A small, fur-covered figure had been traveling through the woods, using his stone-tipped spear as a walking stick, when he’d heard the sound of speeder bikes traveling at high speed. A native of Endor’s forest moon, he was aware of the presence of white-armored invaders on his world, but he had still been surprised when his large black eyes had sighted a bright flash of light in the distance: A speeder bike had crashed and exploded against a tree. That explosion had been followed by another, and then the sound of speeder bikes was gone.

The native didn’t know the origin of the white-armored invaders, but he knew they weren’t friendly. Because of what they’d been doing on his world—cutting down trees, erecting large metal structures, racing around on noisy machines—he neither liked nor welcomed them.

Now, adjusting his brown leather cowl, he listened and watched the forest. Except for the cries of some alarmed birds, he heard nothing and saw no movement around the area of the explosions. After waiting to make sure no other invaders were coming, he tightened his grip on his spear and moved quickly through the bushes and past the trees, making his way toward the crash sites. If the explosions had started any fires, he would put them out. If there were any survivors, he would deal with them, too.

The furry creature was an Ewok, and his name was Wicket.

Fortunately, the crashed speeder bikes had not left any flaming wreckage. Wicket found a lifeless white-armored form near the shattered remains of one bike, but the prone figure near the other crash site was different. For one thing, this particular invader wasn’t wearing white armor, but was clad in garments that had been colored to blend in with the forest; also, watching the camouflage poncho’s subtle rise and fall, Wicket could see the invader was breathing.

Wicket guessed the unconscious outsider had fallen or jumped from the speeder bike immediately before it crashed. Stepping closer, he saw she wore a helmet that revealed a human face. Wicket had encountered humans before, and the face reminded him of an adult woman whose family’s star cruiser crash-landed on Endor. Then he remembered another woman, an evil shape-shifting witch, and shuddered at the memory.

Wicket assumed the human before him was a woman, but didn’t assume she was friendly. Approaching her body cautiously, he extended his spear and prodded her side. When no reaction came, he prodded again.

Feeling the spear’s jab, Princess Leia sat bolt upright and said, “Cut it out!”

Wicket jumped back but kept his spear held high.

Leia felt disoriented, but seeing the furry creature before her, it took all of her diplomatic skills to resist laughing. He was barely one meter tall, and despite his fierce behavior, he looked almost ridiculously adorable. Wondering how long she’d been unconscious, Leia stood up slowly and stretched. No broken bones, thank goodness.

The creature chittered at her.

“I’m not gonna hurt you,” Leia said. She looked around at the charred remains of her speeder bike, then sighed and sat down on a fallen log. “Well, looks like I’m stuck here. Trouble is, I don’t know where here is.” She looked to the furry creature. “Maybe you can help me.” She patted the log beside her. “Come on, sit down.”

Wicket growled at her.

“I promise I won’t hurt you,” Leia continued gently. “Now come here.” She patted the log again, and again the creature growled. “All right. You want something to eat?” She removed a ration bar from a pocket and held it out to him. She broke off a small piece and popped it into her own mouth, just to show him it wasn’t poisonous.

Wicket cocked his head, looking at the bar, then took a cautious step forward onto the log. He chattered to her in his squeaky Ewok language.

“That’s right,” Leia said. “Come on. Hmmm?”

Sniffing the proffered food curiously, Wicket moved closer and took it from Leia’s hand. Then he plopped himself down beside her and began nibbling at the bar. But when Leia reached up to remove her helmet, Wicket became startled. He jumped back and again raised his spear at her.

Leia held the helmet out to him and said, “Look, it’s a hat. It’s not gonna hurt you. Look.” She showed him the helmet was empty. Reassured, he lowered his spear and took the helmet from her to examine it. Leia went on, “You’re a jittery little thing, aren’t you?”

Suddenly, Wicket turned away from Leia, dropping her helmet so he could grasp his spear with both paws. His ears perked up and he began to sniff the air. He looked around warily, and whispered an Ewokese warning to Leia.

“What is it?” Leia asked. Scanning the surrounding trees, she saw nothing.

Without warning, a laserbolt zinged out of the foliage and exploded on the log next to Leia. She and Wicket rolled backward off the log to hide behind it. Leia drew her blaster pistol and held it ready, peeking over the log as another laserbolt shot out from the forest and struck near her head.

Leia ducked down as Wicket threw himself into the small gap between the log and the ground. Leia thought, Those shots were too precise to have been misses. Someone’s trying to draw me out or scare me off. She eased herself up again, risking another glance in the direction of the mysterious shooter, who remained completely concealed by trees.

