Sprocket A Star Wars Story

Chapter 9: Backstage

Hale was sitting in a dimly lit room, surrounded by holographic displays. A voice came from one of the Holocoms.

"Have you found anything in your research?" asked a Hologram of a blue-skinned Chiss dressed in white imperial uniform.

"Yes, luckily I have received a lot of information from the droid. You were right, there is a Jedi Holocron in his memory disk." Hale tapped his fingers on the memory chip that seemed to belong to J-3DI.

"Excellent!" Thrawn replied.

Hale nodded. "However, you will have to send some troops to help; I expect there to be much resistance from the Hunters."

"Send a garrison to Vespaara to collect the Holocron. I have a detailed analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of all the Hunters. I sent you a data file," he informed an aid next to him.

Thrawn cracked a twisted, devious smile as the Quarren began reading the document. "I can assure you that once this is all over, I will grant you full control of Vespaara."

"Thank yo-" The transmission cut off before Hale could finish his sentence. He shook his head. "These underground Holocom networks sure are unstable... At least they will stay under the New Republic's radar... For now."

The next morning, Sprocket went to the training grounds early to get a head start for the day.
Sprocket wanted to speak with Skora, but he couldn't find her anywhere. Then he tried to talk to Grozz, who informed that he was very sorry, but he was busy with his weight lifting. Sprocket knew that everyone was very serious about the finals, as they all needed some space to prepare.

He decided to visit Dizzy's workshop, only to find that it was closed. Sprocket assumed that Dizzy must be devastated about losing his Droideka and didn't want to talk to anyone right now. He could sympathize with that, as he had felt the same way about losing J-3DI.

Sprocket looked at his schedule and realized that he was going to be late for his meeting with his costume designer, Milo. He made his way to a large circular room near Balada's palace that he'd never noticed before. It reminded him of a similar place back on Mon Cala, where the Mon Calamari had their costumes designed for their traditional water dance.

The costume designer approached Sprocket and began to remove the special bandages from him. "It's mandatory that we change the bandages on all finalists," Milo informed him.

To Sprocket's knowledge, Balada always gave bandages to all Hunters to prevent any fatalities in the Arena. He always had one, even though he had never joined the game prior to now. It seemed as if they might have made some improvements or changes to the bandages.

The designer proceeded to show him several outfit designs on the screens. "Does anything stand out to you?" he asked.

"Hm, I like this one! It speaks volumes about me!" Sprocket said, brimming with excitement as the designer cast the holographic images around him.

"Good choice; you've got some colorful taste! The outfit will be ready in three days," Milo told him. "I'm wondering, what's so special about the blue milk carton?"

Sprocket was happy to answer his question. "I'm glad you asked! Blue milk is a symbol of friendship!"

The designer looked at him. "That's cute. I would save it for your interview."

As he was reminded of the interview, Sprocket suddenly felt quite nervous. He wasn't ready to be live in front of millions of audiences throughout the galaxy. Looking to his side, he opened his mouth to crack a joke to J-3DI.

But J-3DI wasn't here.

Sprocket started writing notes down for the interview and as he did so he began to realize how much he missed his droid companion.

Sprocket eventually headed back to his apartment to find some nice clothes for the interview. It turned out he had about three outfits in his closet, all of which were work clothes. Maybe he didn't need to wear fancy clothes after all.

About three hours later, Sprocket arrived at the interview room wearing his old outfit. He stood in line near the door, waiting anxiously for his turn. He watched as Aran Tal walked out of the room, a smug smile clearly beneath his helmet, seemingly brimming with confidence.

"Oh yeah! I'm the best warrior on the whole planet! And I'm always the hero!" Aran Tal exclaimed as he danced around the hall.

Sprocket was not amused, as he recalled that Aran always said the same thing for the interview—every year.

Then there was Skora, who Sprocket thought he could hear sobbing through the door. He couldn't exactly make out what she was saying, but it sounded like something about giving her sons a better life and saving up for a Rodian private school.

After Skora's interview was done, the female attendant brought Sprocket into the room. He noticed that all the cameras are pointing at one spot—the spot that he'll soon be in. He found it very intimidating, as he wasn't used to all the cameras being around him. Hale was standing behind the cameras as the cameraman. Sprocket sat down on the chair in the center of the room with the background casting his logo behind him.

Hale turned to Sprocket. "Tell the whole galaxy about your backstory. The audience will love to hear about it!"

No pressure, then, Sprocket thought, should be easy enough, right?

"You're live... Now!" the cameraman shouted.

Or perhaps not. It was so sudden that Sprocket was caught off guard. He knew the attention was on him now. He hoped that he wouldn't screw anything up.

"Oh, hello! Erm... I'm Sprocket, the Mon Calamari Hunter! I've always got cool gadgets to show off!" he started hesitantly, "So about me... I'm from Mon Cala, and I have a family who lives there. And I am competing in the final match!" Sprocket rambled on.

He felt slightly embarrassed now. It was like he was giving a speech on the first day of school—only in front of millions of viewers.

"What makes you want to be a Hunter?" Hale questioned.

"Well, my grandfather used to take me here when I was younger. I want to have fun and make new friends!" Sprocket replied. "I want to show the galaxy my amazing inventions! It's always been my dream!" he exclaimed.

"We know that you're the one who made J-3DI. We're sorry for what happened to him. Do you have something to say about it?"

"Yes, J-3DI... He was my guardian, like my older brother, and he was always watching over me. Amos helped me build him. I miss both of them dearly," Sprocket responded, sadness lacing his voice.

Halle nodded. "What would you do if you won this final game?"

That was a good question—and Sprocket had a genuine answer for it. "I don't want to win for the money. I want to do this for Amos, J-3DI, my friends, and for everyone in Mon Cala—who is counting on me!" he replied, energy surging through him. "I'm the face of Mon Cala!"

After his interview was finished, he headed over to his friend, Skora, as she sat in a corner by herself. Sprocket could tell she was feeling pretty sad, and she also seemed somewhat lost.

Sprocket went to say something to her, but she shoved him away. "Don't hold back in the finals. It's better to play the game fair and square. You're fighting for Mon Cala's reputation, which is not worth losing it for me and my sons."

The Wookie Warrior, Grozz, seemingly heard them, and he came over, attempting to say something, although it was inaudible. Sprocket could see the sadness etched across his face, though, and he didn't need a translator to know that the Wookie was going to say something similar.

Zaina, the Rebel War Hero, came over to join the conversation. "I'm competing in the Arena to make a living and to represent the Republic!" she informed them. "But rewards and trophies don't replace friendship. We're still friends, and we'll always be there for each other in times of hardship."

"You're right," Sprocket agreed.

"Remember—it's still a show, and perhaps we can work things out after the game. And this is your first season competing, Sprocket. Try your best to win," added Zaina.

Sprocket nodded, realizing that he felt relieved whenever Zaina was around. She had a calming presence about her, and she was always saying just the right things.

As he and his friends talked some more, his mind began to drift to the upcoming game. He couldn't help but feel uneasy about it all.

But he was going to keep his word. He had to win the game for Mon Cala, Amos, and J-3DI. Everyone was counting on him.

And he sincerely hoped he wouldn't let them down.