Tucker felt terrible. Under his helmet, he was sweating. He was glad to have his sword back but he desperately needed his heroin. The soldier was sitting on a rock.
"Tucker?" Said Tarkin, looking at him. They were in the caves."How about you and I go for a walk?"
"No. No, thanks, Tarkin." Tucker said weakly."I think I'm gonna stay in today."
"Come on. Fresh air will do you good." The Grand Moff said.
They stared at each other for a moment before Tucker stood up.
"What are you doing?" Princess Luna asked Vanto, who was in his tent.
The former Imperial looked at her."I just came by for a few things. I'm also gonna get some of Nurse Redheart's stuff since she's going to the caves."
"So you're not staying?" Luna asked him.
"Call me a broken record, but caves are a natural shelter, and a hell of a lot safer than living here on the beach." Vanto said before packing his stuff.
"You're mad at me." Luna said.
He quickly looked at her."No, Luna, I'm...I just don't understand why you won't come with me-us." Vanto said."It's maybe a mile up there, if that."
"We've been on this Island for eight days, Vanto. I'm not setting up house here." Luna told him.
"I want off this Island too, but we both know that's not gonna happen any time soon."
"Zuud has a plan." Luna assured him.
Vanto nodded."Yeah, to find the source of the distress code, I know."
"The signal's coming from somewhere on the Island. If we can find it-"
"The signal has been running on a loop for 16 years, Luna. And the woman that left it, she wasn't rescued. What makes you think it's gonna be any different for us?" Vanto asked.
"I believe it." Said Luna.
"Well, I wish I shared your faith." Vanto said.
"Wouldn't mind sharing a few things with her myself." Said Beilert Valance, entering the tent.
"What do you want, Valance?" Luna asked the cyborg.
"I heard Vanto was vacating the premises. I thought I'd best lay claims to my new digs before somebody else did." The Bounty Hunter then dropped some of his stuff."I could fix this place up real good. Might even find somebody or somepony to share it with me." Valance looked at Luna.
Vanto looked at Luna."I'll talk to you later." Vanto said before he left. Valance waved.
Tucker walked through the jungle. He was unable to find Tarkin. He then heard grunting."Tarkin? Is that you?" Tucker whispered.
The grunting turned into growling and loud shrieking. This was a different sound than the one he, Vanto, and Luna heard when they ran away from the monster that ate the captain.
That must be one of the boars! Tucker realized. The armored soldier quickly ran away and the boar followed him. Tucker stopped running when he saw the boar get caught in a net.
Tucker then saw Tucker holding a rope for the net."Good work, soldier." Tarkin said."You make excellent bait."
"I'm glad I could oblige." Tucker said, staring at him."Now give me my fucking drugs."
Tarkin just stared at him silently.
Tucker walked to him."Did you hear what I just said? I want my drugs back. I need them."
"Yet you gave them to me." Tarkin noted.
"And I regret it. I'm sick, dude. Can't you see that?"
"I think you're a lot stronger than you know, Tucker. And I'm going to prove it to you. I'll let you ask me for your drugs three times. The third time, I'm going to give them to you. Now, just so we're clear, this is one." Tarkin brought out a metal knife.
"Why?" Tucker asked him."Why? Why are you doing this? To torture me? Just get rid of them and have done with it?"
"If I did that, you wouldn't have a choice, Tucker. And having choices, making decisions based on more than instinct, is the only thing that separates you from him." Tarkin pointed at the boar. He then used the knife to slit it's throat.
Tucker quickly looked away, disgusted.
Zuud, Luna, and Jaime Lannister were on the beach. Luna and Jaime looked at Zuud and the antenna on a pole.
"Three antennae. Three points of a triangle." Zuud told them."One here on the beach. Another, Luna will position in the jungle, roughly two kilometers in, and the third I'll take to high ground, up there. If the French transmission is coming from somewhere within our triangulation, I'll be able to locate the source. But there are two complications."
"Of course there are." Jaime muttered.
"The power cells I grafted onto the antennas are dry. There's no telling how long they'll last. A minute, maybe more, maybe less." Zuud said.
"So we have to wait until we're in position before we switch them on." Luna said.
"Wait." Said Jaime."Wait a second. How are we going to be able to tell that we're actually in the right position?"
Zuud pulled out some bottle rockets from her backpack."Bottle rockets?" Luna asked.
"Thank goodness someone was smuggling these on the Arquiten command cruiser. Now, when I'm in position, I'll fire off my rocket. When you two see it, you fire yours. As soon as the last one has gone up, we all switch on our antennas."
"Okay, but you said there are two complications," Luna said.
