"Freedom is the greatest gift a person can have." - Liakanta, from Collected Wisdom of the Jedi Masters

As Pete, Patrick, and Gerard rushed toward the rebel base, ready to defend Truwel from the Imperial fleet, Mikey hesitated, unsure what to do. He wasn't part of the Rebellion, and even if he was, he wouldn't be much help. He was a boy, not a hero.

Mikey looked up one more time, and he nearly trembled from the fear. The Imperial ships were coming closer and closer, and he wasn't sure what they'd do once they landed. He wasn't ready for this. None of them were.

"Mikey!" Gerard shouted. "What are you doing? Come on!"

He realized that he didn't have much of a choice. If he stayed here, the Empire would obliterate him. He ran after his brother, adrenaline rushing through his veins. When he caught up to Gerard, he tried to relax, catch his breath, and connect to the Force, but all he got was an uneasy feeling in his stomach. He didn't know what would happen next, so he raced after Gerard, following him to the rebel base.

When they got there, the base was swarming with people. Andy was directing them, telling them exactly what to do. "Joe, I want you on the X-wing, and Hayley, you can take one of the Y-wings," he said. "Frank, maybe you can fly a Y-wing as well?"

"I have my own ship," Frank said. Andy was about to say something, but Frank glared at him and said, "I'm not fighting unless I can fly the Black Mariah."

Andy sighed. "Fine, you can fly your ship," he said. "I'll need someone else to go with you though."

"I volunteer!" Gerard exclaimed as he and Frank ran onto the brightly painted TIE fighter.

"Okay," Andy said. "Ray, you can take one of the interceptors, and Pete and Mikey, you two can fly the other Y-wing."

Mikey looked at Pete nervously. "You can do it," Pete assured him. "It's not that hard, and I'll help you."

Mikey nodded, but he was still anxious. "What about me?" Patrick asked Andy.

"I want you to stay on the ground," Andy said. "If there are any Force users in their ranks, I want you to fight them."

"Of course," Patrick said.

Mikey didn't listen to the rest of their conversation. Instead, he climbed aboard the Y-wing with Pete. "I don't really know how to fly this thing," he admitted to Pete.

"You'll figure it out," Pete said. "As I said, it's not that hard, especially when we've got R1-69 with us."

Mikey looked back at the red-plated astromech droid. "Did you seriously name it that?" he said. When Pete didn't answer, he said, "You might be the most immature Jedi I've ever met."

"Why thank you," Pete said. He started up the ship's engine and then turned to Mikey and said, "May the Force be with you."

"You too, Pete," Mikey said.

All of a sudden, Pete pushed a lever forward, and the ship jerked forward and launched into the air. They were ready to defend Truwel, ready to fight the Empire, and it felt like nothing could stop them now.

Meanwhile, Frank and Gerard were already in the air, desperately trying to fight off the Empire's TIE fighters. "Frank, could you slow down a bit?" Gerard said, holding onto the wall of the ship for dear life.

"Hang on," Frank said. "I just need one more good shot, and the fighter on the left will be toast." He pushed a series of buttons on the control panel, and the Black Mariah fired its laser cannons, sending the enemy TIE fighter spinning. However, there were still plenty of ships left. The Truwel Rebellion was huge, but it was no match for the Imperial fleet.

Frank spotted an Imperial ship preparing to attack, but he quickly steered out of the way and piloted upwards, into the upper atmosphere. Gerard looked terrified, and Frank wished he could comfort him, but there was no time. When Frank looked down, the Imperials had shot down one of the Rebel ships. He was painfully aware that could have been him. He fired at the Imperial ships once again and then ducked back down, closer to the city.

Before Frank could do anything, one of the Imperial ships dropped a bomb on Truwel City, causing several buildings to explode into flames. Even from this height, Frank could see people fleeing from the burning buildings, and he could hear their piercing screams. "I can't believe it," Gerard said. "They shouldn't be allowed to do that. They're civilians!"

"They're the Empire," Frank said. "They can do whatever they want."

"All of those innocent people..." Gerard said.

"Don't worry," Frank said. "We'll get our revenge."

The Imperial fleet was quickly destroying the Truwel Rebellion and their ships, but Frank knew he could fight back. He piloted closer to the ship that had dropped the bomb, and he fired once again. He missed the first time, but when he fired a second time, the ship's hull burst into flames. He smiled and high-fived Gerard as he aimed toward another Imperial ship, ready to take that one down too.

As Frank shot down ship after ship, he spotted a small TIE fighter out of the corner of his eye. He steered toward it, but he wasn't nearly fast enough. Before Frank could reach it, the TIE fighter touched down near the rebel base. After it landed, a man in black armor stepped out. He ignited a red lightsaber, and all of a sudden, Frank knew there was nothing he could do. He steered the Black Mariah away from the rebel base, and he focused on the legion of starfighters in front of him. He readied the laser cannons one more time, and he fired at the Imperial ships. There was never any doubt in his mind about how the battle would turn out. This time, he was sure the Rebellion would prevail.

