Crux is a prisoner of the Empire, tasked to mine for Kyber Crystals for them each day. However, in the midst of an apathetic crowd and group of despairing prisoners, Crux, now planning to escape from his captivity, may be the spark of hope who will light the fire of compassion in the wealthy.
Tropes:
- Apathetic Citizens: Zig-zagged. The citizens initially ignore Crux, but he's admittedly not being very coherent about why he's trying to get their attention. Once he finally does get them to listen, they seem to believe him and head to the pit to see for themselves... then leave. The prisoners despondently assume they've decided not to help, only for them to swiftly return with a fleet of transports to get the prisoners out.
- As Long as There Is One Man: The folk in the mining pit starting with one small voice, repeating Crux's motto of "follow the Light" until all, even the cynical old man, are chanting in hope. And a flood of people from the city come apparently in answer, flooding past the Stormtroopers and ultimately rescuing the seemingly doomed and abandoned miners.
- Big "NO!": Crux gives a heartbreaking one when he is ruthlessly thrown back into the pit to his death.
- Bittersweet Ending: The miners are rescued by the goodwill of the people of the city, but not before Crux is killed after being thrown back into the pit.
- Chekhov's Gunman: Early on, a burrowing animal is shown surfacing near the top of the pit and then tunnelling down towards the bottom. Later, when Crux is about to fall while scaling the pit, the animal starts popping out of the wall, leaving behind tunnels that Crux is able to use as handholds and footholds to finish scaling the pit.
- Everyone Has Standards: At first, the people in the nearby city act like Apathetic Citizens who ignore Crux. However, after he makes himself heard and lets them know that the miners (including children) who provided the kyber that made them wealthy are trapped, they set out en masse to find out the truth and help the miners escape.
- Fling a Light into the Future: Crux gives the young girl Livy a kyber crystal and tells her to use her voice to tell people to follow the light. After his fall, she speaks up and urges the people in the mining pit to chant to follow the light. In a climactic Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane moment, the people of the city flood out carrying lights and non-violently drive off the Stormtrooper overseers and then send three transports down to rescue the people.
- Inspirational Martyr: Crux free climbs out of the mining pit at great hazard to himself, and then gives a Rousing Speech which seems at first to fail to attract the attention of the wealthy, self-absorbed cosmopolitan city dwellers. Then he is summarily executed by being thrown back into the pit. However, his words to Livy and the kyber crystal he gave her inspire the people of the pit to cry out to follow the light and the city folks to rescue them, and later, it is implied that Livy connects to the crystal as it stands up on point in her hand and turns blue.
- Know When to Fold 'Em: Having failed to quell the citizens from rescuing the miners, the Stormtroopers are forced to leave.
- Pragmatic Villainy: As civilians approach the pit, the stormtroopers raise their weapons and threaten to fire. However, because the crowd far outnumbers them, the stormtroopers are cowed in dropping their weapons and fleeing rather than killing anyone lest they agitate the crowd into a trampling mob.
- Time-Passes Montage: Two, showing the city growing in the distance while the pit grows in size.
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: After the miners have dug up all kyber crystals, the Stormtroopers deactivate their shackles. The miners cheer for a short while until they realize to their horror that the Empire have mercilessly left them to rot in the pit.