"The battery in the transceiver is dead. Without the transceiver, all of this is for nothing. Something from a holoprojector would probably work, but I've not been able to find anything."
The alicorn thought for a moment."I think I might know where to look."
Luna walked over to Valance's tent and asked him where a holoprojector was."You're hoarding like a pack rat since we got here and you don't have a single holoprojector?" She asked when he said he didn't have one.
"Well, aren't you testy," Valance said, trying to fix his palm blaster."You're still upset about your little break up? You and Vanto?"
"It must be exhausting." Luna said.
The cyborg looked at her."What's that?"
"Living like a parasite. Always taking, never giving."
"Well, you got me pegged, don't you?" Valance said.
"I get it now. You don't want off this Island because there's nothing for you to go back for. Nobody you miss. And no one misses you."
"Oh, you're feeling sorry for me," Valance said.
"I don't feel sorry for you. I pity you." She said.
The cyborg was silent for a moment. He stared at her before he handed her the holoprojector."All you had to do was say please."
Vanto and Stuhlinger were carrying some bags that had supplies in them."Fuck!" Said Stuhlinger, struggling to carry a bunch of heavy bags into the caves."What the hell are in these things? Bricks?"
"I packed everything I thought might be useful here without leaving the other shorthanded," Vanto said to him.
"Hey, you guys need a hand?" Tucker offered to help them."I used to load some military equipment before Caboose came to our base." Tucker was about to grab a bag.
"Tucker, the zipper's-" Vanto was trying to say.
When the armored soldier pulled up the bag, everything spilled out of it.
"-Broken." Vanto finished.
"Sorry. Just trying to help." Tucker said.
"I know, I know, It's okay." Vanto looked at Stuhlinger."Hey, want to help me grab the rest of those bags?" Vanto asked the slightly overweight man.
"Oh, could I?" Stuhlinger said.
Tucker was riffling through the bag, looking at some bottles of pills. He finally grabbed a bottle."What are you doing?" Vanto asked him.
"Oh, uh, I have a headache." Tucker lied.
Vanto grabbed the bottle Tucker was holding and looked at it."Diazepam. That's for anxiety."
"I was looking for aspirin," Tucker said.
"Pretty strong stuff for a headache," Vanto said.
Tucker nodded."Yeah, right."
"Hey, you okay?"
"Yeah, It's just a headache," Tucker said. He then started to clean up the spilled suitcase.
"Tucker, leave it. Go get some water. Maybe you're dehydrated." Vanto told him."Tucker, I got it. Go take care of yourself, man. We don't you right now."
Tucker walked away.
"Hey, dude, is this yours?" Stuhlinger asked Tucker, holding the hilt of Tucker's alien sword.
"Yeah." Tucker nodded.
"Well, Vanto just wants you to find another place for it. He's moving supplies and says It's in the way." Stuhlinger said.
Tucker walked to the cave where Vanto was at."You know? A lot of people look up to me. They respect me. And you, you just treat me like I'm some damn child! Like I'm some useless joke!" Tucker said angrily.
"What are you talking about?" Vanto asked.
"Tucker's not good enough to do this, Tucker's just in the way. Put Tucker onto that." The armored soldier continued.
"Sit down. Maybe I should just get Nurse Redheart to take a look at you." Vanto said calmly.
"Oh, you're going to look out for me, yeah?! We'll look out for each other, that's how it is?! I'm not interested!"
"Tucker, just calm down, alright. You're not yourself." Vanto said.
"You don't know! I'm a fucking soldier!" Tucker yelled.
Suddenly, the cave shook. Vanto and Tucker stood there for a moment before the cave caved in.
"Oh no!" Said Ocellus, seeing this happen.
Tucker was able to make his way out of the rubble."Tucker, where's Vanto?" Stuhlinger asked."Where's Vanto?"
Tucker pointed at the blocked cave.
Stuhlinger walked to the rubble."Uh, Vanto?! Can you hear me?!"
"I don't know what happened. We were just talking and it-and it came down on us. It all happened so fast." Said Tucker.
"We gotta get help. Tucker, go down to the beach and get help."
Tucker nodded."Okay, I'm on it!"
"And make sure you tell Luna!" Stuhlinger yelled before Tucker ran to the beach.
Princess Luna and Zuud were walking through the jungle."What we're doing, chasing some phantom distress signal, what are the odds of this working?" Luna asked the Imperial.
"No worse than the odds of us waking up this Island." Zuud pointed out.
"Hey, hey, we need help!" Tucker yelled, running to the beach.
"What's wrong?" Asked Applejack.
