They had been there for eight months. It was now spring.
"I can build her up in a day once we receive good news from a lead party." Said one of the engineers to Tarkin and Sombra as they looked at the engine of Erebus.
"I'm sure Weast is surely the first place ice will open." Said Sombra.
Tarkin raised an eyebrow."Weast?"
"Isn't that a direction?" Asked Sombra.
Tarkin and Sombra then went to the top of the ship to see that the lead party had returned. They had been pulling boats and scouting to see how thick the ice was.
"Scour the ice," Tarkin told the men that would be in the party. He was giving them a speech."With providence as your left-footed guide-"
"Don't you mean sure-footed?" Grif asked.
Tarkin ignored him."And return safely with that our long winter expedition will soon lie behind us. Hopefully. Maybe. And we can finally raise our sails again and force this passage." He told them."Graham Cracker."
Graham Cracker, a guy who wore a graham cracker costume, walked forward."I appreciate you taking the cylinders." Tarkin said.
Graham nodded."It will be an honor, sir. To lay our first footprints upon King William Land and deliver your words."
"Why are you taking his liver?" Caboose asked, confused when he said to deliver.
"Caboose...just shut up." Church said to his teammate.
"Be sure to come back with a story," Tarkin said to Graham.
"I don't know...there's not a lot of bookstores near here," Graham said.
"I only wish I could join in the outing." Said Sombra.
Tarkin looked at Takeo."Masaki!" He yelled.
Takeo, who had been looking at nothing but the snow, turned around."Yes?"
"Is there anything you'd like to say?"
...
"May your ancestors serve you well," Takeo said before looking back at the snow.
"Wow...thanks." Said Graham sarcastically. Tarkin didn't blame him.
The men went over to their boats to pull them for their long journey.
Marlton Johnson was walking with them through all the snow, the men pulling the boat while Tucker was there to guard them.
Marlton felt bad that he wasn't helping them pull the boat.
"Hey, do you want me to switch with one of you guys?"
"Holy shit, please take my position!" Said Rickety Cricket. He took the rope off and gave it to Marlton.
Before they even pulled, Marlton slipped and fell.
Tarkin was in his room, reading James Luceno's Tarkin when Takeo came into the room.
"Takeo. Sit down." Tarkin said, putting the novel down. The Japanese captain did so.
He had ordered Takeo to come to him so they could talk."Is everything...alright, captain?"
He nodded."Of course. Why do you ask?"
"You seem distracted, is all."
Takeo was silent for a moment."This place has nothing but darkness...something is watching us...something very evil."
Tarkin stared at him for a long time."I see..." He said, not really believing him.
They stopped once they saw a tall ice wall in front of them.
"It's the shore." Said one of the crewmembers.
"We continue on foot." Said Graham Cracker. They grabbed some shotguns from the boat and started to climb the ice wall.
"Wait...is this the wall from Game of Thrones?" Asked Tucker.
"It's not that tall." Graham Cracker told him.
When they got to the top, they saw nothing but a land of grey rocks. Everybody then howled happily, celebrating.
"We did it!" Yelled Tucker, excited."Holy shit, we did it...does this mean we can go home now?"
"Hey, there's the cairn." Graham Cracker pointed at something that stood in the distance.
They got down from the ice wall and walked to the cairn. They opened the cairn to put some notes in it.
"Okay. Tucker, accompany me to the second cairn." He ordered. Tucker nodded and they both walked to the second cairn which was farther away.
While the rest of the party left, Marlton stared at Graham Cracker and Tucker walking away.
"Graham! You forgot your wallet!" Marlton yelled.
But they were too far away to hear him.
Carth Onasi walked down the stairs."Is someone here?" The Old Republic asked, looking around the dark room.
Suddenly, Mac and Dennis Reynolds came out behind some barrels."Uh...hey, dude." Mac said to him, nervous."Beautiful weather we're having, right?"
"It's kriffin' cold as always." The soldier said. Carth saw that Dennis was pulling up his pants."Anyway, Tarkin's toilet is clogged and he wants Dennis to fix it."
"I'll be right there." Dennis nodded.
They were on their way back to their rowboat, walking on top of the ice wall. When they saw their boat, it had been turned over upside down.
"Holy shit! Did a bear do that?" Asked one of the crewmembers, seeing the boat.
"Takeo is delusional," Sombra told Tarkin.
"Perhaps...but what if he is right?" Tarkin said to the king."During the Clone Wars, the Jedi used the Force to sense danger. I don't know if Takeo is Force senstive but we need to be careful of what is out there."
"Sir," Said a crewmember coming into the room.
"Yes? What is it?" Tarkin asked.
"The party has returned."
Tarkin and Sombra were walking on the top floor of the ship."What news, Lieutentant?" Tarkin asked who was sitting on a box.
