"In the beginning, the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move." - Douglas Adams, from Collected Wisdom of the Jedi Masters

"We need to go save Frank and Gerard," Mikey insisted. "Now, if we can."

Patrick wasn't so sure - it felt like the three of them had just gotten there. He hadn't seen Yoda in forever, and given everything that was going on in the galaxy, he wasn't sure when they'd ever get a chance to meet again. He wanted to help his friends, but at the same time, he didn't think it was time to leave Dagobah just yet.

Clearly, Pete agreed with him. "They'll be fine," he said. "If anyone can hold their own in a fight, it's Frank Iero."

"But what about Gerard?" Mikey said.

"He's with Frank. He'll be okay," Pete said. "Besides, they're on Tatooine. There's practically nothing there. How much trouble could they really get into?"

"Mos Eisley's kind of a rough area," Patrick noted.

"There are worse places," Pete said.

"Have you even been to Tatooine?"

"Yeah, we were just there."

"We were in orbit. That doesn't count."

"They're not on Tatooine," Mikey said.

"Then where are they?" Pete asked.

Mikey closed his eyes for a moment, trying to connect with the Force. "I don't know," he said. "Somewhere far away, beyond the Outer Rim..."

"So they're either in the Unknown Regions or Wild Space," Patrick said. "Why would they go there? There isn't much in the Unknown Regions, and Wild Space hasn't even been mapped yet..."

Mikey opened his eyes and said, "I don't know either. All I know is that they're in grave danger."

"Ready to face this danger, you are not," Yoda said.

Mikey was about to say something, but Pete said, "Yoda has a point, and as I said before, they'll probably be fine. Besides, our ship's still in the swamp."

Mikey raised his hand, and all of a sudden, the Z-95 flew out of the swamp and hovered in the air. "No, it's not," he said.

"The stabilizer's still broken though."

"I can fix that. The stabilizer on the Black Mariah broke a while back, and I watched Laura repair it. It's not that hard." He set the ship down next to Yoda's hut, and he stepped aboard, searching for the tools to fix the stabilizer.

"At least let me help," Pete said as he followed Mikey into the ship.

"You're just going to stand there and make bad puns, aren't you?"

"It's the whole reason we Wentz over here, isn't it?"

"That one doesn't even make sense."

"Sure it does!"

Patrick rolled his eyes as Pete and Mikey continued to banter with each other. As he sat on a log, watching them attempt to repair the Z-95, Yoda sat down next to him.

"Troubled, you look," Yoda said to him. "What is on your mind?"

"I don't know," Patrick said. "There's just a lot going on right now." There was a brief moment of silence, and then Patrick asked, "How do normal people do it? How do they live in harmony with the Force when they can't even feel it?"

"Tell you, did he?" Yoda asked, and Patrick nodded. "Many years, Pete has kept that secret, but good friends, you are. Trust you greatly, he must."

Patrick nodded again, and for a moment, he considered telling Yoda everything. He wanted him to know how happy Pete made him, how their relationship had brought him closer to the light side rather than the dark, but he was terrified of how he'd react. All his life, Yoda was the one who had told him to suppress his emotions, to never get attached to anything or anyone. There was no way he would approve of his relationship with Pete.

"There's just so much that's happened," Patrick said. "Pete told me...you know, why he can't be a Jedi...and now apparently Frank and Gerard are in trouble, and I wish I could do more to help them, but..."

"Patrick," Yoda said. "Clear your mind. Too worried, you are. The Force will guide you."

Patrick took a few deep breaths and then said, "I want to do more, but I can't."

"Why not?"

"The Jedi Order is gone, and the Empire's after all of us. It's incredible that we're still alive at all. How am I supposed to help people when the galaxy's like this?"

"Be like this forever, it will not."

"What do you mean?"

"The Empire will fall," Yoda said. "A very long time, it will take. Years, it will take. Many years. Of the three of you, only one will live long enough to see it. But the Republic will return. More Jedi, there will be. A new hope, we will find."