"It's Vanto! He's trapped!" Tucker told them.
"What?" Jaime asked, confused.
"A cave collapsed. We don't even know if he's alive. Come on, we've gotta go." Tucker said.
"Hey, uh, uh, Scott?" Applejack asked one of the humans.
"I'm Steve." The human corrected.
"I'm Scott." Said Scott.
"We've got an emergency. Grab some others and let's go." The Earth Pony said.
"We've got to go now!" Said Tucker.
Jaime Lannister was about to follow them but he quickly ran to his sister, Cersei."Cersei, you have to be ready to do something really important, okay? At 5 o'clock sharp, you have to be ready to turn that antenna on over there. There's a switch at the base." Jaime explained.
"Why?" Cersei asked.
"Because Luna and Zuud are trying to find the french signal. But the antenna's power's really weak so you have to wait until they fire their bottle rockets. Then you fire this one. Then you turn on the antenna. Got it?"
"The switch is where now?"
"Did you hear a word I said? Can you or can't you do it?" Jaime asked.
Cersei nodded."Yeah, I can."
"Okay." Jaime handed her the bottle rocket and a lighter."Okay."
Tucker was about to run to the caves but stopped."Wait. Luna. Hey, we have to tell Luna about Vanto."
"Sorry, but you just missed her." Beilert Valance said."She and that Imperial headed into the woods about 10 minutes ago."
"Which way?" Tucker asked.
"Don't sweat it. I know which way they went." The Bounty Hunter said.
"Yeah, but-"
"I'll tell her." Valance interrupted Tucker."You just keep doing...whatever it is you do around here."
When they got to the caves, Applejack saw them moving rocks from the rubble."Wait. Hey, wait." Applejack said.
"Vanto's in there." Said Stuhlinger.
"Let me check it out before you start moving things around. If it's unstable..."
"Well, how do you know-"
"I know how some this works." Applejack interrupted Stuhlinger. The Earth pony looked at her little sister and Winona who had also ran to the caves."Applebloom, get back. I don't want you near the rocks, okay. And take Winona with you."
"You guys need Mr. Tarkin." The little filly said.
"Tarkin's out in the jungle killing stuff. Who knows where he is." Stuhlinger said.
Applejack looked around the cave."Alright, this area here is load-bearing. We've got to dig where there's no danger of the wall buckling in on itself. Here, we dig in here so the wall doesn't collapse. Four at a time, by hand, until we can find some kind of shovel. We take shifts and go slow. Whoever isn't digging should be clearing the rocks that we clear out and bring the water to whoever is working, okay. Let's move."
"Hey." Valance said, walking to Luna and Zuud who were in the jungle.
"What are you doing here?" Luna asked.
"Easy. Just came to tell you something." The cyborg said.
"What makes you think I'm interested in anything you have to say?" The alicorn asked.
There was a long pause from Valance."I just came to tell you, you were right about me. That I don't help anyone but myself. Well, here I am, ready to pitch in."
"You're here to help?" Luna asked, surprised.
"Hey, you act anymore surprised and I'm going to get offended." Valance smiled.
Wilhuff Tarkin was skinning the boar he had killed when he saw Tucker walking to him."Is there something wrong, Tucker?"
"Yeah, Vanto. He's a-there's been an accident at the caves. Vanto's trapped in a cave-in." Tucker said sadly.
"Is anyone trying to get him out?" Tarkin asked.
Tucker nodded."Yeah, there's a bunch of people there now."
"Then why aren't you with them? You didn't come here to tell me about Vanto, did you?"
Under his helmet, Tucker felt like he was going to cry."I want my stash, Tarkin. I can't stand feeling like this."
Tarkin looked at him for a moment."Come here. Let me show you something." Tarkin took Tucker to a plant with a cocoon on it."What do you suppose is in that cocoon, Tucker?"
Tucker shrugged."I don't know. A butterfly, I guess?"
Tarkin shook his head."No, It's much more beautiful than that. That's a moth cocoon. It's ironic. Butterflies get all the attention. But moths, they spin silk. They're stronger, they're faster."
"That's wonderful, but..."
"Do you see this little hole?" Tarkin pointed with his knife."This moth's just about to emerge. It's in there right now, struggling. It's digging its way through the thick hide of the cocoon. Now, I could help it, take my knife, gently widen the opening, and the moth would be free. But it would be too weak to survive. The struggle is nature's way of strengthening it. Now this is the second time you've asked me for your drugs back." Tarkin held the bag of heroin."Ask me again and it's yours."
Everybody at the caves were moving the rocks."Hey, we're through. We got a hole." Said Applejack.