The lieutenant stood up.
"Stay seated," Tarkin told him.
The man sat down.
"Now stand up." He ordered.
The man stood up.
"Now jump up and down three times."
The man jumped up and down three times.
"Now sit back down."
The man sat back down.
"We traveled as far as 11 miles east, sir." The man reported."We saw no signs of the ice yielding."
"I see." Said Tarkin. He had hoped that the ice would be weak to break soon."How are the men?"
"Some of them are with Doctor Richtofen now." He said."We also had an issue with our provisions."
"What issue?" Tarkin questioned.
"Some were rotted. Inedibly so. We couldn't drink our Pepsi."
Tarkin was disturbed by this."Ask Mr. Side Character to prepare an early supper for the Lieutenant and his men." Tarkin ordered one of the crewmembers. He looked back at the Lieutenant."Gather your strength before returning to your ship."
The Lieutenant nodded and left.
Tarkin saw some of the men playing soccer down on the ice near the ship.
"I really hope I don't have to call this place home," Tarkin said to himself.
Flashback.
"We must expand our Empire, Grand Moff Tarkin." Emperor Palpatine said to him. They were in the throne room on Coruscant."You are to use two wooden ships to find this...King William Land. You will be working with people from other universes."
Tarkin nodded."Yes, your grace."
Present.
When it was night, Takeo was on top of the ship, staring at the white snow. He saw Sarge walk over to him.
"Beautiful night, huh?" Sarge asked, standing next to him.
Takeo nodded."It is." There was a moment of silence between them. He looked over at the red armored sergeant."Why are you here on this expedition?"
"The Red Army sent me." Said Sarge.
"You know, you and I are more similar than you think, sergeant." Takeo pointed out."We are both loyal to our Empires and to the people that lead them."
"I guess." Sarge said."I mean, I'm still American and that but okay." The sergeant of the reds then walked away and Takeo looked back at the snow.
Marlton and the rest of the crewmembers that were still out in the snow heard the sound of thunder above them.
"I'll put the third tent up." Said one of them."We'll all appreciate the extra room if we're in for foul weather."
Marlton went to help him when something hit the snow near them. They all looked at the object that fell from the sky.
It was a solid ball of ice.
A crewmember scoffed."I'm not afraid of ice." He said bravely.
Another ball of ice fell and hit him on the head.
Graham Cracker and Tucker returned to them."Time to get inside, boys. And Donut." Graham said, looking at Franklin Delano Donut who had come with them.
More ice fell down and they ran to their tents. As they waited for it to stop raining, they heard the sound of a animal roaring in the distance.
"That bear has been following us for miles," Said Tucker."I shot him but he's still alive."
"What do we do?" Asked a crewmember.
"Shoot it in the head. Carve it up for supper." Graham told him.
"I'm not eating a bear." Tucker said to Graham."But I will put a bullet in that fucker."
"But...what if it's not alone?" Asked Marlton.
"Then I'll kill that one," Tucker said before leaving the tent.
It had stopped raining ice. Everyone left their tents with a rifle in hand. They heard a whooshing sound at the ice wall.
"It's just up there." Graham pointed, suspenseful music playing in the background.
They went towards the ice wall and Tucker saw something. He fired."Fuck you, bear!" He yelled.
Tucker climbed over the wall and saw what Tucker had shot."Uh...Marlton. You need to see this."
Marlton quickly ran over and climbed the wall."So..." Tucker started."I didn't shoot a bear...I shot some dude."
Marlton was looking at an old Eskimo man who was bleeding from his chest and a young Eskimo girl crying over his body.
A crewmember tried to comfort her but she pushed him away and started shouting in her native language. She then stopped and looked around, worried.
"Who is she looking for?" Asked Tucker, confused.
"I'll get the lieutenant." Marlton
Graham Cracker stood there, wearing his graham cracker suit, when a white polar bear then attacked him from behind and killed him.
Marlton eyes widened in horror."That's messed up." He whispered.
Dennis had finally fixed Tarkin's toilet. Once he was done, he heard the sound of everybody celebrating at the top of the ship.
Tarkin and Sombra made their way through the crewmembers who were celebrating the return of the party.
Tarkin noticed what the party was doing in the distance.
The party was running.
Edward Richtofen saw them put the injured Eskimo onto the table.
He looked at Sombra."Sombra, I will not touch this man." He said."And I'm not saying that because my Ultimis counterpart is a nazi. I just don't want to touch him."
"You don't need to." Said Marlton."This man's been in my care for two days."
Richtofen looked at the young man."Marlton-"
"A blaster shot him. We'll need to heal him by using...uh...what's that stuff called again?"
"Bacta?" Said Tarkin.
Marlton nodded."Yeah, that."
Richtofen turned to Tarkin."What do you wish us to do?"
