Star Wars: Saviors of the Broken

Chapter XIII

"Good Jedi can find happiness in misery, but the best Jedi can make their own happiness." - Shane Fable, from Collected Wisdom of the Jedi Masters

When Patrick looked up, there was a bright green world in front of him, waiting to be explored. He took a deep breath and smiled as he piloted the escape pod toward the surface of the planet. "Hey, Pete," he said as the ship glided downwards. "Come take a look."

Pete got up off the floor and glanced out the window. "What's the big deal?" he said.

"We finally made it to Utapau," Patrick said.

The whole trip had gone quite smoothly, much to Patrick's surprise. There were no breakdowns, anomalies, or asteroid fields. They hadn't been chased or ambushed. Neither the Sith nor the Imperial Army had caught them. As Patrick landed on Utapau, he only hoped that their luck would last.

As soon as the ship touched the ground, Pete and Patrick climbed out and examined their surroundings. The air was hot and dry, and there seemed to be hardly anything or anyone else around. There was nothing but barren desert landscape for miles around them.

"Congratulations, Patrick," Pete said. "You've found a planet even more boring than Devaron."

"Boring planets are safe planets," Patrick said.

"Didn't we prove that wasn't true?" Pete said. When Patrick didn't answer, he added, "I wonder if the whole planet's like this."

"Don't be ridiculous," Patrick said.

He started wandering through the desert, and Pete followed him, along with his droid. As he walked, Patrick thought about everything that had happened, everyone he'd lost. He still hadn't gotten over the death of his master, and sometimes, he wasn't sure if he ever would. Pete complained about having troubled thoughts and the self-esteem to match, but Patrick had his demons too. He just didn't feel the need to broadcast them to the universe.

Patrick glanced at Pete, with his eyeliner and his tattoos and those beautiful, deep brown eyes, and he smiled. The whole galaxy might have come apart at the seams, but at least they had each other.

"Where exactly are we going?" Pete asked.

"I don't know. I just thought it might be fun to explore."

"But there's nothing here. It's all just...empty."

"There's got to be something out there."

"I don't think there is." Pete paused and then asked, "Didn't you say that there was a sapient species on this planet? The Pau'ans or something?"

"The Utai and Amani live here too," Patrick said. There were all sorts of aliens claiming this planet as their home, from short, stubby humanoids to gigantic gray ones with sunken eyes. He knew this planet was teeming with life, but somehow, he and Pete had landed in a wasteland.

"I wonder what happened to all of them," Pete said.

"Maybe they just don't live on this part of the planet."

"Or maybe someone killed them all."

"I hope not," Patrick said, shuddering. "There have been enough disturbances in the Force lately. We don't need anyone else getting killed."

They kept on walking, and soon, they came to a massive sinkhole. As they approached the hole, Pete leaned over the edge, and Patrick had to pull him back. "What are you doing?!" he shouted.

"It's beautiful down there," Pete said.

"We've come this far," Patrick said. "I'm not letting you die by falling into a sinkhole."