Star Wars: Join the Resistance: Escape From Vodran
01 chapter
Leia MATTIS WAS THINKING about General He’d seen her across the command command center rushing from room to room at the Resistance base or giving orders or listening to intelligence briefings She embodied determination determination and the wisdom that comes from integrity as she decided the best course of action for the Resistance For the galaxy Mattis knew the stories of Leia Organa before she was the experienced and judicious military leader of the Resistance against the First Order Mattis collected stories of the old days in the way that other kids collected grav-ball badges He was
hooked by tales of the fight against the Empire He found inspiration in those old stories He found guidance He also found heroes Leia Organa had been a princess a captive a senator and a freedom fighter She was imprisoned imprisoned by the Empire and enslaved by a Hutt had seen the love of her life frozen in carbonite and her home planet destroyed But that woman whom Mattis saw calmly command and thoughtfully thoughtfully lead taught him to never give up And somehow even with all she had endured even as she fought and strategized and inspired all very serious business Leia was funny When J-Squadron had accidentally shut off the power in the compound just as the pilots returned and it took everything everyone had to bring them in safely Mattis was convinced he was going to be drummed out While they had awaited their punishment punishment in Admiral Ackbar’s office General Leia had come in and looked them over You’re responsible for the power outage she asked We’re the screwups yes ma’am Dec answered with uncharacteristic deference Some of my best friends are screwups she said with a smirk We need more screwups JOIN THE RESISTANCE
around here She’d left them feeling better for the moment How easy would it have been for her to become embittered How sad but understandable understandable for her to lose her fire and grow stern and cruel Leia never did Mattis hoped he’d retain his sense of humor through his current perilous circumstances as a prisoner of the First Order alone in a damp cell on the swamp planet of Vodran Assuming of course he got out alive and had been funny in the first place Mattis wasn’t the kind of kid to get discouraged Even though he had faced a series of calamitous events since he’d joined the Resistance and even though those events one after another had led him to the cell on Vodran Mattis remained optimistic optimistic He’d joined the Resistance for a reason This was part of it He wanted to make a difference That was why he’d left the orphan farm on Durkteel It was Mattis’s destiny he knew to bring about change in the galaxy He would become a hero like Leia Organa or Admiral Ackbar For what other reason had he been imbued with the Force the arcane energy that was created by and bound together all living things The Force was what made Mattis special It was what made him want CHApTER 01
