Author's Notes: Extra long chapter today! Originally it was split into two, but I didn't really want a filler chapter. As always, thanks for your support!
They didn't see Bo all day.
Woody was understandably anxious. He was on pins and needles without a solid explanation of where she was.
Senator Nebula assured them that she was meeting with McNairy and they were discussing the strategy in which they could keep her safe. The cowboy still was uneasy about the Secretary of Defense. All of his suspicions about Star Command trying to take absolute control of the situation were resurfacing.
And what was worse was he and Buzz were still not seeing eye to eye.
The cowboy felt strongly that if Buzz had been in his situation he would have expressed the same concerns. The ranger still had strong ties to Star Command, but he'd ultimately chosen Earth in the end, hadn't he?
Really Woody was only half validated. It was his pride that set him against Buzz the most, the fact that he was overly confident in his ability to protect Bo better than Star Command could. When he really started thinking about it, he started to doubt himself based on what had happened over the years thus far.
Had he really protected Bo?
Well, he didn't really like to think about it. Instead his thoughts were turned towards all the ways that Star Command had failed to protect her.
Buzz on the other hand was caught up in his pride of being a Space Ranger. He remembered vividly taking an oath that the protection and safety of the masses would be his first priority. Nebula's words, "How much of this war do you really know?" had stuck out in his mind in particular. He felt guilty for running away, for pretending to be someone he wasn't for as long as he did.
The ranger wanted desperately to prove that he was still loyal to Star Command.
He had to admit though, Woody may have had a point. Star Command had let Porkchop slip through their fingers. And as much as he hated to recognize it, even Nebula was acting extremely despondent towards him.
Still, he really didn't think it was a good time to leave the station. He knew if they left now their relations with Star Command would only be made worse, and Buzz thought it extremely important to have allies in high places.
As it turned out, the two hadn't seen each other all day either. They had one more major argument that got out of hand and the friends had to get away from each other to blow off some steam. Caught in the middle had been Jessie, who could not believe how childish the two were being. Neither would budge on their opinions. The cowgirl herself didn't side with either one of them, as she still stuck by her original thought that Bo should decide herself.
So Woody sought answers, as Buzz did the same but separately, and Jessie sat in waiting, accompanied by XR and Booster thinking that her friends were acting so childish.
"Cheer up Jessie, if I know Pop, I know he'll take care of Bo," XR comforted as they milled around the commons, sitting on a weird set of furniture in a circle.
She shifted in the squeaky uncomfortable geometric chair she sat in. "I just wish she were here. Bo knows how to control the guys better than I do. They're being such ninnies."
They sat in awkward silence for a moment or two, until Booster finally blurted out what he'd been dying to ask all day.
"Is Buzz happy on Earth?"
XR and Jessie both gave quizzical looks.
"I mean… uh… not right now obviously, but living there, away from Star Command. He is happy, right?" Booster fumbled out nervously. "I don't mean to put it out like it's a BAD thing, but I would just like to know if he ever misses… uh..."
"Booster, it's ok. Mira and I both had to come to terms with this too. It's your turn," XR said sighing. They both turned to Jessie.
Her cheeks flushed pink, something she wasn't really used to, after realizing their question had a lot to do with her. "Don't give me that look! What do you want from me? I can't give you the closure you want! Go talk to Buzz."
They continued to stare.
She threw up her head in exasperation. "Ok ok fine, but Buzz didn't just stay on Earth for me. I imagine he thinks about you a lot when we're on Earth. I think he probably misses it too. But surely, you two don't think you'll be Rangers for the rest of your lives, do you?"
XR shrugged. "I was created for just that reason…"
Booster on the other hand slumped his head on his hands. "I guess I won't be a Space Ranger forever, but I dunno… I guess we kinda assumed Buzz would."
The cowgirl folded her arms and stared at the floor. "Back in the day Buzz had been asked to serve a long mission away from us. He almost left, but he decided not to. Had he left, he wouldn't have been there the day of Bo's wedding, the day we were all captured. I wonder how things would have been different…"
"Are you two gonna get married one day?" XR asked bluntly as Booster elbowed him sharply in the side.
Jessie smiled slightly. "One day, I'd like to think when this is all over. But… I'm not really sure if this will ever end. As people continue to discover that Bo's blood has the capability to do terrible things, we'll have to keep hiding and protecting her…"
It was much later into the day when Nebula announced a small council meeting on the topic of the things that had transpired on Porkchop's ship. Team Lightyear had all been invited.
Jessie thought it would be a good opportunity for Buzz and Woody to start working together again. They meeting was to be held on Star Command due to the situation on Capital Planet. It was much smaller in comparison, but there were significantly fewer people in attendance as well. The redhead entered with Booster and XR, who had seemed to stick to her like glue over the past few hours. They found a seat among the one hundred or so chairs lined up to face a podium. She recognized McNairy and the President sitting up on the stand behind the podium, as well as a few more officials that had been at the meeting on Capital Planet as well.
And then Bo was led in by the same bulky human-ish Ranger from earlier. She held a stone-faced expression.
Woody and Buzz finally came in. They didn't say a word to each other, but they sat on either side of Jessie. "She's up there," the cowgirl said to them both pointing up to Bo.
The blonde finally noticed their presence and was surprised. She stared at the three as if she wished to convey some sort of message.
"Thank you all for coming on such short notice," the president suddenly announced as he stood up to the podium. "This is an issue of an intergalactic emergency. As you know, the Porcus man John Porkchop committed an act of terrorism to obtain the Earthling Bo Peep. It was alerted to Star Command early this morning that Porkchop escaped, and every available effort is being put into tracking him down.