"Vanto? Vanto?" Said Stuhlinger."Can you hear me, Vanto?" Stuhlinger heard moaning."I hear him." He said.
"He's alive." Jaime told the others.
"Vanto, are you okay?" Stuhlinger asked.
"I'm pinned. I can't move. I can't move." Vanto said.
Stuhlinger looked at Applejack."What do we do? How do we get him out?" He asked the Earth pony.
"Tucker was with me." Vanto said.
"He's okay. He made it out." Stuhlinger told Vanto.
"Hey listen, Vanto, we're gonna get you out of there, okay?" Applejack said.
Vanto only moaned and coughed.
Luna, Zuud, and Valance had finally made it to the high ground area."We'll place the second antenna here." Zuud said. The Imperial looked at Valance."You want to help?"
Valance nodded. Luna pulled the antenna out of Zuud's backpack, using what little magic she could to levitate it. Zuud grabbed it, still amazed by Luna's magic, and handed to Valance.
"Attach this antenna up in that tree, as high up as you can," Zuud explained.
"Thanks, Imperial." Valance said before he walked to the tree.
"Five o'clock." Zuud whispered to Luna."Watch my flare, then it's your turn. I don't trust him."
"Who does?" Said Luna.
"I don't trust him with you." Zuud said.
"I can handle him," Luna assured the Imperial Lieutenant as Valance was now up in the tree.
"Okay," Said Applejack."We can't safely make that tunnel any bigger, but since Vanto can't get out, one of us is going to have to go in and un-pin him."
"What, crawl through that?" Stuhlinger asked.
"I think we need someone smaller." Jaime Lannister said.
"Maybe I could in through there." Doctor Whooves offered to help.
"You? You're weaker than Marlton." Stuhlinger said to the pony. Whooves raised an eyebrow, confused about who Marlton was.
"I'll do it." Said Tucker. Everybody looked at the armored soldier.
"What? No, look, you're still too shook up." Applejack said."I might be able to squeeze through-"
"Hey, who's going to take care of your sister if something happens." Tucker pointed out. Tucker looked at Derpy."She has Whooves." Tucker then looked at Jaime."And he also has a sister. I'm alone here. I have no one on this Island. Let me do this."
Valance was sitting on the ground while Luna was waiting."Relax. I'm sure you'll see that rocket in the sky soon." Valance assured the alicorn.
"I just don't want to miss Zuud's signal. Remember, I'll fire the flare, you set off the antenna." Princess Luna said
"Thank goodness I've got you here to keep reminding me." Valance said.
"It's a dirty job, but somebody's got to do it."
"So, what is about that guy, Vanto. What is it about him that makes you all weak in the loins?"
"Vanto is a good man. He was a part of an Empire." Luna said.
Valance stared at her for a moment before he laughed."What's so funny?" Luna asked him.
"I was a part of the Empire as well. Do you even know anything about the Empire?" Valance questioned.
"No. But I'm sure it has some good people. Vanto, Zuud, and Tarkin are good-"
"Tarkin is good?" Valance laughed again."You really don't know anything about the Empire. Just like you don't know that Vanto is buried in a cave-in."
"What?" Luna said.
"Look at the bright side. Now you have someone else to pity." Valance smiled.
Luna tossed the bottle rocket at Valance and ran to the caves.
"Listen," Applejack said to Tucker."Go slow. Try not to nudge any of the rocks around you."
"Anything else?" Tucker asked.
"Yeah. Good luck." Said Applejack.
Jaime Lannister handed him a bottle of water."Be safe."
"Good luck, dude." Stuhlinger said.
Tucker nodded."Alright, thanks guys." Tucker then crawled through the tunnel.
As Tucker crawled, the tunnel started to rumble."Tucker? Tucker move!" Applejack yelled.
The armored soldier crawled as fast as he could. When he made it to the end, the tunnel collapsed. Tucker then saw Vanto."Hi." Tucker said."I'm...I'm here to rescue you."
Vanto smiled a little.
"I say we try again." Said Stuhlinger
"We can't just leave them." Jaime Lannister said.
"If we don't move, they're going to run out of air." Stuhlinger said.
"Would you stop talking? I'm trying to think." Said Applejack.
"Where is he?" Luna asked, running into the caves."Where is he?"
"Princess Luna." Applejack looked at the alicorn.
"Where is he, Applejack? Where's Vanto?" Luna asked.
Everyone was silent for a moment."He's in there." Stuhlinger pointed to the cave.
"Does anyone know if he's alive? Is he alive?" Luna questioned.
"We don't know." The element of honesty said."Tucker went in there through a tunnel that we dug, but it collapsed."
