Star Wars: Saviors of the Broken

Chapter X

"Running away from your problems won't solve them." - Areta Noko, from Collected Wisdom of the Jedi Masters

"What's wrong?" Ray asked as he glanced toward Frank and Gerard. Both of them were still in shock as they stared at the Black Mariah, at the empty space where Mikey should have been.

"The door," Frank said. "It was supposed to be locked."

"And now Mikey's gone!" Gerard exclaimed.

"Who's Mikey?" Ray asked.

"My brother," Gerard said. "We left him in the ship, and now he's gone."

As Gerard told Ray about his brother and why the two of them had left Coruscant in the first place, Frank inspected the lock. It didn't look like it had been tampered with at all, and there were no fingerprints on the door. When he checked his key ring, he saw that the key to the ship was still there. He knew for a fact that there was no other copy. There hadn't been any foul play. Mikey had gotten out of the Black Mariah on his own, although Frank couldn't possibly imagine how he had done it.

"Hey Gerard?" Frank said.

"What is it?" Gerard asked.

"If Mikey could go anywhere in the galaxy right now, where would he go?"

"Probably back home," Gerard said. "Why?"

Frank looked towards a set of gray buildings in the distance and said, "I think I might know where Mikey is."

As Gerard, Ray, and Frank looked for him, Mikey Way ran past the security booth, feeling suffocated by the stuffy air, the drab, gray paint, the people crowded around him. He knew that this wouldn't last long though. Soon, he'd be gone. Soon, he'd be far away from Gerard and his delusions, Frank and his villainy, Alderaan and its foreign ways. He'd be home, where he belonged.

"Hey, you!" the security officer shouted as she pointed straight at Mikey. "I need to see your ticket!"

Mikey searched through his pocket, but all he had was a leaf of paper ripped from Gerard's sketchbook. He gave it to the officer, sure that it wouldn't pass her scrutiny. However, she only gave it a brief glance and then handed it back to Mikey. "You're all good," she said. "Have a nice trip."

"Thanks," Mikey said as he shoved the paper back into his pocket. He started running again, this time toward the gates. He glanced out the window, watching a starship take off. In a few minutes, that would be him. He would be on his way home.

"Last call for Flight #4242 to Coruscant, departing from Gate Five," Mikey heard over the intercom. "Last call for Flight #4242 to Coruscant, departing from Gate Five."

Mikey broke into a sprint, pushing his way through the crowds as he made his way to Gate Five. When he got there, he found a huge passenger ferry waiting for him. It was nearly full, and it was scheduled to take off in only a few minutes, but Mikey was sure he could climb aboard. He stepped onto the ship, but all of a sudden, someone pulled him backwards.

He turned around, and Gerard was there, looking cross. "What are you doing?" Mikey shouted as he glanced back toward the ship, which was now racing away from the spaceport. "You made me miss my flight!"

"You were supposed to stay in the Black Mariah!" Gerard exclaimed.

"I just wanted to go home," Mikey said. He hadn't signed up for any of this. His brother could run around with the Most Dangerous Man in the Galaxy, but he wanted no part of it.

"Mikey, you can't go home. It's too dangerous," Gerard said. He sighed and added, "Come on. Let's go back to the ship."

At first, Mikey stayed put. He was done with his brother bossing him around. He was done playing along with his crazy schemes. He was ready to take control of his life, but he changed his mind when he saw who Gerard was with. Frank was standing next to him, and there was a clone too, just like the ones he'd seen in Gerard's comic books. Both of them were scowling at him, as if he'd done something very wrong, and for a moment, Mikey was intimidated enough to follow all of them out of the spaceport and back to the Black Mariah. He knew he was being a coward, but what else was he supposed to do?