“Stuck in the Muck”

Onward to Starlight Beacon
Jedi Initiate Kai Brightstar eagerly awaits an upcoming visit to Starlight Beacon, a Jedi space station. Jedi Master Zia Zaldor Zanna has instructed him to go on a mission with his friends Lys Solay, Nash Durango, and Nubs to search for a sapling of Tenoo tree in the forests of Tenoo. They plan to present the sapling as a gift to Starlight Beacon. Nubs finds a suitable sapling near a grove of bushes and digs it up. He then places it in a pot as per Brightstar’s instructions.

While traveling through hyperspace on their ship, Crimson Firehawk, Durango tries to calm the anxious Brightstar by assuring him they will reach Starlight Beacon in time. However, their ship receives a distress signal from the planet Galjaero. Although Brightstar is anxious about missing their tour, Durango reminds him that helping those in need is always a Jedi’s priority. Durango also reassures him they have enough time for a quick stop since they are early. Although reluctantly, Brightstar agrees to help, and they head towards Galjaero.

The distress call and misunderstanding
Upon arriving at the scene, they see three figures trying to enter the ship, assuming they are pirates. Durango suggests that she and RJ-83 stay aboard the ship while the rest of the group investigates. From the hill above the ship, the younglings observe a blue Chagrian man overseeing three other figures unloading crates from the ship. They suspect that the individuals are pirates who broke into the ship and are stealing its contents. The younglings also believe the people who sent the distress call are still inside the ship.

Brightstar, one of the younglings, comes up with a plan to retrieve the stolen crates, drive away the pirates, and help get the ship out of the mud. They hope to deliver the crates and then head to Starlight Beacon.

The younglings approach the apparent pirates, with Solay stating that she doesn’t believe the crates belong to them. The Chagrian insists that the crates belong to his group, but Brightstar accuses them of being pirates and orders them to leave. The Chagrian fetches vibroblades, and the Jedi younglings draw their lightsabers in response.

Reunion with Chigg
Durango and RJ-83 have parked the Firehawk on a nearby hill while the fighting between the Jedi younglings and the pirates ensues. However, before they can intervene, Chigg, the friendly Abednedo pirate they met at the Jellyfruit Festival, arrives. Chigg explains that their ship got stuck in the mud and that they sent a distress call. Durango assures Chigg that she and her friends are here to help.

Upon observing the fighting from above, Chigg comments that the Jedi younglings’ efforts seem ineffective. Durango rushes down the hill and orders a ceasefire. She informs her Jedi friends that the people they are fighting are pirates but that they were also the ones who sent the distress call. After examining the ship and crates, Solay confirms they belong to the pirates. The Chagrian pirate explains that this is what he had been trying to tell them earlier. Brightstar apologizes for the misunderstanding, admitting they thought the pirates were stealing the crates.

Chegg vouches for the Jedi younglings, recalling their shared jelly fruit during the Jellyfruit Festival on Tenoo. Chigg says it was a turning point in convincing him and his pirate associates that they no longer wanted to be pirates. The Kyuzo pirate adds that they no longer steal stuff and instead buy and sell rare, multicolored fruits that only grow on Galjaero. The Kyuzo explains that they were unloading everything to get their ship out of the mud.

Helping the reformed pirates
Brightstar offers to help by suggesting that he and his Jedi friends could use their Force powers to lift the pirates’ ship out of the mud. The pirates agree to Brightstar’s plan. However, Solay has a different idea and thinks it would be better to unload everything from the ship and lift it out of the mud. Brightstar disagrees with Solay’s plan and thinks removing everything will take too long, so he insists it will work. While the pirates, Durango and RJ-83, use tools to pry the ship out of the mud, Brightstar and his Jedi friends use their Force powers to lift the ship.

Unfortunately, the ship is still too heavy and slides down the muddy hill into a pit. The Chagrin pirate reacts in dismay, but Durango tries to reassure him that things cannot get worse. However, the pit is located near the cave of a tentacled creature that extends its tentacles over the ship. Brightstar feels responsible for worsening the situation in his eagerness to get to Starlight Beacon. Solay reassures Brightstar that everyone makes mistakes and encourages him not to give up, which Nubs agrees with.

The second attempt
Brightstar agrees and declares they will leave Galjaero once they resolve the issue. He affirms the Jedi promise to assist others and says that Starlight Beacon can wait. The three younglings then discuss a plan to rescue the pirates’ ship. Solay suggests they first need to distract the creature, while Nubs mentions that they will require something strong to pull the ship out of the mud. When Durango expresses relief that they didn’t land the Firehawk in the mud, Brightstar suggests using the Firehawk’s tow cable to pull the ship free. The Chagrian pirate asks who will attach the tow cable to their ship.

Brightstar says he has an idea that involves getting the other Jedi younglings and pirates to distract the creature while he and Chigg attach the tow cable to the pirate ship. Putting their plan into action, Solay, Nubs, and the pirates run down the bull and distract the monster by hurling fruits at it. The creature begins feeding on the fruits while Brightstar and Chigg attach the tow cable to the pirate ship. Durango fires up the Firehawk’s engines and pulls the pirate ship out of the pit. The Jedi and pirates cheer.

Guests of Starlight Beacon
On safer ground, Chigg expresses his gratitude to the Jedi younglings for their help and inquires about their reason for being in that part of the galaxy. Brightstar clarifies that he and his friends were en route to Starlight Beacon. Chegg expressed his interest in visiting Starlight Beacon someday, as he has heard much about it. Brightstar invites Chigg and his pirate associates, and the ships travel together to Starlight Beacon.