"Why is nobody digging?" Luna started to dig and so did the others.
Tucker was just about to move the rock that was pinning Vanto."Okay. One, two, three." Tucker pushed the rock while Vanto yelled in pain."Sorry, Vanto. Sorry. Are you alright?"
"My shoulder's dislocated," Vanto said.
"What?"
"You're going to have to pop it back in."
Tucker shook his head."No, I can't."
"I need your help on this."
"I can't do it, Vanto."
"Yes, you can. Yes, you can."
Tucker stared at him for a moment."Okay, what do I-what do I do?"
"Take my hand..."
"This hand?" Tucker grabbed it and positioned himself."Okay."
"Now, when I tell you to, pull as hard as you possibly can." Vanto said.
"Vanto, I don't know, I don't, I don't-"
"You can do this, Tucker." Vanto assured him.
"Okay, okay, okay, okay."
...
"Now."
Tucker pulled his arm and Vanto yelled.
Nearly twenty minutes later, Vanto was calm. The former Imperial noticed that Tucker's hand was shaking."How long has it been, Tucker?"
Tucker looked at him."I don't know what you're talking about."
"How long since your last fix?" Vanto questioned.
Tucker was silent for a moment."Almost a day and a half."
"How's the withdrawal treating you? Any hallucinations?" Vanto asked him.
"Apart from the conversation I had with you about an hour ago in the jungle, no, not really."
"Why didn't you say anything? I could've helped you through this." Vanto said.
"Yeah, you think I'm some useless junkie," Tucker said.
"Useless? You're not useless. That took a lot of guts getting in here and trying to rescue me. I won't forget that." Vanto said.
"For the rest of our lives?" Tucker asked.
"At the rate, we're using our oxygen in here, that won't be too long," Vanto said. Tucker then looked around and saw something."What's wrong?" Vanto asked him.
"It's a moth." Said Tucker.
"A what?"
"Right behind you, look. There's a moth in here." Tucker followed it.
"Tucker, what are you doing?" Vanto questioned.
Luna pulled out another piece of rubble."Princess Luna, you need to take a break." Said Applejack.
"I'm fine." Luna said.
"We've got enough people to dig. If you keep going at this pace, you're going to hurt yourself."
Luna only kept going.
"There's light." Said Tucker.
"What?"
"I can see light." Tucker said.
Tucker got Vanto out of the cave in."Hey, It's Vanto!" Said Applebloom.
Princess Luna quickly ran over to Vanto and hugged him."Ow! Easy, my shoulder, careful." Vanto said.
"How did you get out?" Stuhlinger asked.
"Tucker. Tucker found a way out." Said Vanto.
"Dude, you rock!" Stuhlinger said.
Tucker smiled under his helmet as everybody congratulated him.
"Alright everyone, now it's your turn." Zuud said to herself after lighting the bottle rocket.
Cersei Lannister was thinking about what was happening in Westeros right now. She then heard a rocket explode.
"Seven Hells!" She said, quickly lighting the rocket.
Zuud saw the beach rocket explode."Come on, come on, one more. Come on, Luna. Come on."
Zuud then saw the third rocket explode.
"Yes." The Imperial grabbed the transceiver and turned it on."Where are you?" Zuud whispered as it was acquiring the signal."Yes!" She said when she got a strong signal."Where are you? Where are you?"
Suddenly, Zuud felt something hard hit the back of her head.
She then saw nothing.
Stuhlinger gave Tucker a water bottle."Thanks. I think I'm going to stretch my legs." Said Tucker, standing up.
"This place is cool." Said Applebloom. She looked at her sister."Can we live here?"
Vanto was looking at a fire when he noticed Luna bring him something."Made you something." She smiled.
"Awww, my very first sling." Vanto smiled.
Luna helped Vanto get the sling on."How's that?" She asked.
"Good. Thank you."
The princess looked around."So, these are the safe caves you've been going on about?"
"This was a fluke. Applejack checked out the integrity of the rest of the caves and gave them an okay. So, you're heading back to the beach, huh?"
"Zuud should be back there by now and if his plan worked then..."
"Then we're one step closer to getting off this Island," Vanto said."Thanks for the sling, Luna."
"You're welcome." Luna smiled.
"Give them to me." Tucker said to Tarkin.
Tarkin looked at him."This is the third time. Are you sure you really want them?"
"I've made my choice."
Wilhuff Tarkin gave Tucker his drugs back. Tucker stared at the drugs in his hand before he threw them into the fire.
Tarkin smiled."You're a good soldier, Tucker."
When Tucker looked up, he saw a moth.