Author's Note: Hey, everyone. I'm back from break. Though, it won't last though. Recent development in my household is making me go through a few changes. It's nothing big, but I am going to need another break, which I will after next weekend and I upload another batch of updates. I will use that time to adjust and get used to said changes. I hope you understand.
Thank you for your patience. Enjoy the chapter. Any and all comments are welcome.
Everyone gathered around Caboose while waiting for Church to be finished with his job. Caboose held the drive holding Freckles' mind with a worried tone.
"Give it to me straight Church! Is Freckles gonna make it?"
"Your robot's fine." Church assured. "I just need a few more… Ah, there we go. Congrats. Your pet has been debugged."
"Oh, God." Caboose sighed in relief. "Now, all we have to do is get him fixed."
"Um, how do you fix a…" Strike was about to ask before Jena interrupted him.
"Best not ask questions we don't want the answers to."
"I can't believe you would just accept something from the enemy like that!" Carolina lectured Washington.
"It was a lapse in judgement, it won't happen again."
"Yeah, because next time we'll be dead!" Church said. "Come on Wash, you're supposed to be the smart one in the group."
"I thought I was the smart one in the group." Simmons said.
"Meh. Smart's relative, like good looks or skills." Grif said. "Sometimes, you just have to settle."
"Would you guys all shut up?" Tucker asked. "This isn't helping!"
"Oh yeah right! Since when have you managed to help around here?" Church asked.
"Hey, maybe you haven't noticed, but I've been kinda running this shit while you were gone." Tucker said.
"No, you haven't. That was me." Jena corrected. "All you did was desert the New Republic."
"Hey, anything was better than sitting on our asses waiting for someone to tell us we were ready." Tucker said. "The way I see it, I took initiative."
"You jumped the gun without a decent plan!" Church said. "Great job! You must be so proud!"
"Okay. Everyone's a little tense right now." Dr. Grey said trying to defuse the tension.
"Well, at least I tried." Tucker argued.
"YOU?! What about me?!" Church asked raising his voice. "You think I'm in a vacation this whole time?"
"Please! Stop fighting!" Donut begged getting everyone's attention. "Can't you see you're tearing this family apart?!"
"…Right. This shit's getting weird. I'm out. Hey if you need me, I'll be thinking of a way to keep us alive for the next 24 hours." Church said before vanishing out of sight.
"Good riddance." Tucker said.
"Hey, I heard that!" Church's voice yelled. "I'm still technically in the room, dumbass!"
"I'm gonna go check the perimeter." Carolina said.
"I'll go with." Strike said.
"I'll do the same." Washington said. "Why don't you guys just take a breather?"
"Okay." Caboose said watching Carolina, Washington, and Strike leave the group. "Bye, Wash! Bye, Carolina! Bye, Strike! Bye, Church!"
"Caboose," Tucker said, "Aren't you even like the tiniest bit pissed off at Church?"
"Uuuuuuuhh, no."
"Not even a little?"
"Nah."
"At all?"
"Yeah, no. Not really."
"How? He's being such an asshole!"
"I'm pretty sure Church has always been an asshole." Simmons said.
"Yeah. Isn't that kind of his thing?" Grif asked. "Like Simmons is smart, I'm good looking, Jena's weird, you guys are the dumb one, the lazy one, and the mean one."
"You're calling someone else lazy?" Jena asked. "Look, Tucker, the point is, Church is just being the same as he always is. Didn't you guys once say that is you quit every time Church started shouting, this would have been over a long time ago?"
"Why are you defending him, Jena?" Tucker asked. "After the way he treated you after the whole mess at Alpha?"
"You may think I did nothing wrong, but just like you, I jumped the gun." Jena said. "I let my fears control me instead of trusting my friends. I'm owning my mistake and wanting to make up for it. The least you can do is make up with Church."
"No way! He doesn't even care about us!"
"I don't know about that." Sarge said. "He stopped that Stormtrooper from gutting up Caboose. Missed opportunity, if you ask me."
"Well, he abandoned us." Tucker said.
"But didn't you guys do the same thing?" Donut asked.
"Huh?"
"Uh, the rebels?" Grif reminded.
"Technically, I didn't abandon them." Jena said. "I just followed Tucker and the others when they did."
"But… there were more important things we had to do." Tucker said.
"I kinda feel like stopping the sale of illegal military equipment might have been more important than hanging out in a canyon." Simmons said.
"Okay, Tucker." Caboose said walking up to his friend. "I'm gonna tell you this only because you respect my opinions so much."
"I actually don't listen to anything you say. Ever."
"See, Jena? He's totally the lazy one." Grif said.
"If you keep being mean to Church, Church will just keep being mean to you." Caboose said. "And then, everyone will be mean to everyone all the time, and everything will be bad, and no one will have fun."
"Is this… Are you trying to give me a motivational speech right now?" Tucker asked.
"Shh. I want to see where he goes." Donut said.
