Star Wars: Saviors of the Broken

Chapter V

"Do not hide your robes, your lightsaber, or your devotion to the Force. Be proud of who you are!" - Pala Karaay, from Collected Wisdom of the Jedi Masters

Patrick was curled up on the floor of the escape pod, his eyes fixated on the ceiling. He didn't have the energy to move, and his whole body felt like it was calling out for food and water. The good news was that the pod was nearing Alsakan, but he didn't know how he would land the ship in this condition, and he sure didn't trust Pete to do it.

"How do I look?" Pete asked.

Patrick lifted his head, but that only made him feel like everything around him was spinning. He glanced toward Pete, and he could barely make out a patch of his skin, covered in tattoos. "You look great," Patrick said. After three days without water, his voice was dry and scratchy. He rested his head on the ground, hoping to stop the dizziness.

"I'm trying to look less like a Jedi," Pete explained. "I ditched the tunic, but I'm not sure if I should get rid of the outer robe too. Maybe I'll just modify it a little..."

Patrick was about to protest, but Pete took off his robe, ignited his bright blue lightsaber, and sliced the sleeves off. He then turned off his lightsaber and put the robe back on, although it looked more like a vest than a robe now. "How about this, Patrick?" he said.

"Pete, we don't have time for a fashion show," Patrick said. "We need to land the ship." He tried to get up, but he immediately started to feel lightheaded.

"Patrick, are you okay?" Pete asked.

"I'm fine."

"You don't look fine. Here, I'll land the ship."

"I thought you couldn't fly without your droid."

"I'll give it a try," Pete said. "Just get some rest."

"I don't need rest. I need water."

"There's probably water on Alsakan."

Patrick lay back on the ground, knowing that with his luck, Alsakan would probably end up being a desert planet. Meanwhile, Pete took control of the ship. He steered toward the ground, constantly lurching from side to side as he made his descent. Before long, Patrick felt sick to his stomach. He knew that Pete was approaching the ground too fast, but there was nothing he could do. He hung on to the side of the ship, desperately hoping that Pete knew what he was doing.

Just as they were about to land, the escape pod dropped out of the air and hurtled straight down. Pete yelped and tried to correct it, but that only caused the ship to take a nosedive right into the surface of the planet. "Patrick?!" Pete shouted as he searched for an escape hatch. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," he mumbled as he tried to get up. He'd bruised his elbow, but that was nothing to be worried about. "Is the ship still working?"

Pete turned it on for a moment just to check. "Yeah, it looks like it." Then, he opened up the escape hatch. "Come on."

Patrick crawled out, and he looked out over the surface of Alsakan. The star Alsakan was orbiting was much brighter than Coruscant's sun, and it took Patrick a minute to adjust to the light. Once he did, he saw that they'd landed on the side of a road, winding its way into a nearby town. The city wasn't huge, but it was big enough, and Patrick was sure that they'd find everything they needed there. He stumbled toward the town, and Pete followed him.

On the edge of town, there was a merchant stand, run by a small, blue creature with a long trunk and large, floppy ears. "Do you have any blue milk pizza?" Pete asked before Patrick could say anything.