The Jon Solo Chronicles Book 3: Return of the Jedi

Chapter 17: The Ewok Village

The Ewoks rounded up Jon, Han, Chewie, Luke and R2. Something special was done for 3-PO. They built him a throne out of wood. He sat upon it, looking as haughty as ever. While the protocol droid had said it was against his programing to impersonate a deity, that didn't stop him from relishing his new role as a golden god.

Luke, Han and Chewie were all tied to poles, which pairs of Ewoks hoisted between them. Another horde of Ewoks called R2 on a wooden raft-like contraption. Jon was a the back of the procession, lying on a makeshift wooden stretcher. It was really the best thing for him, what with his broken rib. But it had taken a lot of convincing from 3-PO, Han and Jon himself before the Ewoks finally agreed to build the stretcher for the boy. Jon thought he would feel considerably more comfortable on this stretcher than he would have if he were tied to poles like his father, Luke and Chewie were.

Jon tried to periodically check if his rib had gotten any worse. But it was still rough going. The Ewoks were very short. They had a hard time holding onto the stretcher and keeping it steady. In fact, they nearly dropped it several times. And on other occasions, Jon was afraid he would fall off. Another annoyance was how the Ewoks kept climbing on the stretcher, trying to get a better look at Jon. In other circumstances, he wouldn't have minded this much. But right now, he was injured and tired. That made him feel irritable and angry. He would swipe at the Ewoks, and these movements would make his rib hurt even more.

Where are we even going, anyway? Jon silently asked himself. I hope we get there soon, because I don't know how much more of this I can take.

That's when things got even worse for Jon, because he started throwing up. The procession came to a halt.

"Oh, I really hope you're not puking up blood, Jon," said Han. Jon vomited until nothing else came up. Then he panted for several seconds, trying to get his breath back.

"No, Dad, I didn't puke up blood," Jon answered at length.

"That's great, son," said Han. "It means you haven't punctured a lung."

"Let's hope I can kept it that way," said Jon. "Does anyone know where we're going?"

"The Ewoks tell me they're taking us to their village," said 3-PO. "It shouldn't be that much further away."

"Ok," Jon said with a sigh. He tried again to get comfortable. Near the front of the line, Han was growing worried. He needed to get help for Jon, and fast. But how much worse would Jon's condition become before that help arrived? If it ever came. Han wished he could get these ropes off and run to his son's side. Although he knew he shouldn't, Han blamed himself for Jon having gotten hurt.

As the trek to the Ewok village continued, night began to fall over Endor. Stars shone high in the sky. They were some of the brightest and clearest Jon could ever remember seeing from the surface of any given world. He concentrated on looking at the stars. Doing so made him feel better. It took his mind off the pain of his broken rib. Up ahead, he could see more of the forest moon's towering trees. The Ewoks now brought Jon and the others across a series of wooden bridges which led into the village.