Upon arrival, Brightstar, Solay, and Nubs are amazed by the beauty of the space station. Inside the great hall of Starlight Beacon, they are greeted by Jedi Master Estala Maru, who had been concerned about the younglings from Tenoo and their whereabouts. Brightstar apologizes for missing the tour, explaining that they had responded to a distress call. Chigg discloses that he and his pirate friends were the ones who had called for assistance. Maru is impressed with the young Jedi’s altruism and invites them to tour the station.

During the tour, nubs and Solay gift Maru with a sapling from a Tenoo tree. Maru explains that the Jedi Order and the Galactic Republic had established Starlight Beacon to assist individuals residing in the Outer Rim Territories. He commends the younglings for their benevolent actions and invites them and the pirates for a more extensive station tour. The younglings are thrilled at the prospect of exploring the station.

“Junkyard Sleepover”

Night terrors
One night, junkyard owner Marlaa Jinara is awoken by strange noises. Venturing outside her home into her junkyard, she finds the hulking monster droid JG-1, who confirms he is not the source of the noise. The two hear more noise and go to confront the source of the disturbance. JG-1 mistakes one of Jinara’s structures for the intruder. The two are approached by an unidentified shape, causing Jinara to scream hysterically.

Jedi to the rescue
The following day, the Jedi younglings Kai Brightstar, Lys Solay, Nubs, and their pilot friend Nash Durango visited Marlaa’s junkyard with parts they planned to donate. They encounter a startled Jinara and JG-1. Jinara explains that she hasn’t slept for days due to something strange in the junkyard disturbing her sleep and moving stuff around. She believes that it is a Gloomling, legendary beings on Tenoo who haunt people’s homes until they leave so that they can take over.

Durango thinks that Gloomlings are just found in bedtime stories and are not real. Jinara believes that a Gloomling haunts her junkyard and fears she will have to move. JG-1 murmurs in Binary. Brightstar vows to help Jinara defend her home, while Solay says there must be an explanation. Jinara is grateful to her Jedi friends. Brightstar vows to catch the Gloomling.

Night at the junkyard
The younglings obtain permission from Jedi Master Zia Zaldor Zanna to spend the night with Jinara and JG-1 to help her. While sitting beside a campfire, Jinara explains that Gloomlings are small, have glowing eyes, and are nocturnal. Durango adds that Gloomlings like to play tricks on people by moving things around. Solay is frightened and asks Jinara if Gloomlings are real. Jinara replies that the galaxy is filled with strange things, including legendary beasts, spell-casting witches, and ghosts. This scares Nubs.

The group is startled by a chittering noise. Brightstar splits the group into two. While he, Jinara, and JG-1 search one area, Nubs, Solay, and Durango will search the other way. Brightstar’s group searches a box but finds no sign of the Gloomling. They are startled when the box seemingly closes by itself. Fearing a Gloomling, the three decide to find the others. Meanwhile, Solay and her group are startled by the head of a DUM-series pit droid, which they mistake for a Gloomling. They retreat to find the others. The two groups converge only to find Nubs is missing.

The “Gloomling”
JG-1 steps on a hole which leads to a tunnel. Solay spots Nubs’ footprints and believes he fell in and got lost. While the Jedi younglings and Durango head inside the tunnel to investigate Jinara and JG-1 remain on the surface to keep watch. Descending into the tunnel, Solay and Brightstar activate their lightsabers. They find Nubs’s lightsaber on the ground and sense movement. They soon discover Nubs, who is well and alive.

As Nubs tries to explain in Poobian, the four younglings are startled by a hooded figure with a glowing eye. They climb out of the tunnel, but the hooded figure follows them to the surface. It jumps on top of a board before charging at them. While they flee, JG-1 trips and topples over a heap of junk, which triggers a domino effect throughout the junkyard. JG-1 manages to shelter the sentients with his massive body, but Jinara is dismayed by the mess in her junkyard. Believing she is under attack from a Gloomling, Jinara wants to pack up and leave.

Brightstar understands she is scared but says being scared has only worsened things. Solay says she needs to push through her feelings, while Durango says they must send the Gloomling the message that this is her home. Jinara agrees and vows not to leave. Since Gloomlings don’t like light, Brightstar proposes turning on every light in the junkyard, while Solay proposes trapping it.

Putting their plans into action, the younglings and JG-1 assemble several lights and an improvised trap. After Durango switches on all the lights, the hooded shape surfaces. Brightstar uses his second lightsaber to drive the hooded shape toward the trap with the help of Nubs and Solay, who also draw their lightsabers. Jinara traps the hooded shape under a bell. After cornering the shape, they discover the so-called Gloomling is a damaged, diminutive, tracked droid.

The orphaned droid
Jinara notices that the tracks droid’s vocal chip and photoreceptor are damaged. Taking pity on the droid, Jinara installs a new Vocabulator and tightens the photoreceptor. The newly repaired droid begins chirping in Binary. Durango explains that the droid was left for junk after his owner closed the shop and left Tenoo. He has been digging for parts around the junkyard to repair himself. Jinara says the droid is welcome to stay with her and JG-1 for as long as he likes. JG-1 chips in agreement. She says that the junkyard has all the parts he needs and that there is nothing to fear.

The following day, Durango and the younglings meet a happier Jinara, who is sleeping again. She thanks them all for their help and reveals that she has named the orphaned tracked droid PT-3. Jinara invites the younglings to help with the junkyard. Nubs is startled by the box he encountered last night but finds nothing inside. After he leaves, the box stirs mysteriously.