"The Baptist," a brief tale crafted by Nnedi Okorafor, appears within the From a Certain Point of View collection. The narrative centers its attention on the dianoga residing within the Death Star's waste disposal system.
The story unfolds from the perspective of Omi, who is the very same dianoga that Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and Leia Organa encountered following their escape from Detention Block AA-23 on the Death Star. Omi's saga commences with her abduction from her native swamp by several Vodrans. Despite a valiant struggle, Omi is subdued and confined within a substantial spherical container, sealed with a secure lid. This sphere is specifically designed to house a dianoga while simultaneously preserving the swamp water's gaseous composition.
Upon regaining consciousness, Omi discovers that she is situated within a vast cargo hold, offering a view of the swamplands. As the warehouse begins to move, Omi realizes she is now aboard a starship. Omi finds herself gazing through a window into the depths of space. Distressed, Omi comforts herself by repeating that "home will stay home, but she must go," and reminds herself to stay on path. During the voyage, Omi experiences a vision of cataclysmic fire and resolves to break free from her confinement. Omi reflects on a battle with a male dianoga named Iduna, who sought to exchange eggs; dianogas possess the ability to alter their gender at will, adopting various roles in procreation. Omi recalls overpowering Iduna through her Force-sensitivity.
During the subsequent days, Omi is provided with dried fish by her Vodran captors, who deposit it through a small opening in the lid. The unappetizing flavor of the fish fuels her resentment, prompting Omi to plan an escape. Employing her seven tentacles, Omi succeeds in removing the lid and extracting herself from her spherical prison. Despite the arid and crackling atmosphere, Omi manages to glide across the cargo bay floor. Omi comes across several droids, which she considers to be lifeless entities. One of these droids is an MSE-6 series repair droid. She also observes a Hutt in the company of a Vodran clad in white armor.
Believing the area to be clear, Omi darts toward the hallway, only to encounter two Vodran-like figures encased in white armor, who are revealed to be stormtroopers. When one aims a blaster at her, Omi is able to fight and kill the stormtroopers by surrendering herself to a power known as It. She crushes the first trooper with her tentacles and eliminates the second with her venomous barb. Despite sensing water nearby, Omi concludes that escape from the ship is impossible and decides to return to her transparent container. The bodies of the two stormtroopers are soon discovered, and sentries enter the room. However, Omi avoids detection by securely fastening the lid.
For the following days, Omi remains within the spherical chamber. As a precaution, two solid metal bars are placed atop the chamber. After some time, Omi's vessel approaches an object the size of a moon, which turns out to be the Death Star. Omi and her spherical chamber are transported through the Death Star's sterile corridors by a large speeder. Through her eye, Omi observes the Death Star's interior, populated by numerous droids and stormtroopers. Omi is then directed down a tunnel into Garbage masher 3263827.
As time passed, Omi came to the conclusion that she was on a "dead planet that had never been alive." She establishes her home in the sewers and garbage compactor, which provides a swamp-like environment. Omi endures the artificial swamp by committing the wall's movements to memory. Twice a "day," the thick metal walls would rumble twice and slowly move toward each other. While there was a large pipe near the bottom whose opening was protected by an invisible barrier until the moment when the old water was flushed out, Omi senses there is a large indenture near the bottom where something had made a deep dent in the left wall.
On the day of Princess Leia Organa's rescue from the Death Star, Omi is consuming a large piece of decaying meat when Leia, Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and Chewbacca flee into the garbage chute. Acting on the beliefs of her people, Omi pulled Skywalker into the water, "baptizing" him, after she felt that he too was in "submission to It" before releasing him. Omi's actions startled Luke and his companions. During the confrontation, Omi suffered a wounded tentacle when Han fired upon her with his blaster. After "baptizing" Luke, she then headed deep underwater before the compression cycle could begin.
Following the encounter, Omi's injured tentacle detached and regenerated. Omi continued to reside in her artificial swamp until the pivotal Battle of Yavin. Isolated and separated from her people, Omi opened herself to the Force, which imparted to her stories of the universe, its inhabitants, locations, conflicts, and profound lessons. Submitting herself to "It," she mastered the art of spinning her body in previously unimaginable ways. She also harnessed her Force abilities to lift heavy objects. As the Death Star was destroyed by Skywalker, Omi surrendered herself to fate, pondering what she would become "the next time around."