Star Wars: Saviors of the Broken

Chapter XLIV

"Too many of us simply exist instead of truly living." - Nika Daggoth, from Collected Wisdom of the Jedi Masters

When Pete and Patrick landed on Tatooine, Ray, Joe, and Hayley were all there, waiting for them. As they stepped off of the ship, Pete looked out at the desert landscape and the twin suns, and then he turned to Patrick, who seemed unusually anxious. "It's going to be okay," he whispered to him. "I'm sure Frank and Gerard are just fine."

"I hope so," Patrick said, but Mikey had sensed a disturbance in the Force. Something had certainly happened, and they were about to find out what it was.

"It's good to see you two," Ray said as soon as they were off the ship. "What happened to Mikey?"

"He's still on Dagobah," Patrick explained. "He wanted to come with us, but Yoda wanted him to finish his training, so he decided to stay, and...well, I'm telling this story really badly, but..."

"Patrick, you're as cute as a button, so it doesn't matter how bad your stories are," Pete said.

Patrick smiled and then asked Ray, "Where are Frank and Gerard?"

"Honestly, I have no idea," Ray said.

Patrick and Pete were both quite alarmed, so Hayley jumped in and said, "We can't stay on Tatooine forever, so Gerard and Frank went into Wild Space to find somewhere we could build a base for the Truwel Rebellion. They left last week, and we haven't seen them since."

"We've got to find them," Patrick said. "Mikey sensed that they're in trouble."

"If they are, it could be dangerous out there," Hayley said.

"I don't care," Patrick said. "They're our friends, and we have to help them. Do you have any idea of where they are?"

"No clue," Hayley said.

"I think they headed out toward Smuggler's Run, but I'm not sure," Joe said.

"Come on, Pete," Patrick said as he headed back toward the Z-95. "Let's fly out there and see if we can find Gerard and Frank."

Pete followed him back into the ship, but all of a sudden, he spotted a TIE fighter flying overhead. As it came closer, he saw that it was covered in graffiti, with a dog spray-painted across one of the wings and four symbols in different colors painted across the front.

"Hey Patrick," Pete said. "I think Frank and Gerard are back."

Patrick smiled as the Black Mariah landed next to the Z-95, and sure enough, Frank and Gerard stepped out. Frank, however, was hobbling around on one leg, leaning on Gerard for support. "Are you okay, Frank?" Ray asked.

"I'm fine," Frank insisted as he clutched onto Gerard. "I can still walk and fight and...ow! My leg hurts!"

"Come on," Hayley said. "Let's get you to a hospital."

As they headed into town, Pete asked Frank, "What happened to your leg?"

"A bounty hunter shot me," Frank explained. "Don't worry, Gee and I got away pretty easily."

"You got attacked by a bounty hunter?" Ray said.

"Practically the entire Guild, actually," Gerard said.

"But why?"

"I'm Fun Ghoul," Frank said. "When the Empire's offering a million credits to anyone who can capture you, there are bound to be a few people willing to take them up on that offer."

"We lucked out though," Gerard said. "We ended up crash landing on the most beautiful planet in the galaxy."

Frank rolled his eyes, and Gerard continued on, explaining how the locals had agreed to let them build a base for the Truwel Rebellion. From the way he described it, Patrick thought Taehwa sounded wonderful, but he wondered if Gerard might be exaggerating just a little bit.