Week 7 Story: The Perfect Disguise
The Perfect Disguise
Out in the middle of the forest, it is silent all except for the rustling leaves with each footstep taken. Five Jedi begrudgingly take each step. The battle has been won, but the losses have been steep; they are the only ones left. With no way to get off the world they are traveling until they can find some shelter. Astonishingly, all the Jedi were brothers and knew that they could get through this trial. The brothers were Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula, and Sahadeva. It was hot outside and even with the coverage of the trees, it was becoming unbearable to stand; shelter needed to be found.
Suddenly, an individual appeared out of thin air and began to talk to the brothers.
“You are coming upon a town soon, but they do not favor the Jedi at all. You need to disguise yourself if you want to live. After recovering in the town, head north and you will find a ship there to leave the planet.”
“Thank you for the advice, but who are you and why are you helping us?” said Arjuna.
“I am Vyasa, I am a force ghost and am here to help you.”
“Very well, we shall follow your advice and hope for the best,” replied Arjuna.
Following Vyasa’s advice, all five brothers were able to shapeshift into different people to disguise themselves.
“It’s a good thing are special ability is shapeshifting or else the people suspect that we are Jedi,” said Bhima.
So, the five brothers continued to travel along the road for some time until they came to the village that Vyasa had told them about. They were greeted by the villagers with smiles and kind greetings. They asked how they could help travelers. The brothers explained to them that they were just passing through but needed some time to recover because they had had nothing to eat or drink for five days on their journey. The villagers agreed to this and set them in a hut in the village. As they were passing through the streets, they saw signs of propaganda that denounced the Jedi and what they stood for. Once the brothers were together in their hut, they looked at each other and wondered what could have happened to make the villagers feel this way.
The brothers ate and rested for three days. In return, they paid the villagers with some of the credits that they had leftover that they were given. The villagers were very thankful for this, but some of them wondered how these weary travelers could have so many credits. As the brothers were leaving a mythical being called a rakshasa appeared from the forest and went on a rampage. It saw the village and went straight for it because it knew the people would be defenseless. The brothers looked back at the town and were distraught at the sight of what was going on.
“We have to help these people. We cannot leave them to die after all they have done for us,” said Nakula.
“If we do, we risk exposing ourselves and who knows what will happen then,” said Sahadeva.
“Well if none of you will do anything, then I will,” said Bhima.
Bhima ran into the village and attacked the rakshasa. With ease Bhima slew rakshasa and the village people were amazed. One of the villagers exclaimed,
“The last time we saw someone kill a rakshasa with that much ease was a Jedi…”
Once Bhima realized that they were onto him he quickly ran out of the village and joined his brothers to continue their journey. They traveled for two more days north until they came upon a small city. As they entered the city, they saw that there was a spaceport nearby. Because they had no more credits, they would have to steal a ship to get off the planet. They entered the spaceport and looked for a ship that would fit them.
“What? There are no large ships here. They are all small!” said Yudhishthira.
“Vyasa knew there would only be small ships available and is just playing jokes on us,” said Bhima.
“Well, it’s better than nothing. We can either be stuck here or get off this planet. Comfort versus convince. C’mon, once we get into hyperspace, you won’t even notice anything.” said Arjuna.
All the brothers climbed into one of the small ships and were cramped. But, as Arjuna had suggested, once they got into hyperspace, they couldn’t tell the difference. And on their way back home they went.
Authors Note:
Bibliography: R.K. Narayan, The Mahabharata: A Shortened Modern Prose Version of the Indian Epic, 1978
Out in the middle of the forest, it is silent all except for the rustling leaves with each footstep taken. Five Jedi begrudgingly take each step. The battle has been won, but the losses have been steep; they are the only ones left. With no way to get off the world they are traveling until they can find some shelter. Astonishingly, all the Jedi were brothers and knew that they could get through this trial. The brothers were Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula, and Sahadeva. It was hot outside and even with the coverage of the trees, it was becoming unbearable to stand; shelter needed to be found.
Suddenly, an individual appeared out of thin air and began to talk to the brothers.
“You are coming upon a town soon, but they do not favor the Jedi at all. You need to disguise yourself if you want to live. After recovering in the town, head north and you will find a ship there to leave the planet.”
“Thank you for the advice, but who are you and why are you helping us?” said Arjuna.
“I am Vyasa, I am a force ghost and am here to help you.”
