DJ Suki followed Poppy to the furthest reaches of their city. Outside city boundaries, where Poppy said she's never been before, are many pieces of broken ships, large pools of water, the sound of a large, deadly waterfall, and the largest blades of grass.
The ship parts aren't just T.I.E Fighter pieces, or parts of X-Wings either. The pieces belong to a Capital Ship from the Bergens. The Trolls never made a Capital Ship, since both Poppy and her father believed in peace for the galaxy. The only ships they had were X-Wings, when they went into space to defend their home planet, and Naboo Starfighters, to well, no one actually knows, but they use them to travel the planet, since Trolls aren't allowed to fly off planet. Her father outlawed that many years ago.
These Capital Ship parts are something Poppy has never seen before. Something Poppy didn't even know existed. Many of them are decades old and covered in dust, grime and rust, however, there are some, usually closest to the water or in the shade, that still spark. Poppy made sure to keep away from those.
"Where are we going?" DJ asked. "This place gives me the creeps."
"Branch's Bunker is supposed to be down here somewhere," Poppy said.
She stopped when she saw a pile of Troll skeletons lying near the broken control pad of the Capital Ship. She froze. Were these...Trolls?
The bones were all fractured, broken, and scattered. Many skeletons were no longer completed and probably broken down into the ground. Most of them had missing ears. Some of them still had colored hair, but they were just loose strands here and there. DJ called to Poppy but she barely heard it. Her heart started beating out of her chest. When was this?
Was this a war? Or was this when they escaped from Coruscant? These bones are a few decades old, but she couldn't tell. She began feeling faint.
"Poppy!" DJ called.
Everything went black.
She woke shortly after to the inside of a broken ship. There are wires hanging down from the roof, just two of them sparking out of the many hanging down. There were shelves built into the walls, lined with jars and barrels. "What? What happened? Where are we?" Poppy asked.
"You fainted, so I carried you the rest of the way to Branch's Bunker," DJ replied.
"Oh..." Poppy said. It must have been the skeletons. "Oh, good. Your Highness awakes," Branch said sarcastically, walking into the room with a cup of tea. He put it on the table in front of Poppy, and motioned for her to drink it. She looked at him, picked up the cup, and looked inside. The liquid is a sickly dark brown color. "Uh...what is this?" Poppy asked, swirling the tea around.
"It'll help you regain your strength," Branch replied. "Trust me."
Poppy stared at him for a moment, then drank the tea in one gulp, which she instantly regretted. She nearly spat it out. She forced it down, and nearly choked. She swallowed down her vomit, then awkwardly smiled at Branch.
"It's nasty, I know," Branch said. "You don't need to lie to me."
"Oh, thank goodness," Poppy said. "I don't ever want to drink that again."
"No promises," Branch said. "What are you doing here anyway? I thought I put up signs that strictly say 'Don't enter.'"
"Well, yeah, but, the Bergens came and-"
"Aha!" Branch said, standing, pointing at Poppy. "I knew it!"
Before Poppy could say anything, Branch had her, DJ, and himself on an elevator, surrounded by traps of all sorts. He had them sitting in silence, Branch looking up, towards the roof, and had Poppy and her handmaiden stay silent. Poppy looked at DJ, who just shrugged.
"Branch, listen!" Poppy tried, right before Branch shushed her, violently. She hesitated for just a moment before speaking up again. "Shh!" Branch shushed with more passion.
Poppy put her hand up. "What?" Branch asked finally. "What could be so important that you'll lead the Bergen right to us?"
"That's it, Branch, the Bergen is already gone!" Poppy cried. "She took Cooper, Guy Diamond, Satin, Chenille, Biggie, and...Creek!" Her ears went down, and she had the sound of heartbreak in her voice at the mention of his name. Branch rolled his eyes.
"We have to save them!" Poppy said.
"Woah, woah, woah, save them?" Branch asked.
"Uh, yeah," Poppy said, "I mean, how else are we going to get them back?"
"You see, your Highness," he said with sarcasm in his voice, "we don't."
"We..." Poppy said, exasperated, "we don't? What do you mean we don't? We can't just leave them to die! What if the Bergen comes back? You'll be crazy enough to-"
"That'll be your problem," Branch said, standing and crossing his arms. "I'm prepared to live down here, for...oh, I don't know-" Branch lowered his elevator and opened the metal plates on the side, revealing a glass covering, allowing them to see all his resources, "eight years. Ten if I store and drink my own sweat." He looked at Poppy with an almost crazed intensity in his eyes. "Which I am!"
Poppy and DJ both gagged. Branch stopped the elevator, and walked out. "Who's crazy now? Me." He pointed at himself as he walked backwards to a wall with holes cut into it. He placed the sticks from earlier today inside of them. He leaned against the wall. "So why don't you try scrapbooking them to freedom?" He was obviously proud of himself.
"Solid burn, Branch," Poppy said. "Solid burn." She turned around DJ shooting two fingers at him, and following the queen. "Hey, see you in ten years," Branch called back after them.
