Star Wars: Saviors of the Broken

Chapter IV

"We must have love and compassion for each and every being in this vast, mixed-up galaxy of ours, but to do that, we must have empathy, trust, and above all, faith. The ways of the Force may seem strange sometimes, but we must listen to the Force and believe in its power so that we can best serve the galaxy and everything that lives within." - Kendyl Ghasrai, from Collected Wisdom of the Jedi Masters

"So what's on Ilum that's so important?" Frank asked. "From what I've heard, it's just another mining planet."

Frank knew that he shouldn't be asking questions, not in his line of work, but his curiosity was getting the best of him. He'd spent the last few hours staring into Gerard's beautiful hazel eyes, and he wanted to know what he was doing out here, why a pretty boy like him was running away from home. Gerard's brother was even harder to read - with a face like that, he probably never lost a game of sabacc - but Frank suspected that he was just a moody teenager. Gerard, on the other hand, almost definitely had something to hide.

"It's the closest known planet to the edge of the galaxy," Gerard explained. "Mikey and I...we need to go somewhere the Empire can't find us."

"Don't listen to him. We don't need to go anywhere," Mikey said. "Frank, could you please take us back to Coruscant? I have school tomorrow, and our parents are probably worried sick."

"Don't you dare take us back to Coruscant!" Gerard shouted. "It's not safe there!"

"Well, you already paid me several thousand credits to take you to Ilum, so that's where we're headed," Frank said. "There's no chickening out now." Mikey scowled, and Frank turned to Gerard. "So what's so dangerous about Coruscant?"

"It's a long story," Gerard said. "Do you really want me to tell you?"

"Of course," he said.

"You'll have to promise not to tell anyone else," Gerard said.

"I won't," Frank said.

"Okay," Gerard said. "So I work for the Repub...I mean, the Empire...I'm an artist for the Coalition for Progress. I made posters during the war, and I designed a lot of the new Imperial logos..."

Frank cursed himself for letting an Imperial on board his ship. If Gerard found out who he really was, found out that he'd stolen the diamonds from the vault, he'd turn him in for sure. He had to be more careful. He couldn't tell Gerard anything else about himself. He already knew too much.

"Anyways, I was using a computer terminal one day, and I came across a strange file. I opened it, and it...it had a list of Jedi. There are still some Jedi out there, but just a few. And the Empire has a plan to kill them all. They're making a new order just to destroy the remnants of the Jedi Order. They're calling it the Inquisitorius. And when the Inquisitorius is done killing the Jedi, they'll go after anyone who's Force-sensitive, even if they were never affiliated with the Jedi Order, even if they're only children."

Frank's jaw dropped. He'd never liked the Empire or the Jedi, but he never thought that the Empire would go so far as to kill innocent people. The Jedi were traitors, holding up a corrupt government for years and then turning on the Republic out of nowhere, but this plan was overkill. Even the Jedi didn't deserve to die, and why would the Empire murder all of those Force-sensitive children? They had nothing to do with this.

"I still don't see what this has to do with you," Frank said to Gerard. "You're not a Jedi, are you?"

"No," Gerard said. "But Mikey's Force-sensitive."

Frank looked toward Mikey. "Frank, don't listen to my brother," he said. "Gerard's insane, and the Force isn't real."

"How could you say that?" Gerard said. "Of course the Force is real! The Jedi use it to move objects with their minds!"