Back in the cell, Zara plots an escape. The mysterious lightsaber lies on the metal bed. Zara picks it up once again, feeling a pull towards it. Whispers begin all around her, and she looks around the windowless cell for the source.
From the unharmonious voices emerges a prevailing one that instructs her to go to the cell door. She follows the voice's command and goes to the cell door, pushing it open using the Force. Snapping out of the trance, Zara runs out of the cell as troopers follow after her.
She cuts a corner where the troopers run in the opposite direction. Looking down at the saber in her hand, the voices disappear. 'From where had I gotten that immense power?'
Shifting through the shadows of the hallway, she makes her way to the ship station. The ship station is an exterior chamber with a force-field opening. Imperial ships fly to and fro.
As an imperial ship lands at the station, the pilot is ambushed by Zara. Troopers spot the rogue ship and shoot their lasers at it as she flies out of the Imperial cruiser. In the control center, an alarm goes off. "The prisoner has escaped. All battleships, shoot down the rogue ship!" Dodonna commands.
"We are doing our best to retrieve the ship," An attendant says. "Shoot it down. The Commander is to not hear a word of this," Dodonna hisses. "Yes, sir. All units, shoot down the ship," The attendant speaks over the intercom.
Multiple Imperial ships tail the ship, firing their blasters at it. One hits the engine of the ship, sending Zara crashing down.
"You asked for my presence, sire?" Dodonna walks back into the command station after a few hours pass, his white Imperial cape flowing behind him. "The prisoner has escaped, Commander," Darth Vader says.
"What? How did word of this not reach me?" Dodonna shakes his head. "The prisoner was put under your watch, Commander," Darth Vader tightens his fist, choking those in the command station.
"I will retrieve the prisoner, I can assure you!" Dodonna holds onto his neck. "I trust that you will," Vader releases his hold. The attendants in the station gasped for air. Dodonna, stricken in fear, begins commanding the attendants to find the location of the ship. "Find its coordinates, I don't care how many troopers need to be sent to find it! Retrieve the prisoner!"
✦✦✦
A light tap wakes Zara. She jumps up in her sleep, finding an unknown lifeform standing before her. "Destroyed your ship is," The lifeform says, pointing to the battleship with a cane in its hand.
"Which province is this?" She looks around the tree shed. "Regain your strength you must," It offers her a bowl of murky porridge. Scarfing it down, Zara places it away. "Where am I?" "On Dagobah, your ship has landed," It says.
Looking at the bandages on her hand, she remembered the ship crashing. "You saved me, I owe you my life," She says. The creature giggles, seemingly pleased. "Escape did you?" It asks. "From the Empire. I was their prisoner, they had taken me from my planet, Korriban," "That in common we have,"
"You escaped from the Imperial Empire?" She asks. "Spread out across the galaxy many of us are," It replies. "Have you been hiding out in this swamp?" "Friends I have lost. Hide I had to," It says. "The Empire has taken something from everyone, then,"
The two make their way over to the wreckage of the ship. The lifeform then closes its eyes in complete concentration, lifting a hand in the air. The battleship starts to lift off the ground, and Zara watches in amazement. Pieces of the wreckage then go to the ship, repairing parts of it. "You can use the Force as well?" Zara asks in amazement. It nods.
"Then with our power combined, we could take down the Empire," "Not enough our numbers are," It shakes its head. "Then let's go find more Force wielders," The life form's face then saddens. "Lost my friends are. Killed by the Empire they have been," "Yoda you may call me," it then says, turning to her. "It is an honor to meet you, my name is Zara. You have been of tremendous help to me, I cannot repay you," she says, shaking the lifeform's hand.
After a long pause, Zara speaks. "I must ask, how were you able to lift the battleship with such talent? I am yet to master opening and closing doors using the Force,"
"Years of training I have. Many possibilities the Force yields," Yoda explains.
"Have you acquired the powers of the dark side of the Force?" She asks. Yoda's eyes darken. "Evil, dark side of the Force is," Yoda warns.
"If the dark side of the Force is as powerful as the light side of the Force, then I could use both to not only destroy Dodonna, but to take down the Empire once and for all. I beseech you to mentor me in both ways of the Force," Zara says.
"Dark side I cannot teach you," Yoda replies.
"You have seen for yourself how ruthless the Empire is. We need all the power we can get in order to take down our common enemy. Only you remain in the line of the Jedi, only you can teach me," Zara says.
Yoda thinks, his face resembling his conflicting choices. He could teach this youth who has some semblance of Force sensitivity both the light side and the dark side of the Force, creating a useful asset to the Rebellion, but that would go against everything the Jedi teach. After a pause, Yoda makes his decision. "Teach you I cannot,"