Star Wars: Saviors of the Broken

Chapter XXII

"Freedom is the greatest gift a person can have." - Liakanta, from Collected Wisdom of the Jedi Masters

As Pete, Patrick, and Gerard rushed toward the rebel base, ready to defend Truwel from the Imperial fleet, Mikey hesitated, unsure what to do. He wasn't part of the Rebellion, and even if he was, he wouldn't be much help. He was a boy, not a hero.

Mikey looked up one more time, and he nearly trembled from the fear. The Imperial ships were coming closer and closer, and he wasn't sure what they'd do once they landed. He wasn't ready for this. None of them were.

"Mikey!" Gerard shouted. "What are you doing? Come on!"

He realized that he didn't have much of a choice. If he stayed here, the Empire would obliterate him. He ran after his brother, adrenaline rushing through his veins. When he caught up to Gerard, he tried to relax, catch his breath, and connect to the Force, but all he got was an uneasy feeling in his stomach. He didn't know what would happen next, so he raced after Gerard, following him to the rebel base.

When they got there, the base was swarming with people. Andy was directing them, telling them exactly what to do. "Joe, I want you on the X-wing, and Hayley, you can take one of the Y-wings," he said. "Frank, maybe you can fly a Y-wing as well?"

"I have my own ship," Frank said. Andy was about to say something, but Frank glared at him and said, "I'm not fighting unless I can fly the Black Mariah."

Andy sighed. "Fine, you can fly your ship," he said. "I'll need someone else to go with you though."

"I volunteer!" Gerard exclaimed as he and Frank ran onto the brightly painted TIE fighter.

"Okay," Andy said. "Ray, you can take one of the interceptors, and Pete and Mikey, you two can fly the other Y-wing."

Mikey looked at Pete nervously. "You can do it," Pete assured him. "It's not that hard, and I'll help you."

Mikey nodded, but he was still anxious. "What about me?" Patrick asked Andy.

"I want you to stay on the ground," Andy said. "If there are any Force users in their ranks, I want you to fight them."

"Of course," Patrick said.

Mikey didn't listen to the rest of their conversation. Instead, he climbed aboard the Y-wing with Pete. "I don't really know how to fly this thing," he admitted to Pete.

"You'll figure it out," Pete said. "As I said, it's not that hard, especially when we've got R1-69 with us."

Mikey looked back at the red-plated astromech droid. "Did you seriously name it that?" he said. When Pete didn't answer, he said, "You might be the most immature Jedi I've ever met."

"Why thank you," Pete said. He started up the ship's engine and then turned to Mikey and said, "May the Force be with you."

"You too, Pete," Mikey said.

All of a sudden, Pete pushed a lever forward, and the ship jerked forward and launched into the air. They were ready to defend Truwel, ready to fight the Empire, and it felt like nothing could stop them now.

Meanwhile, Frank and Gerard were already in the air, desperately trying to fight off the Empire's TIE fighters. "Frank, could you slow down a bit?" Gerard said, holding onto the wall of the ship for dear life.

"Hang on," Frank said. "I just need one more good shot, and the fighter on the left will be toast." He pushed a series of buttons on the control panel, and the Black Mariah fired its laser cannons, sending the enemy TIE fighter spinning. However, there were still plenty of ships left. The Truwel Rebellion was huge, but it was no match for the Imperial fleet.