"I think we can save him." Marlton said to Tarkin."Can I try? He had nothing to do with what happened to Lieutenant Graham Cracker, sir."
Tarkin thought about this for a long moment. As everyone waited for answer, they decided to play a game of Monopoly when Tarkin finally nodded.
Takeo then came into the room. Marlton was about to cut the man when the young Eskimo girl pushed him.
"Stop!" Said the subtitles for the girl."Stop! You don't understand!"
Takeo grabbed her and pulled her away."What are you doing?"
"It's all right." Said Takeo in her language to the surprise of everyone in the room."We are friends." He pointed at Marlton and Richtofen."Those two are doctors."
"Please leave my father alone." She said.
"Sir, can you tell her that this will be painful for him but I'll be as quick as I can be?" Marlton asked.
"He wants to help your father." He explained."There will be a pain."
The old man groaned as Marlton poured some liquid on his wound.
"I can't save him." Said Marlton after a while."He's lost the will to live. Pretty much like Padmé Amidala."
Takeo looked at the girl."I am sorry but he is going to die."
The girl looked at her dying father."Please stay!" She begged."I can't do this on my own."
The old man murmured.
"Do not ask that of me. I'm not ready. Tuunbaq will not obey me."
"What is she saying?" Sombra asked.
"She's begging him not to ask this of her," Takeo explained.
"Ask what of her?"
"It's not going to be able to find you." She said. He then started to sing."No. He must die out under the sky. Out on the ice! Not here!" She tried pulling him off the table but they quickly stopped her.
"He must die under the sky." She said."Out on the ice!"
"Stretcher!" Takeo yelled."Bring a stretcher!"
"What's happening?" Sombra asked.
"She says he must die on the ice," Takeo told him.
But it was too late. The man was now dead.
Tarkin came into the room."Sombra, see this woman off Erebus. Please see to it that the sick bay is restored, Dr. Richtofen." He ordered.
"Sir, with your permission," Said Takeo."I'd like to take the woman aboard Horror."
"You're staying here, Takeo, until we've heard from everyone on Graham's team about what happened out there." Tarkin ordered."Marlton, come with us, please."
"We found only one set of footprints." Marlton said Tarkin, Sombra, and Takeo."Large. 20 inches across."
"How long did you search for Lieutenant Graham Cracker before you decided to leave him?" Sombra asked.
"We searched for a half-mile in each direction, sir," Marlton reported.
"Then how can you be certain he was killed?" Tarkin questioned.
"The amount of blood, sir, on the ice. Well, it was either blood or ketchup."But no man could have survived losing so much."
"You say this with complete authority on the subject?" Sombra asked.
He nodded."I do, sir."
"Whether it was our grief or fatigue, I cannot say, but some of us, Hartnell and Morfin specifically, became convinced that the bear continued to track us here, back to the ships."
"Based on what evidence, Marlton?" Sombra continued to ask.
"We could not be more distressed by what happened, sir. Lieutenant Graham was one of the very best men-"
"Leads, Doctor." Takeo interrupted him."Did you find any leads?"
"The ice showed no sign of a thaw, Captains. On the contrary, the wrack of ice built up around the shore of King William Land was thicker than Lieutenant Graham expected."
"You're now an expert on the ice too, Marlton?" Sombra asked.
Marlton looked down at the floor.
"Thank you." Said Tarkin."That will be all."
"There's one more thing, Captains." Marlton said.
"Yes?" Tarkin asked.
"The Eskimo man."
"What about him?" Takeo questioned, curious.
"He had signs of a...surgical procedure in his past."
"What sort of procedure?" Tarkin asked.
"He had no tongue. It was removed some time ago, I believe, with some sharp edge."
The Grand Moff just shrugged."These people are not our concern. We have one of our own men to mourn. You may go."
Marlton nodded."Sir." He then left the room.
When it became night, Takeo Masaki walked out into the cold, walking away from the ship.
He stopped and stood there as the wind blew.
He then walked to his ship and went into his room on the ship.
"What have you learned?" He asked random guy and Sarge who was with the Eskimo girl.
"She's in good condition." Said the random guy."And she has been eating. Fairly well, in fact."
"That could mean her people have found game in the area. Has she conversed with you?" Takeo sat down on the wooden chair.
Random guy shook his head."No."
The Japanese captain stared at her.
"Your father." He started."I'm sorry." The Eskimo girl said nothing.
"In Igloolik, I was called "Aglooka". What is your name?"
Again, she said nothing.
"Okay...where are your people? We want to help."
Finally, she spoke."If you want to help, take your boats away." She told him."You cannot be here.
"Our boats are stuck." He explained."We must wait for the ice to melt."
She then started to whisper. Takeo got closer to her to hear. He then backed away from her when she was done whispering.
"She said that if we don't leave now...we're going to disappear."
