this wrong, but I'm not going to be the victim of friendly fire.

The disabled teen retreated further from the group.

With a low voice, Kalder said, "Warning shots only. Only engage if he won't leave."

"That thing's gigantic, Kalder," Kallay said. "It must be at least seven meters tall. He's hungry. Must have smelled our barbecue."

Always the empath, Kallay. Ben sneered. What was your first clue? The trees he's uprooting?

He activated his blue saber.

Purple, blue, green, and yellow lightsabers glinted in the twilight as the growling beast stalked closer. Zeke and Benae focused their rifles in the distance.

Kalder raised his blue blade. "On my mark, fire high and to the side. Three. Two. One. Mark." He sliced his lightsaber through the air as the rifles discharged.

Blast after blast propelled through the air near the beast that rose seven or eight meters. With fangs that drooled spittle from his maw and pointed ears too big for his head, the monster uprooted a gigantic tree. He roared as he swung it at the group of Jedi.

As the trunk swooped down with roots radiating in every direction, the Jedi scattered. Soil, rocks, and foliage coated them in a layer of detritus. A large crater remained where they had once stood.

Ben screamed and zoomed his chair behind a burned out stump. He pulled his lightsaber and braced himself against the rough bark.

The Jedi regrouped in front of the log while the troll-like creature stumbled across the clearing to pluck additional trees. Kalder yelled, "Don't let it pin you behind the log. Advance! Shoot to kill."

Zeke and Benae fired continuously at the beast's head. The creature roared and swatted his hand, clawing for the Jedi. They jumped out of his way and stretched out together with the Force to toss boulders at the creature. Large white rocks sailed from the forest floor and bruised the troll in his chest.

The fiend flailed his hand at the rocks. He reached over beyond the trees, his large arm span availing him of another tactic before he tossed a boulder at his assailants.

Benae and Zeke grabbed the oncoming stone with the Force and shunted it to the side.

When the beast reached for another rock, his arm stuck in the canyon crevice. He yowled as his shoulders flexed, trying to release his claw.

Zeke and Benae grunted as they continued their assault with the Force, holding the canyon crevice rocks in place and immobilizing the left arm.

Wei'ahtt and Kallay ran at the tree in his hand and propelled themselves with the Force on top of it. Clutching the red bark, they clambered up the side of the tree. The burly Jedi swiped his saber at the creature's paw, severing a claw.

The monster's eyes widened before he narrowed his eyes at his missing claw. A low growl emanated from deep within his chest before he lobbed the tree toward the river a hundred meters away.

Kallay crawled beside Wei'ahtt and clasped his hand. They both nodded before jumping through the trees, slowing their descent with the Force. Branches scraped and battered them as they plummeted to the earth.

The troll tore more trees from the earth and targeted them at the group.

Ben watched from his entrenchment behind a log. He jostled his chair, pushing it into a berry bush, looking for anything to camouflage him.

Tandolleau said, "Attack his feet." The lithe Jedi dashed under the creature's hanging arm and sawed at the toes. First one, then another came off, sending the beast crashing backward. His collapse smashed every tree in his massive body's path. Red splinters of wood whizzed in all directions. The Jedi dropped to the ground until the assault had passed.

Jannah leaped forward and continued the attack on the creature's limbs. It rolled over onto its knees, taking the Jedi with him.

Tandolleau reached out with the Force and pulled her.

The beast would not let go. The woman flailed in his clutches.

Kalder and Pilar pulled with the Force at a fallen log. The monarch weighed as much as an X-wing, but it had long since succumbed to the elements. Even feathery kavak plants had lodged in its bark. The two Jedi grunted as the log shuddered, lifting it from the soil a meter before dropping to the ground once more. The earth shook before they collapsed from overexertion.

Pilar wheezed. "It's too big. I can't."

Kalder shook his head. "Those vines up there. Maybe we can tie him down." The Jedi Master leaped through the air to grasp a vine hanging three meters above them. Pilar followed him on an adjacent line, lightsabers swinging at their hips.