As the Black Mariah flew overhead, fighting off Imperial ships, Patrick ignited his blue-green lightsaber and stepped closer to the man in black armor, the man he knew to be Darth Vader. "We don't have to fight," Patrick said. "I'm willing to negotiate."

"You're Ki-Adi-Mundi's apprentice, are you not?" Darth Vader said. Patrick nodded. "Mundi was weak, powerless..."

"No he wasn't!" Patrick shouted.

"...and now, you're just like him. You cling to the old ways, refusing to see the power of the dark side. You think you're a rebel, a freedom fighter, but you're nothing more than a traitor." Vader paused and then said, "The Empire does not negotiate with the likes of you."

Darth Vader swung his lightsaber toward Patrick, but he easily parried and counter-attacked. Vader lunged toward him again, barely missing his chest, and as sweat dripped down his face, Patrick slashed toward Vader, but he couldn't get a good hit. He was by far the most difficult opponent Patrick had ever faced, and he wondered where Vader had learned to wield a lightsaber. From his technique, Patrick suspected that Vader had trained with the Jedi at some point, but sometimes, he threw in an aggressive attack that was unlike anything Patrick had ever learned from them. He constantly found himself on the defensive, parrying off Vader's attacks instead of landing any of his own. Vader was in control of the fight, and Patrick had to find a way to turn the tide.

Their lightsabers clashed again and again, but it didn't feel like it was going anywhere. Patrick's mind was racing, trying to keep up with his enemy, and his hands were constantly moving, guided by the will of the Force. He was well aware that even a single hit could kill him, so he deflected each of Vader's strikes, but it was no use if he couldn't get a chance to counter-attack.

"You won't defeat me with calm precision," Vader said. "You need fear, anger, hatred. You need to give in to your emotions."

"Never," Patrick said as he swung his lightsaber toward Vader, but once again, he missed. It felt like the Force was working against him. Vader attacked him one more time, and Patrick countered, but he was quickly becoming exhausted. His arms felt like jelly, and his feet felt like they might collapse under him. At this point, he didn't care if he won the fight. He'd be lucky if he got out of this alive.

Patrick looked around for a second, and he realized that Vader had pushed him near a cliff. At any second, he could push him over the edge with his lightsaber, and he would be dead instantly. He had to move away from the cliff before Vader killed him.

Patrick stepped away from the edge of the cliff and swung toward Vader, but he aimed too high, leaving his left side exposed. Vader immediately lunged toward Patrick's arm and chopped off his left hand. Patrick screamed, too shocked to fight back. Pain shot through his left arm as he tried to think of ways to attack Vader one-handed, but it all hurt too much. He wanted to surrender, but he knew he couldn't give up yet. He charged toward Vader, attempting a one-handed slice.

That was when Darth Vader raised his hand and used to Force to push Patrick over the edge.

He screamed as he tumbled backward, flying through the air, but before he'd fallen too far, he dropped his lightsaber and grabbed onto a piece of rock with his one good hand. He'd lost his left hand and his only weapon, but if he held on, maybe someone would rescue him. Maybe, just maybe, he'd make it out of here alive.

As the battle wound down, Joe flew over the surface of the planet. The Imperial fleet had been decimated, but so had the Truwel Rebellion. Truwel City was burning, and the Empire had shot down hundreds of their ships. Some of Joe's closest friends had perished in the battle. He wiped away tears as he flew over the wreckage, and as he turned on the radio, he heard reports from the ground, telling him who had lived and who had died.

"Pete Wentz and Mikey Way's ship crashed," Joe heard.

"Are they okay?" he asked.

"They're surprisingly unharmed," the person on the other end said, and Joe breathed a sigh of relief. He wasn't sure if he could take any more death. There were already too many fallen rebels: Tyler, Josh, Helena, Jenny...

He couldn't let that list get any longer.

Frank, Gerard, and Ray were still in the air, fighting off the last remnants of the Imperial fleet, but soon, the few remaining ships flew off. Joe smiled as he realized what this meant. They'd won. For now, Truwel was free.

But was it worth it when they'd lost so much?

Joe flew closer to the rebel base, but all of a sudden, he noticed someone hanging off a nearby cliff. He landed the ship, stepped outside, and saw that it was Patrick, hanging onto a piece of rock for dear life. His left hand ended in a stump, and he was wincing in pain as Joe called Andy over for help. As the two of them lifted him onto solid ground, Joe asked, "What happened to you, Patrick?"

"I fought Darth Vader, and he cut off my hand and threw me off of a cliff," Patrick explained, breathless.

"We'll get you fixed up," Joe said. "It's going to be okay."

Patrick nodded, and the three of them walked back toward the base. Joe was just relieved that they'd won the battle. The Empire hadn't taken over yet. They'd lost their ships, their city, and their friends, but they'd taken the world back from the heart-attacked. They were free, and they were victorious.