Star Wars: Saviors of the Broken

Chapter XX

"We value both peace and justice, but what do we do when the only way to achieve justice is through war?" - Loh Ponn, from Collected Wisdom of the Jedi Masters

Patrick wanted to say yes, but there was something stopping him. His heart told him that this was the right thing to do, that he owed this to the other surviving Jedi, but his head wasn't so sure. The Jedi were peacekeepers, not warriors, or so he told himself. After years of brutal warfare, the last thing Patrick needed was to fight against the Empire. He looked toward Pete for guidance, hoping that he might know what to do.

"Yeah, of course I'll join," Pete blurted out, and Patrick rolled his eyes, wondering why he even bothered to listen to Pete. He spent hours each day reading from Collected Wisdom of the Jedi Masters, but he didn't heed his predecessors' advice. He was all passion and chaos, never following the Jedi Code. He was everything Patrick stood against, yet he still got a fluttering feeling in his stomach whenever Pete was around. He trusted him, cared about him, but he had to keep his distance. Whenever he thought of Pete, he felt the pull of the dark side, and he couldn't fall, not after everything they'd been through.

"I think I need more time to think about it," Patrick said, and when he looked around, the others seemed to agree with him.

"Take your time," Andy said. "Just let me know what you decide."

Patrick walked away from the rebel base, feeling conflicted as he thought about whether or not to join the Truwel Rebellion. He wanted to help his fellow Jedi, but he wasn't sure that waging war on the Empire was the best way to do it. He'd been through enough during the Clone Wars. Maybe it was time to find a quiet planet to live on and go into hiding. Maybe he'd make music, take care of cute animals, learn a new language, do anything but rebel against the Empire. He couldn't bring himself to do that though. He knew that the galaxy was bigger than just himself. He had to fight, not just for the Jedi Order, but for all of the oppressed people of the galaxy. It was the right thing to do.

Then again, just because it was right didn't mean it was easy.

All of a sudden, Patrick realized that someone was following him. He looked back, and he saw Pete there. "Hey Trick," Pete said. "What's up?"

"Leave me alone, Pete," Patrick muttered.

"How come you don't want to join the Truwel Rebellion with me?" Pete asked.

"We're not supposed to be warriors, Pete."

"But we are supposed to stand up for what's right."

Patrick nodded. "There has to be a better way though."

"I'm not sure there is. If we don't fight them, the Empire will kill us. We need to take them down, destroy them once and for all." Pete sighed and said, "Besides, I'll miss you if you leave."

"I'll miss you too," Patrick said. As much as Pete got on his nerves, he didn't know what he'd do without him. He couldn't imagine traveling through the galaxy alone.

The more he thought about it, the clearer it all became. He had to join the Rebellion. Peace was useless without justice, and there was no justice when the Empire was destroying planets, when they were killing his fellow Jedi. The Empire had to fall, and when it was finally gone, maybe, just maybe, the Jedi could rebuild.

Patrick looked straight into Pete's gorgeous deep brown eyes, and he said, "I'm joining the Rebellion."

"Great," Pete said. "Let's go tell Joe and Andy."

Meanwhile, Gerard and Frank were just outside the base, arguing over whether or not to join the Rebellion. "We have to go to Ilum," Gerard said. "It's the only place where Mikey will be safe."