Star Wars: Saviors of the Broken

Chapter XLVI

"The dark side clouds everything. Impossible to see, the future is." - Yoda, from Collected Wisdom of the Jedi Masters

As he watched the Z-95 take off, Gerard started walking toward the Black Mariah. The last thing he wanted to do was to leave his new home once again, but Pete and Patrick's departure had reminded him of what he needed to do. However, as he came closer to the brightly painted ship, Frank stepped in front of him.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"Dagobah," Gerard said. "I'm going to see my brother."

"Don't you need a pilot?" Frank said with a smirk.

Gerard glanced at Frank's leg, but admittedly, he was doing a lot better. He still worried about Frank all the time, knowing that he would do whatever he could to help the Truwel Rebellion, even at the expense of his health. Normally, Frank's determination and rebelliousness were some of the things that Gerard loved most about him, but now, it just made him panic about Frank making his injury even worse than it already was. At this point, however, he was doing well enough to fly a ship. There was nothing to worry about.

"Yeah, I think I do," Gerard said as he held Frank's hand.

Gerard said goodbye once again to the most beautiful planet in the galaxy, and he climbed on board the Black Mariah, his anxieties growing as he moved away from the wheat field. As Frank sat in the captain's chair, Gerard looked around the ship for a moment. Some of his maps were still in the Black Mariah, and he daydreamed about flying around Wild Space with Frank. After all of that traveling, it was hard to believe that it had been over a week since they'd been in space. He and Frank were overdue for a joyride.

"We've got to decorate the inside of the ship one of these days," Gerard said. "It's still pretty drab in here."

"That's a great idea," Frank said, grinning as he launched the ship. "How should we decorate it?"

"I'd like to draw some comic book characters, but it's your ship..."

"No, that sounds awesome!" Frank exclaimed. "Can we add some puppies in there too? They make me happy."

"You have a few dogs, right?" Gerard said.

Frank's eyes lit up as soon as Gerard said that, and Gerard couldn't help but smile. "More like a few dozen, but I can't help it! They're so cute!"

"You should bring them to Taehwa. I'm sure they'd like it there."

"You'd have to help me walk them."

"I'd love to."

"Really?"

Gerard nodded. "I just want you to be happy, Frankie."

"That's what I want for you too, Gee," Frank said, smiling.

Gerard took out his sketchbook, but his eyes stayed fixated on Frank. He looked so perfect in that moment, with his jet black hair brushing against his shoulders, his tattooed hands deftly piloting the ship, and his gorgeous brown eyes staring into Gerard's. He wanted nothing more than to capture this moment, to make it last forever.

As it was, the trip to Dagobah was far shorter than Gerard would have liked. He chatted with Frank some more, and he drew a design for a mural to go on the interior of the Black Mariah, but it wasn't long at all before the ship landed on Dagobah.

When he stepped out of the ship, Gerard was deeply disappointed. There was nothing here but murky water and overgrown weeds, and as he made his way through the swamp, his boots becoming muddier by the minute, he wondered how Mikey could put up with a planet like this for weeks on end.