"As this ongoing investigation has been conducted, many of you wonder why Porkchop went to great lengths to take Ms. Peep in the first place. Secretary of Defence Carter McNairy believes that he obtains additional information to clarify the situation. I will now turn the time over to him."
The president took his seat as McNairy arose to the podium. He cleared his throat before beginning. "Thank you Mr. President. We offer our sympathies to many who were injured and the family of the citizen that was killed at the attacks on Capital Planet. We will bring the man responsible to justice.
"We would also like to thank personally the many on the response team that risked their lives to take down Porkchop and his crew…"
Woody leaned over to Jessie and whispered in her ear. "He's not acknowledging us. He's only talking about the Rangers who came in after us."
She didn't respond.
"As the President mentioned we are taking steps in preventing another attack by searching for the cause. Ms. Peep has been so kind as to share the information she has on the matter with us," McNairy continued. "Many of you have heard the stories of the 'Black Star,' an ancient power source that has been written off to not even exist."
The trio in the audience felt their blood go cold.
"Oh no," Jessie mouthed.
Bo looked like she was about to cry.
"We have strong reason to believe that Porkchop did in actuality believe the star to exist, and even claimed that he knew the location. He believed that Christine Peep, a supposed member of the cult surrounding the Black Star, had a child that could access the full power of the vessel.
"We also have reason to believe that this same belief was held by Stoneheart Mafur, otherwise known as Alan Peep son of Christine and brother to Bo. Whether the star is more than a myth or not, we have information that many followers of both Porkchop and Alan Peep believe Bo to be the key to a weapon of mass destruction. For her own protection and for ours. we are taking executive action to prevent this weapon to fall into the hands of the enemy.
"Therefore, at this time we call upon a vote within the representative senators that are present today for the emergency protection act, in which Ms. Peep will remain in the possession of Star Command for safekeeping while further investigations are conducted on the legitimacy of the Black Star. All of those in favor, say I," McNairy concluded confidently.
There was a chorus of I's from the crowd.
"All of those opposed, say I," the Secretary said accordingly.
Not one senator spoke out.
"As it seems, for once, we are completely unanimous. The board will-"
"You can't do this!" Woody finally shouted after standing up in the crowd. Buzz's face went chalk white.
McNairy sneered. "Mr. Pride, is there something you would like to share with the board?"
"Bo is a person, not just a weapon, something you often seem to forget, Secretary," the cowboy replied clenching his fists.
"What would you have us do, Sheriff? What action would you suggest in light of recent events?"
The audience and council were deathly quiet as Woody fought the urge to explode. He glanced at Bo, who stared at him once again like she could speak through her eyes. "You can't hold Bo prisoner for having done nothing. There is no due process-"
"The safety of every individual in the universe is at stake. We are taking executive action to-"
Woody started to talk over him. "You think keeping her here is going to be any better? Porkchop hacked through Star Command once, he'll do it again!"
"Are you insinuating that you would do a better job of protecting Ms. Peep than the entirety of Star Command Mr. Pride?" McNairy asked loudly. "Or perhaps you have ulterior motives? Perhaps you wish to investigate the Black Star yourself?"
"What are you talking about?" the cowboy said, narrowing his eyes.
"Excuse me if I must dumb it down, but your downright disrespectful behavior towards Star Command brings up further question if you, along with the rest of 'Team Lightyear' can be trusted."
"Are you implying that I would want to use Bo to get to the Black Star? That I'm in the same league as Porkchop and Alan?" Woody asked darkly.
"I think, Mr. Pride, that I speak for the entire board when I say further investigations will be conducted examining all potential dangers," McNairy concluded. "We're finished here. This council is dismissed."
"Wait!" Woody shouted as they started to cart Bo away. He started charging up to the stand.
The hefty Space Ranger intervened.
And before long, an all-out brawl had broken out. Woody's arm was still hurt and the other injuries he'd retained from the trip to Porkchop's ship caught up with him. He knew he couldn't win. He wasn't much of a fist-fighter anyway, but his adrenaline was aiding in helping deliver a few meaningful blows.
In that moment, the cowboy didn't care if he was pummeled into oblivion. There were many around them trying to break up the fight, but no one was successful until two familiar faces lunged out and grabbed Woody by his arms.
There was so much anger built up in his system that the cowboy couldn't help but redirect it towards his friends who were dragging him out into the hall.
They finally released him when Buzz and Jessie were sure he was a sufficient distance away from the meeting room.
All three were panting heavily. "Well THAT went well," Buzz said sourly in between breaths.
"What on Earth did you think you were doing Woody?!" Jessie added about to punch him in the arm.
The cowboy caught her hand. "What was I supposed to do? They took her away Jessie, I had to try-"
"That was not the way to handle that sheriff. You know that! They trust us even less now!" Buzz interrupted angrily.
"Let me ask you this Buzz: What if it was Jessie on that stand instead of Bo? What if it was Jessie being locked up for doing nothing wrong? What would you have done?! Or would you have been the ranger to lock her up?"
Woody had crossed the line. Buzz shoved him away, and there was a scuffle.
"Stop it! Both of you stop it!" Jessie screamed. "STOP!"
Despite themselves, Woody and Buzz recognized the tone of panic in Jessie's voices and they stopped. The cowboy still had adrenaline and anger pumping through his veins, so he turned around and started walking away fuming.
"Woody wait!" Jessie cried after him, but Buzz held her back. She looked at the ranger for a moment, and then walked away as well, sobbing her eyes out.
They were each alone.