“Freeze!” said a voice from just behind Leia, causing her to jump with surprise. She turned to see an Imperial scout trooper had snuck up on her. The scout had his blaster aimed at her head, and he reached out with his other hand to take her weapon.

“Come on, get up!” the scout ordered.

Leia rose and saw a second scout—the shooter—emerge from the dense foliage. Addressing the shooter, the scout beside her said, “Go get your ride and take her back to base.”

“Yes, sir.”

Still beneath the log, Wicket had seen enough to know that the woman was no friend of the white-armored invaders. Gripping his spear, the brave Ewok swung hard at the right leg of the scout beside Leia. Whack!

“What the—” exclaimed the scout, glancing down at Wicket.

Seizing the opportunity to take advantage of the distracted scout, Leia grabbed a fallen branch and swung at his head, knocking him out instantly. Then she dived for her blaster, came up with it fast, and aimed at the other scout, who’d just jumped onto his speeder bike. The bike took off, and Leia fired away at it.

The escaping scout’s bike was hit, and he collided with the parked bike that belonged to his already-subdued companion. He was thrown head over heels through the air as both bikes exploded.

Wicket poked his fuzzy head up from behind the log and regarded Leia with new respect, muttering praise.

From her earlier run-in with scout troopers, Leia knew more could be close by. Holstering her blaster, she hurried over to her small ally and motioned for him to follow her away from the area.

“Come on,” Leia said. “Let’s get out of here.”

But as they moved into the foliage, Wicket shrieked and tugged at Leia’s arm. Figuring that her newfound friend knew his way around the forest better than she did, Leia decided to follow him. Both of them forgot about Leia’s helmet, which remained on the ground where Wicket had dropped it.

On the Death Star, two Royal Guards stood sentry on either side of the turbolift in the Emperor’s throne room. Neither guard so much as flinched when the turbolift door slid open and Darth Vader entered.

Vader crossed the bridge and ascended the stairway to the upper platform where the Emperor sat in his large chair, his back to the door. Gazing out the tall circular window, the Emperor chided, “I told you to remain on the command ship.”

Vader said, “A small Rebel force has penetrated the shield and landed on Endor.”

“Yes, I know,” the Emperor replied in an almost bored tone as he slowly rotated his chair to face Vader.

Vader hesitated, wondering how much the Emperor really did know. Then he said, “My son is with them.”

This did surprise the Emperor, but he tried not to show it.

“Are you sure?” he asked.

“I have felt him, my Master.”

“Strange that I have not,” the Emperor said testily. Leaning forward in his chair, he said, “I wonder if your feelings on this matter are clear, Lord Vader.”

“They are clear, my Master.”

“Then you must go to the Sanctuary Moon and wait for him.”

Vader was skeptical. “He will come to me?”

“I have foreseen it,” the Emperor said as he eased back into his chair. “His compassion for you will be his undoing. He will come to you, and then you will bring him before me.”

“As you wish,” Vader said, adding a deep bow. Then he turned and strode out of the throne room.

Luke reached down with his black-gloved right hand and picked up Leia’s helmet from where it had been abandoned on the forest floor. Oh, no, he thought. This doesn’t look good.

“Luke!” Han called out. “Luke!”

Carrying Leia’s helmet, Luke ran to rejoin the search party. He found Han, Chewbacca, C-3PO, and R2-D2 beside the charred wreckage of a speeder bike in the grass.

“Oh, Master Luke,” C-3PO said with dismay.

“There’s two more wrecked speeders back there,” Luke reported. “And I found this.” He held out Leia’s helmet, then tossed it to Han.

R2-D2 beeped.

C-3PO translated, “I’m afraid that Artoo’s sensors can find no trace of Princess Leia.”

Everyone looked to Han. Devastated, he said, “I hope she’s all right.”

Chewbacca sniffed at the air and growled. Then he walked off, pushing his way through the foliage.

“What, Chewie?” Han said.

Chewbacca barked but kept moving.

“What, Chewie?” Han repeated.

The group followed the Wookiee until he arrived at a break in the dense undergrowth. A tall wooden stake had been planted in the ground, and a dead animal hung from it.

Everyone moved up around Chewbacca. Looking at the carcass, Han said, “Hey, I don’t get it.”

Chewbacca eyed the carcass and let out a hungry groan.

“Nah,” Han said. “It’s just a dead animal, Chewie.”

Unable to resist, Chewbacca reached for the carcass.

Sensing danger, Luke jumped forward and said, “Chewie, wa-wait! Don’t!”

Too late. Chewbacca had already pulled the animal from the stake, triggering the trap. A strong branch sprang and lifted above them, rapidly hauling up the net that had been concealed under the grass and leaves beneath their feet. The net wrapped tightly around the entire group, forcing them together as it lifted them high above the clearing.