Frankly, Patrick had no idea what Yoda was talking about. To him, the future was a complete mystery, but from where he was, it looked awfully bleak. He couldn't see where exactly Yoda's optimism was coming from, where they would ever find this new hope for the galaxy.

After a long period of silence, Yoda said, "Stop Mikey from going to Wild Space, I must."

"Why?" Patrick asked.

"The dark side is growing, becoming stronger. Of the surviving Jedi, more fall under its influence every day. In power, Darth Vader rises. The root of evil, he is. Destroy Vader, and the Empire will fall." Yoda paused and then said, "Ready to face the dark side, Mikey is not."

"But he fought Brendon..."

"One Inquisitor is not the full might of the Galactic Empire. More time, more training, Mikey needs. Sixteen years you had to learn the ways of the Force before you were ready to become a Jedi Knight. Mikey has not had that luxury."

"What about Gerard and Frank? Will they be okay?"

"Hard to tell, it is. I know them only from the stories Mikey has told me."

"You should at least give him a choice, Master Yoda. If he wants to help them, he should have that option, even if that means leaving Dagobah."

Yoda thought about it for a while and then said, "Harmed in battle, he could be. Fall to the dark side, he could. Are these risks you will take?"

Patrick's gut instinct was to say no, but instead, he said, "I think Mikey's stronger than you realize. He'll be okay."

"Indeed, very powerful, he is. But a dangerous thing, power is, when one does not know how to use it."

Patrick thought about that for a while, letting Yoda's wise words sink in as he crafted a response. However, before he could say anything, Pete and Mikey returned.

"I think we fixed the ship!" Pete exclaimed.

"Or more accurately, I fixed the ship," Mikey said. "Pete just made things worse by messing with the wiring."

"So is this it?" Patrick asked. "Are we leaving?"

"Mikey," Yoda said. "Ready to leave, you are not. Much more, you have to learn, but important, your friends are. Your choice, it is. Will you leave to rescue them?"

"I want to, but I...I don't know if I should," Mikey said.

There was a long silence, and then Patrick had an idea.

"Maybe Pete and I could go," he suggested. "We'll head back to Tatooine, and then maybe the rest of the Truwel Rebellion can tell us more about what happened to Frank and Gerard. Once we know that they're both safe, we can come back to Dagobah."

"I like that idea," Pete said, although Patrick suspected it was only because it meant they'd get more time alone together.

"Yes, a smart plan, Patrick has created," Yoda said.

"I guess that would be okay," Mikey said. "Just don't leave me stranded here, okay?"

"Don't worry, we won't," Patrick said. He walked over to the Z-95, stepped aboard for a moment, and then returned with a holorecorder, which he promptly handed to Mikey. "You can use this to keep in touch with us. We'll make sure to keep you updated on everything that's going on."

"Come on, Patrick!" Pete exclaimed as he ran onto the ship. "Let's go save Frank and Gerard!"

"Okay," Patrick said as he reluctantly climbed aboard the Z-95 again. He was glad to leave the swamp planet, but he knew he'd miss Yoda. He was one of the few ties he still had to the old Jedi Order, to the way things were before, but more than that, Yoda was a wise mentor and a steadfast friend. He hated to leave him behind.

"May the Force be with you, Patrick," Yoda said just as he was about to enter the Z-95.

"May the Force be with you too, Yoda," Patrick said with a smile.

As Pete put his feet up on the dashboard, Patrick ignored him and took control of the ship, setting the course for Tatooine. With any luck, Frank and Gerard would be okay, and they could return to Dagobah sooner rather than later, but Patrick wasn't so sure that would happen.

"Hey Trick, do you know where my eyeliner pen went?" Pete asked.

"It's next to your book, but could you at least wait until we're in the air before you start messing around with your makeup?"

"But makeup makes a guy look..."

"Beautiful, I know," Patrick said. "But you're already beautiful, inside and out."

Pete smiled and said, "So are you, Lunchbox."

All of a sudden, Mikey walked up to the ship and said, "Hey, are you two going to take off or not?"

"Don't worry, we're leaving," Patrick said as he launched the ship.

With that, Pete and Patrick took off, ready for whatever would happen next.