"I mean, come on! Is this really what you want?" Caboose asked dramatically. "You just… You just want to be angry and mean all the time? Because that is dumb! And you know what? You are dumb for thinking that!"
"Did Caboose just call someone dumb." Grif asked.
"Well, that's calling the kettle blue." Sarge said.
"So Church left! And maybe some of us were sad! But you know what, that is okay! Because he was just trying to do something good! And he just made a mistake! And we all make mistakes sometimes!"
Tucker, surprised at the unexpected sort of wisdom that escaped Caboose's mouth, was nearly speechless. "Wow. Caboose, I…"
"SO SHUT UP AND GET OVER IT!" Caboose shouted. "Well, my work is done here." He proceeded to walk away.
"You know, I really do effing hate him." Tucker said.
Jena and the others joined Strike, Washington, and Carolina as they witnessed Tucker and Church's heart-to-heart. Though it wasn't a formal apology, everyone agreed that it was as close as they were ever going to get.
This tender moment didn't last though.
Without warning, all the radios in everyone's ears let out a loud, screeching sound.
"AH! MY EARS! MY DELICATE EARS!" Donut yelled.
Once the screeching stopped, a very familiar, very hated voice took its place within the radios. "Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. This is your captain speaking and boy, have I got some news for you."
"Is that…" Strike gasped.
"Yes. It's Felix." Church said. "He's using the radios."
"Hey, asshole," Tucker replied to the mercenary, "We're not interested in whatever bullshit you're selling!"
"Oh, but Tucker. In amiraculous, one-time only deal, you've all been upgraded to first class on a one-way flight off of Chorus." Hearing that left everyone silent. "Are you interested now?"
"I would be lying if I said I wasn't a little interested." Simmons said.
"What are you talking about?" Jena asked.
"Okay. Easy there, darling." Felix said. "I know this is all very exciting, so I'm gonna hand the mike over to my partner here to tell you the details."
When Felix was done, the Reds and Blues heard Locus' voice in his stead. "It's time you people understood the futility of your situation. We know where you're hiding. We know you are in possession of a single teleportation grenade. And we know that you hold the coordinates to a particularly valuable radio jammer. Which is why my partner, the Inquisitor, and I are contacting you from its location. Make no mistake, you will not be interfering with today's events."
"Says you! We're the champs of interfering with shit!" Tucker argued.
"Let me." The Inquisitor said through the radios joining Felix and Locus. "Listen, you fools. Right now, both the New Republic and the Federal Army are about to confront each other in a final battle in Armonia that will leave no survivors. If your goal was to save these people, you're too late. But there is a chance for all of you to make it out alive. Well, most of you at least."
"What do you mean by that?" Strike asked.
"Once the chumps at the capital are all dead, you guys will be the only loose ends left." Felix said. "Now, seeing as you disabled our tracking device and have the means to teleport anywhere in the world, this poses a somewhat... annoying problem."
"Which is why the Empire is going to offer you a deal." Locus said. "If you choose to teleport back to your canyon at Crash Site Bravo, you'll find a small ship waiting to take you home. But if you fail to arrive within the hour, we will find you, and we will kill you."
"I'm gonna go ahead and call bullshit on that." Grif said.
"Yeah. Why should we believe anything you say?" Simmons asked.
"See for yourself." The Thirteenth Sister answered.
The Reds and Blues caught the slight rumbling sound from afar. They headed to a cliff where they witnessed a ship flying over the forest and toward the canyon.
"Okay. I believe them." Lopez said.
"You're right, Lopez! That is the ship that dropped us off." Donut said.
"STOP PRETENDING THAT YOU UNDERSTAND ME!"
"It's fully functional and enroute to the canyon." Locus informed.
"So you got a ship." Washington said. "How are we suppose to know you won't shoot us the second we arrive?"
"Well, you can't." Felix answered. "But, if it makes you feel any better, this wasn't our idea. Trust me, I'm really hoping you're dumb enough to turn this offer down."
"The Empire may be ruthless, but they're not unreasonable." Locus said. "They understand that you want no part in this conflict. And they are willing to let you live if you agree to never to speak of our involvement here."
"And trust us, they'll know if you do." Felix said. "Oh, but there is one more condition in exchange for us sparing your pathetic lives… Jena turns herself in."
"What?" Jena asked in a gasp.
"Jedi, I came to this planet for one reason and one reason only: to kill you." The Thirteenth Sister informed. "The Freelancers, the simulation soldiers, and the old clone trooper are inconsequential, so I'm willing to let them go. But if you want them to leave here alive, you must give yours in return. Once you teleport back to the canyon, you must let the others enter the ship while letting the Stormtroopers there cuff you and confiscate your lightsaber. Then, you'll be flown over here where I'll deliver the final judgement to you myself."
"No deal!" Tucker shouted. "Either Jena goes with us or we don't go at all!"
