Star Wars: Saviors of the Broken

Chapter XLIX

"No matter where you go, the Force will always be with you." - Kit Storm, from Collected Wisdom of the Jedi Masters

As soon as he was done talking to Pete, Joe headed toward the center of the base, where Gerard, Ray, Frank, and Mikey were busy chatting. "Can you believe the Empire banned the new issue of Apocalypse Guard? It feels like the whole galaxy's gone mad," Gerard said.

"They're the Empire, Gee," Frank said. "They'll do whatever it takes to stay in power."

"Yeah, but forbidding art seems a little excessive, even for them." Gerard sighed and then said, "At least the issue arrived here before the ban went into effect. I haven't read it yet, but hopefully it doesn't end in a cliffhanger..."

As Frank and Gerard kept on talking about comics, Ray turned to Joe and said, "Hi Joe. How's it going?"

Joe sighed. "I'm really worried about Pete. It doesn't seem like he's doing too well."

"He lost his boyfriend," Frank said. "What did you expect?"

"Yeah, that must be really hard for him," Gerard said. "I don't know what I'd do if Frank died. I'm sure I'd miss him a lot."

"I know, but it's worse than that," Joe said. "Something's changed. It's like...it's like he's lost all hope."

"Yeah, I've noticed that too," Mikey said. "I don't think he's left his house at all since Patrick died."

Joe nodded and then said, "I want to help him, but I don't know how."

There was a long pause, and then Gerard chimed in. "Frank and I were going to visit him later this afternoon. Maybe everyone could come along. He's probably lonely now that Patrick's gone, and I think it would help if he knows that we're here for him."

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea," Ray said.

"I can come too," Mikey said. "Is there any way we could get him some blue milk pizza? That might cheer him up."

"The nearest pizza place is light years away. We'd probably have to make it ourselves," Frank said.

"I can't cook to save my life," Ray said.

"Don't worry, we'll help you," Gerard said. "Alright, who's ready to make some pizza?"

Everyone cheered, but Joe wasn't so sure that a pizza would solve Pete's problems. In all his life, he'd never seen someone so depressed. He felt like there had to be more they could do to help him.

Pete's words echoed in his head. If Patrick can't overthrow the Empire, then what hope do the rest of us have? He still knew the Truwel Rebellion could win - they'd already done a lot to protect the Outer Rim, after all - but Pete had a point. Patrick was an insanely powerful Jedi, and even he couldn't defeat Darth Vader. None of the rest of them stood a chance against him.

The war wouldn't be over any time soon. They'd beat the Empire, even if it would be a death of a thousand cuts. It would be years, decades even, but Joe was sure that the galaxy would be free someday. He only had to convince Pete that he couldn't give up quite yet. The Truwel Rebellion still had a chance, and more than that, there were still a million reasons to have hope, to smile, to keep on living.

As the others headed into Frank and Gerard's kitchen and started making pizza, Mikey watched them from a corner, unsure where he would go from here. He hadn't known Patrick well, not like Pete had, but he'd always seen him as a polite, patient, and caring person. He only wished that he'd gotten to know him better.

He was worried about Pete though. He'd only seen him a handful of times since Patrick's death, but even from that, it was clear that Pete was hurting. He hadn't smiled or cracked a joke in days. Even stealing his glasses would have been an improvement - at least Mikey would have known that Pete still felt alive, that there was a spark of joy in there somewhere. Mikey hated to see his best friend in so much pain. He hated watching him come apart at the seams. A pizza wouldn't bring Patrick back, but maybe it would help Pete move on.