“Very well, we shall follow your advice and hope for the best,” replied Arjuna.
Following Vyasa’s advice, all five brothers were able to shapeshift into different people to disguise themselves.
“It’s a good thing are special ability is shapeshifting or else the people suspect that we are Jedi,” said Bhima.
So, the five brothers continued to travel along the road for some time until they came to the village that Vyasa had told them about. They were greeted by the villagers with smiles and kind greetings. They asked how they could help travelers. The brothers explained to them that they were just passing through but needed some time to recover because they had had nothing to eat or drink for five days on their journey. The villagers agreed to this and set them in a hut in the village. As they were passing through the streets, they saw signs of propaganda that denounced the Jedi and what they stood for. Once the brothers were together in their hut, they looked at each other and wondered what could have happened to make the villagers feel this way.
The brothers ate and rested for three days. In return, they paid the villagers with some of the credits that they had leftover that they were given. The villagers were very thankful for this, but some of them wondered how these weary travelers could have so many credits. As the brothers were leaving a mythical being called a rakshasa appeared from the forest and went on a rampage. It saw the village and went straight for it because it knew the people would be defenseless. The brothers looked back at the town and were distraught at the sight of what was going on.
“We have to help these people. We cannot leave them to die after all they have done for us,” said Nakula.
“If we do, we risk exposing ourselves and who knows what will happen then,” said Sahadeva.
“Well if none of you will do anything, then I will,” said Bhima.
Bhima ran into the village and attacked the rakshasa. With ease Bhima slew rakshasa and the village people were amazed. One of the villagers exclaimed,
“The last time we saw someone kill a rakshasa with that much ease was a Jedi…”
Once Bhima realized that they were onto him he quickly ran out of the village and joined his brothers to continue their journey. They traveled for two more days north until they came upon a small city. As they entered the city, they saw that there was a spaceport nearby. Because they had no more credits, they would have to steal a ship to get off the planet. They entered the spaceport and looked for a ship that would fit them.
“What? There are no large ships here. They are all small!” said Yudhishthira.
“Vyasa knew there would only be small ships available and is just playing jokes on us,” said Bhima.
“Well, it’s better than nothing. We can either be stuck here or get off this planet. Comfort versus convince. C’mon, once we get into hyperspace, you won’t even notice anything.” said Arjuna.
All the brothers climbed into one of the small ships and were cramped. But, as Arjuna had suggested, once they got into hyperspace, they couldn’t tell the difference. And on their way back home they went.
Authors Note:
I adapted this story from when the Pandava brothers were hiding in the forest. Bhima kills a rakshasa, but one of the rakshasa – Hidimbi – falls in love with Bhima. They have a son named Ghatotkacha. Then Kunti and the Pandavas travel into the forest. At that time Vyasa tells them to act like brahmins and disguise themselves to get through the woods. They conceal themselves as Kshatriyas. They end up begging each day and divide up what they earn each day. Bhima battles a rakshasa and the people around him are surprised that a brahmin can defeat such a demon.
In my story, I take the same storyline but set it up so that the brothers are attempting to get back home from the war that had just taken place. Also, I put it in the context of the Star Wars setting. The brothers start out in the forest, and Vyasa tells them they need to disguise themselves because they are coming up on a village that is not good to Jedi. They disguise themselves, and once they come into the town, all the villagers are very accepting of them. They continue to be until they must fight off some of their enemies. The villagers see this and question who they are. They escape the village and travel to a spaceport where they find a ship and escape the planet. Something new was that they had to find a ship to get back home.
Bibliography: R.K. Narayan, The Mahabharata: A Shortened Modern Prose Version of the Indian Epic, 1978
(Pandava brothers meet Vyasa: Wikimedia Commons)
Hi Casey!
ReplyDeleteI loved your version of this story! I am a big Star Wars fan so your twist made the storyline extra interesting to me. However I love how true you stayed to the original storyline. Your layout made reading the story much more enjoyable! I often find myself not separating out commentary and I appreciate the time you put into that part of your story telling. Great job!
Hello Casey!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your story quite a bit! I'm not a major Star Wars fan, but I did grow up with the movies so I can appreciate references when I see them. I thought it was interesting that you had them disguised, which is always a good idea when you are going into a new town. I think it would be interesting and a bit helpful if you had a little side story within this bigger one to tell us why the villagers did not like the Jedi, maybe from a town elder or something along those lines.