They are us

I weep. A lot.

However, I never sobbed so hopelessly hard as in reading page 99 of "Light of the Jedi."

Chapter 16 affected me irrationally and deeply.

If you did not read this book yet, just finish this caption when you will.

No main spoilers, but.

There are many heroes in Soule's book.

The Jedi. The best version of them.

Governors and Chancellors. Truly believing in their mission. To serve.

And there are. People.

Common, powerless, ordinary people.

Yet able, in extraordinary circumstances, to unexpectedly perform extraordinary acts.

Petty Officer Innamin is a grounded and opinionated human mechanic.

Finial Bright is the fierce and experienced Nautolan Captain of the Aurora IX.

We don't know much about them. The beauty of LOTJ is introducing many of these exceptional yet common characters. Few sentences, small details. And we feel immediately connected.

They are us.

When, despite his growing panic, Innamin decides to sacrifice himself for saving his crew, rescuing civilians on a space station, from an imminent reactor explosion, it was, in a way, something that I expected. Years of life and death situations in novels and movies trained me.

The character, generally, may or may not survive. And, in this case, the Captain indeed comes to the rescue.

With Bright's plan working brilliantly —a droid effective in delaying the catastrophe— and him almost leaving the station, I was mentally at ease.

And then.

A stranger. An alien.

Unconscious. Too heavy for Bright to be transported.

He can be anyone.

Bright does not know anything about him.

A good person. A bad person.

A brilliant mind. A fool.

But, in a second. The decision is made.

"Bright gave himself a moment, just one to think about his life, the things he'd done and the things he thought he might do. He thought about the Republic, and what it meant, and his own oaths to serve is and all its people"

And then he ran back to the reactor.

"I've got this" he said, pushing the pill droid out of the way. []

"You've got a patient"

And this is different do die because you are Jedi.

Or because you have a mission or a goal.

But because others are 'our neighbors'. To be loved.

'Others' are us.