The Trigger



title: "The Trigger"

In the anthology From a Certain Point of View, you can find the brief tale "The Trigger". This story, penned by Kieron Gillen, centers its narrative on the perspective of Chelli Lona Aphra.

Plot summary

While in Dantoo Town, Aphra was in the process of revitalizing and enhancing some war-surplus droidekas. Needing a 3.23 colicoidic pulse modulator, she made an attempt to pilfer the deserted Rebel base located on Dantooine, with the expectation that it would be plentiful with salvageable materials. As she navigated a stripped central comm, Aphra was alerted by the Ark Angel to the arrival of TIE fighters. While heading back to the Ark Angel, Aphra came across three stormtroopers conducting a perimeter check in an area where she had scattered micromines. Aware that escaping the nearby Star Destroyer would be a challenge, and also reluctant to let people die or abandon the droidekas she had been working on, Aphra opted to peacefully give herself up to the stormtroopers.

After questioning and searching Aphra, the stormtroopers escorted her to the newly established Imperial base situated on Dantooine. The stormtroopers presented Aphra to General Tagge, and they informed him that they were searching for Aphra's concealed speeder, a detail she had fabricated to prevent them from discovering the Ark Angel. Tagge interrogated Aphra about her presence at the Rebel base, doubting her claim that she was merely scavenging for resources. Aphra tried to convince Tagge of her innocence. Aphra claimed that she was unaware of any Rebel base existing on Dantooine, because, due to the planet's underdeveloped state, no one residing there would consider resisting the Galactic Empire. Amused by this, Tagge then disclosed to Aphra that the Death Star had recently annihilated Alderaan. Intrigued by the operational mechanics of the Death Star's weapon, Aphra eagerly questioned Tagge about it, but he refrained from revealing any specific details. Subsequently, Tagge declared that he did not believe Aphra was a Rebel, but rather that she was "trouble," and therefore sentenced her to execution.

Tagge tasked a stormtrooper with escorting Aphra into the woods to carry out her execution, while the search for her supposed hidden speeder continued. To gain some time to devise a plan for escape, Aphra engaged in conversation with the stormtrooper. After inquiring whether this was his first execution, Aphra discussed the similarities between firing squads on certain planets and the Death Star; in both scenarios, the involvement of multiple individuals meant that no single person had to bear the full responsibility for ending lives—there was no single person to pull "the trigger." Aphra then attempted to induce guilt in the stormtrooper by depicting the profound horror and historical significance of Alderaan's destruction, asserting that the stormtrooper would forever remember it as the day he executed Aphra.

While keeping the stormtrooper distracted with her words, Aphra managed to secretly disrupt the frequency of his Imperial-issue blaster for a brief period; this enabled Aphra to disarm him and take possession of his blaster. She informed the stormtrooper that while he had never committed a cold-blooded killing, she had. Threatening to kill him, Aphra instructed the stormtrooper to remove his helmet. Aphra remarked that killing a stormtrooper was an easy task, but killing another human was more difficult. Aphra then mused that the Death Star did indeed have "a trigger," as it was easier to destroy a planet because it was a more impersonal act. Although Aphra had always been a defender of the Empire—believing it brought about peace and order in the galaxy—she came to the realization that the events that transpired on Alderaan had altered her perspective.

Aphra resolved to release the young stormtrooper, instructing him to inform his superiors that he had carried out his orders. Abandoning the blaster, Aphra successfully boarded the Ark Angel and ascended into orbit. She then skillfully evaded the Star Destroyer before initiating a jump into hyperspace.

Appearances