Lines fell to the ground. First one, then two, then three and four. Kalder and Pilar slithered down their strands to the soil and wrapped each around one of the giant's feet. The beast shuffled his feet and kicked at the Jedi.

Once they had looped a vine around his ankle, they dragged the two ends to the nearest monarch tree and coiled it around the seven- meter-wide trunk. After tying it off with a secure bowline knot, the pair grabbed another vine hanging from the trees.

Kallay and Wei'ahtt sprinted onto the battlefield, not stopping even when they had reached the beast. With a Force-jump, they shot themselves into the air, landing on the creature's arm. They hacked at the forearm with their green and blue sabers.

As they hacked through the tendons and bones, acidic ichor squirted onto their uniforms. Kallay screamed as the corrosive liquid burned a hole into her skin.

After extinguishing his saber, Wei'ahtt yanked off her tunic and tore the burning undershirt from her.

"Thanks." Kallay closed her eyes and meditated a brief second to get past the pain.

He nodded and returned to his task.

Once their rifles had overheated, Kalder and Pilar joined Tandolleau in pulling the captured Jannah from the clutches of the monster. 

The monster shook his arm about twelve meters above the soil. He squeezed the breath from Jannah. Ben could barely hear her shriek as her ribs splintered in the monster's paw.

The beast  shook his arm again, but Wei'ahtt and Kallay held on tight. A few more slices, and the arm would sever.

As they labored at their task with full concentration, the creature roared and pulled his left arm free from the canyon crevice. Zeke and Benae fell to the earth as they absorbed the fall with the Force.

The troll clawed at his right arm. Kallay ducked, just missing his swipe. However, his claw caught Wei'ahtt, scraping him off his arm and tossing him across the battlefield. The man howled as he collided with a tree and fell to the forest floor three meters below.

Ben watched from his chair, a dark spike of energy flowing through his body. He heard the voice again. The raspy voice he didn't want to hear.

Good. A hideous cackle followed. Watch them die. Feed off their agony. Let it fuel you.

He studied the lightsaber in his hand, the blade humming and shining bright blue in the darkness. He glanced at the scene before him. He could feel Jannah's life-Force ebbing. It wouldn't be long now. The screams grew softer, the struggles weaker, and he could feel Tandolleau's fear driving him into reckless actions.

And then there was Wei'ahtt lying pulverized by a tree. He shrieked in agony. Only a few strands of light sputtered inside him still. Only moments until he would be one with the Force for good.

Kallay screamed, "No! Wei'ahtt!" She jumped down from the creature's arm and raced toward the crumpled lump. "No. No. No." Tears trailed down her face as she examined him. Immobilizing his neck, she listened for breathing and took his pulse.

The large man moaned in pain and shook violently. His heart rate raced, his breathing labored, and a long laceration leeched blood and green toxins across his left arm. His black uniform hung in shreds from his shoulder.

When Kallay ripped the remaining fabric free, Wei'ahtt screamed.

She looked around for help. Her friends still engaged the creature to free poor Jannah, but she caught the Padawan behind a tree a few meters away. "Ben, get the med kit."

He sat there, frozen.

The gravelly voice whispered once more. Why do that? Wait, just a little longer, and he'll be dead. They'll all be dead.

No!

Ben twisted his chair and sped back to the shuttle twenty meters away. Debris kicked up under his repulsor lift, but he didn't care. He had to save them. He couldn't watch them die like this.

Did you know . . . 

● Both the Gorax and the boar-wolves are old canon creatures from The Ewok Adventures. The Gorax has since been seen in the Forces of Destiny short films, so it is part of new canon. I'm not sure if the boar-wolves made it, though.

Tell me what you think . . .

● Who do you think made those footsteps?

● How many Jedi are going to lose their lives because of Ben's indecision and cowardice and how will that affect him in the future?