"Fine by me." The Thirteenth Sister said. "Either you idiots stay or you go. Either way, Jena Isa will not leave this planet alive."
"Agent Washington, I've been ordered to offer you and your men a way out, and I never break an order." Locus said. "You have one hour to make your decision."
"Hope you make the right one." Felix said before the transmission ended. Everyone was left looking at each other with confusion and indecision, Jena most of all.
After a few minutes, Church, Carolina, and Washington lead a meeting with the others to discuss their next move. Church spoke up.
"Alright. The way I see it, we've got three options. I'm gonna go through these in the order of Effing Terrible to Goddamn Nightmare. Option A: We can take our last teleportation grenade and jump to a place on Chorus where we can lay low for a while. The obvious con here is that the armies will probably blow each other to bits. But Carolina and I have gotten pretty good about fighting these guys on the run. If we're careful, we might be able to gather enough equipment and intel to get off this planet and bring the Empire to justice."
"Just to clarify, that's the best option?" Simmons asked.
"That was effing terrible." Church replied.
"We lose Chorus, but still have a chance to stop the Empire and walk away from this alive." Carolina said. "That gives us two out of three."
"Make that three out of four." Church said. "This plan assures us that we won't have to give up Jena to the Empire."
"Well, what's option B?" Strike asked.
"If—and let me tell you, I cannot stretch this 'if' hard enough—If Locus, Felix, and the Thirteenth Sister are telling the truth, we go back to the canyon, get on the ship, go home. If anybody asks, we tell them we stole the ride before all the crazy army people showed up and started murdering each other."
"But they'll only let us go if Jena surrenders herself." Sarge said. "We can't have that."
"I know." Church said. "Like I said, it's an option. Not a good option, but it's an option."
Jena lowered her head considering that fact.
"Eff that." Tucker said. "What about option C?"
Church sighed before answering. "We teleport to the radio jammer. If we take out their defenses, and shut down the machine, and if we're not too late, then we can broadcast a message to the capital."
"Oh. Well, that one doesn't seem so bad." Donut said.
"Well, here's the thing." Church said. "I've been running Carolina's healing unit whenever I can but her leg is still garbage. Combine that with the fact that these guys have Freelancer equipment, advanced weaponry, a murderous psychopath with Force powers…"
"We get it." Carolina interrupted. "Some of us won't make it back."
"Most of us won't make it back." Church corrected.
"But we could save everyone at the Capital." Tucker said.
"Yeah. If, if, if we make it back in time." Church reminded. "Then you just need to find a way to convince two armies that a bunch of dead people are actually alive and telling the truth."
"There's a fourth option." Jena finally spoke up. She made sure everyone's eyes were on her as she stood up. "Carolina, Washington, Strike, and Church go on the run trying to stop the Empire's work here. The rest of you, get on a ship and leave Chorus."
"What?" Tucker asked. "Hold on. Did you miss the part about where the Empire would only let us go if you turn yourself in first?"
Jena lowered her head again closing her eyes this time. Strike widened his realizing her intention.
"She knows. She's actually going to surrender."
"What?" Tucker asked. "No! Eff that!"
"Yeah. I don't like that." Caboose said.
"Guys, this is the only way." Jena said. "The Freelancers and Strike will move around the planet easier on their own and would have a better chance to fight the Empire. And you guys shouldn't have to suffer because of me. It has to be this way."
"No! That's bullshit!" Tucker protested.
"Tucker, for once, think this through." Jena said. "Staying on the planet is too much trouble, especially with such a large number. I can't just give into the Empire's demands if I know they're going to get away with mass genocide. And even if option C is a good idea, we have no plan. This is the only idea I'll agree with."
"Kid, I appreciate your selflessness, but I can't let you kill yourself." Strike said.
Jena looked at Strike with sad eyes making him gasp silently. "Strike, you've taken great care of me ever since you saved me on Coruscant. I'll always be thankful for that. But if there's any way I can help the people I care for, then this has to be it. And whatever the Empire has planned for this planet, I know you can stop them."
"But we can't just leave." Donut said.
"Yes, you can." Dr. Grey spoke up. "This isn't your responsibility. You all held up your end of the bargain. You helped us fight. You saved your friends. So now, all that's left is for... you to go home."
Everyone knew that Dr. Grey really wanted them to stay, but she knew this was the only way. It was the same look that Jena had. Nobody said a word reflecting on all they had been through on this planet. It all rested on this moment.
"We're going with option C."
Everyone raised their heads and turned to Tucker. It as he who made that suggestion.
"Uh, you sure?" Sarge asked.
"Totally." Tucker said. "I don't care if it's just an 'if'. I don't care how specially trained the Empire is. If this is how we save Jena and everyone on Chorus, then I say we go for it."
"Tucker, didn't you hear me?" Jena asked. "That's a suicide mission. We don't even have a plan."
"Actually, we do." Tucker said surprising everyone. "You told me to think things through, and I actually did. I have a plan."
