Emergency

[NOTE: If you caught one of my IG stories the other day, you know that I have very serious issues with "Tempest Runner", the last audio drama released by Penguin Random House. My umbrage at the plot/author choices isn't a mere matter of preference. If it is true that I personally found "Rising Storm" a flat exercise of style without any actual feeling, and I'm not particularly into the main comic series, I didn't feel the urge to share my thoughts in my stories before. I am not here to give stars or tomatoes, and, quite frankly, who cares what my opinions are.

However, "Tempest Runner" disturbed and angered me on a more profound and personal scale, so, I felt to share it, at least, in my stories. And, according to the landslide of private messages I received after posting that, I was not the only one.

This said, it would be silly of me to disregard the list of THR posts that I have in my bucket. Sharing with you the wise passages —like the one that follows—, the wonderful characters, the heartwarming stories.

Everything I AM grateful for, and very much, in this series.]

~

Across Hetzal Prime and the broad expanses of its two inhabited moons, the message of Minister Ecka travel rapidly []: *Nowhere is safe. Get as far away as you can.*

Explanation was limited, which caused speculation. [.]

Some people ignored the warning. [.] After all, the entire system in danger? It just wasn't possible.

Those people stayed in their homes, at their workplaces. They turned off their screens and got back to their lives, because it was better than the alternative. And if they glanced to the skies from time to time, and saw starships heading up and out... well, they told themselves the people in those ships were fools, easily spooked.

~

I read this "Light of the Jedi" excerpt for the first time in mid-March.

And it hit me.

Still does.

Too real, too tragically palpable all around.

Wishful thoughts becoming new truths, facts.

Everyone pushing to be normal again.

While selfishly forgetting the most vulnerable, the ones that a democratic society swore to protect instead.

So, "now more than ever, we need the Jedi".

[Photo: a beautiful THR inspired hairpin by @outerspaceoutpost]