R2-D2 was lying practically sideways at the bottom of the net, and let out a wild series of beeps and whistles. Chewbacca howled his regret.

“Nice work,” Han said, his face pressed up against the side of the net. “Great, Chewie! Great! Always thinking with your stomach.”

“Will you take it easy,” Luke said. His right arm poked through the net, but the rest of his body was twisted up against the others. “Let’s just figure out a way to get out of this thing.” He tried to free his arm, but was unsuccessful. “Han, can you reach my lightsaber?”

“Yeah, sure.” Han stretched forward, reaching out to Luke.

Hoping to help, R2-D2 opened a panel on his cylindrical body, extended a compact circular saw, and activated its rotating blade. Exhibiting a skill most often attributed to surgeons using trephines, the astromech began rapidly cutting through the net.

“Artoo,” C-3PO said, “I’m not sure that’s such a good idea. It’s a very long dro-o-p!” C-3PO’s last word was punctuated by the net tearing open, instantly releasing all the figures to tumble to the clearing below.

That hurt, Luke thought, pushing himself to sit up on the ground. He looked around. Han and Chewbacca appeared to be a bit stunned but were otherwise fine, and R2-D2 had somehow landed on his feet. Where’s Threepio? Before he could sight the golden droid, he saw movement within some nearby ferns and bushes. Then short, fur-covered creatures emerged, pushing their way through the foliage to surround the fallen group.

The creatures were armed with primitive weapons: stone-tipped spears and knives, heavy wooden clubs, bows and arrows. They appeared to be hunters or warriors. Most had dark pelts, but one had light and dark gray-striped fur; he was further distinguished by an ornate headdress that had been made from the skull of a large animal, and a necklace of long, sharp teeth.

Two of the hunters moved up on either side of R2-D2 and brushed their paws against his exterior. R2-D2 beeped nervously.

Thinking the creatures were harmless, Han grinned at them. Evidently, this was an error; the hunter wearing the skull headdress—apparently the leader—stepped forward and jabbed the tip of his long spear at the air in front of Han’s face.

“Wait…” Han said. “Hey!” He raised his hand and swatted at the spear. “Point that thing someplace else.”

Han’s antagonist turned to one of his furry companions and they had a quick, chittering discussion. A moment later, the stripe-furred creature angled his spear back at Han.

“Hey!” Han said again angrily, grabbing at the spear with one hand as he drew his blaster with the other.

“Han, don’t,” Luke cautioned. “It’ll be all right.” Luke sensed the creatures were merely trying to protect their territory and he didn’t want to harm them. As a gesture of good faith, he removed his lightsaber from its belt clip and handed it over to one of the hunters.

Han’s blaster was taken from him. Chewbacca was not so ready to relinquish his own weapon and growled in protest.

Luke said, “Chewie, give ’em your crossbow.” The Wookiee growled again but complied.

“Oh, my head,” C-3PO said as he sat up from a nearby bed of ferns. Then he saw all the weapon-wielding creatures and added, “Oh, my goodness!”

At the sight of the golden droid, the hunters gasped. Then they muttered to each other and lowered their weapons. Unexpectedly, they began to chant and bow down before C-3PO.

Chewbacca let out a puzzled bark. Han and Luke regarded the bowing creatures with wonder.

C-3PO turned his head from side to side, listening to the natives’ language. Then he said, “Treetoe doggra. Ee soyoto ambuna nocka.”

A few of the creatures responded in their own language. The others continued to bow and chant.

Looking to C-3PO, Luke asked, “Do you understand anything they’re saying?”

“Oh, yes, Master Luke! Remember that I am fluent in over six million forms of communica—”

“What are you telling them?” Han interrupted.

“Hello, I think…” C-3PO said. “I could be mistaken. These creatures seem to call themselves ‘Ewoks.’ They’re using a very primitive dialect. But I do believe they think I am some sort of god.”

Chewbacca and R2-D2 found this extremely amusing. Han and Luke exchanged glances, then Han said sarcastically, “Well, why don’t you use your divine influence and get us out of this?”

“I beg your pardon, General Solo,” C-3PO said, “but that just wouldn’t be proper.”

Getting angry again, Han asked, “Proper?!”

“It’s against my programming to impersonate a deity,” C-3PO explained.

Moving threateningly toward the protocol droid, Han said, “Why, you…”

Several spears were suddenly thrust close to Han as the Ewoks moved to protect their newfound god. Han held up his hands placatingly and said, “My mistake. He’s an old friend of mine.”

Unfortunately, the Ewoks didn’t think much of C-3PO’s friends.