He watched as the elevator rose, then closed the gap, and light, outside the room. He turned around, then stopped when Poppy came back down, the elevator letting in just a sliver of light. "Oh, hey, Branch?" she asked. "Can I borrow something?"
"What?" Branch asked, in shock over answering her question. Poppy didn't seem to notice, or care. Either way, Branch did not appreciate her answer. "Your bunker!"
"What?" he repeated.
"Come on in everyone!" Poppy cheered. She lowered the elevator and Trolls began spilling into his bunker, filling up the room. "Pardon me, your Highness!" Branch asked, using sarcasm on 'highness.'
"I didn't say you could bring them in here!" he continued.
"You said it'll last you ten years," Poppy replied.
"Yeah, ME!" Branch cried, pointing at himself. "It'll last them two weeks!"
"Well, I guess i better be fast then, huh," Poppy replied. She began to walk away, before Branch grabbed her wrist and pulled her back in. "Wait, wait, wait," he said, "you won't last a day out there."
"ANd you won't last a day in here," Poppy returned, to earn a snicker from DJ. Branch looked around his bunker to see all the chaos unfolding. Children already trapped inside his energy beams, adult Trolls creating a competition on his labeled jars of sweat, and other Trolls just making a mess of things, even if they did apologize. She's right. He could never last a day inside his bunker with all these Trolls inside. Sure, he makes these traps to protect the Trolls from the Bergens, even if they are planets away, but he doesn't want to be NEAR them. Branch prefers his silence and peace, and he can't get that with all these other Trolls around.
"Solid burn returned," Poppy said, jubilantly. She turned around. She hopped onto the elevator and waited for her Hug Time bracelet to ding. "Three, two, one," she said. She began slowly raising the elevator, watching Branch as all the Troll's Hug Time Bracelets began to go off, and start surrounding him with outstretched arms. "No, no, wait! Don't leave me!" Branch cried.
DJ walked off the elevator with Poppy. "That was a cool move, Poppy. I do feel a little bad for him through," she said.
"He'll be fine!" Poppy said, waving her arm. "I just need to change my clothes before I can leave."
"'I?'" DJ asked, following Poppy to the palace.
"Yeah, sorry, DJ, but while I'm gone, I need someone to cover me," Poppy said. "Remember, the Trolls freak out over everything and since I'll be gone, well...I don't know what'll happen, but I don't want them blowing up the planet."
"But, Poppy-" DJ tried.
"DJ, look," Poppy said, grabbing her friend's hand. "You're my friend. As your friend, I say you got this. As your queen, I command you to. You are in charge when I'm gone, remember? That's why I have a handmaiden. Besides..." Poppy hesitated, then smiled at DJ. "The Trolls are really cooperative. Just ask them to do something and they'll do it. Trust me. I wouldn't have you do this if I didn't believe you could. You've been by my side since my dad died, and, well...no one else can do it as well as you can."
DJ stared into Poppy's eyes for a moment. "Okay. Okay, I'll do it!"
"That's the spirit!" Poppy cheered. "I knew you could!"
Poppy walked into the palace and came back out shortly after. She walked back out with orange patterned on the bottom of her white dress, white gloves, which she hadn't removed, and a scarf, ending in a cape, with the same pattern of her dress. She had also removed her face paint, to remain undercover on other planets. She handed DJ her brush for her paint. "You are the queen now. I believe in you. Don't doubt yourself or the Trolls." Poppy used the brush to paint a red stripe on DJ's forehead, just the same as hers before. She put the brush back into her handmaiden's hand and closed her fist. "The Trolls are here to help you." DJ smiled, with tears in her eyes. "This is a lot of trust, Poppy."
"You can handle this," Poppy said softly.
"What if you don't make it back?" DJ asked. "What if a rancor gets you, or you freeze on Hoth?"
"Don't worry, DJ," Poppy said, smiling. "I'll be fine. Branch is going to help me."
"How do you know?" DJ asked.
"He can't stay in there forever," Poppy said, chuckling. "Stop doubting yourself. You'll do great. Remember our playtimes together, when we would switch back and forth between who was queen? It's one of those, just large."
DJ smiled finally. "Yeah, thank you, Poppy. Be safe." They hugged each other. "Be safe, Poppy."
Poppy smiled. Towards Lake Paonga is a ship taxi rental. She planned on taking that to get to Coruscant. She hasn't seen Coruscant since she was a baby, but she believes it looks the same as the pictures in the galaxy maps. The Federal District, and the Uscru District. She has no idea which part of Coruscant they live on, but she's sure she'll figure it out. Besides, Branch will come and join her eventually, so he's sure to help her as well. Besides, he has a ship as well. He could take her there better than a taxi could. The taxis don't have good cannons, and they don't use them too often, so the cannons are probably all rusty and gross. She shuddered at the thought.
"Branch will come help me, I know he will," Poppy said. "If I have a Jedi on my side, nothing could go wrong."