"When there's a cause worth fighting for, a cause worth dying for, we must never give up the fight. Even when everything seems hopeless. Especially when everything seems hopeless." - Kelen Osh, from Collected Wisdom of the Jedi Masters

The sound of Andy's soft voice suddenly cut through the static. His voice sounded strangled, as if he was being choked. "We surrender!" he said.

"Very good," the deep-voiced man said. "Soon, Truwel will become one of the crown jewels of the Empire. It's a shame that its people are so stubborn."

Joe couldn't listen anymore. He switched off the radio and turned to Patrick and Mikey. "We have to save Andy," he said.

"What about Gerard?" Mikey said worriedly.

"We don't have time to look for Gerard or Frank or anyone else. If the others are still alive, they'll know where to find us."

Joe started running toward the rebel base, and Mikey and Patrick followed him. There must have been thousands of stormtroopers marching in perfect lines down the streets of Truwel City, but the three of them managed to sneak through. When Patrick spotted a group of stormtroopers blocking the main entrance to the base, he panicked. "What are we supposed to do?" he asked.

"We could try a Jedi Mind Trick," Mikey whispered. "Aren't stormtroopers supposed to be fairly weak-minded?"

"There's a back entrance," Joe said. "Let's try that before you two get too crazy with your magic Jedi powers."

"It's not magic, it's the Force," Patrick argued.

"Same difference," Joe said.

Joe, Patrick, and Mikey snuck around to the back entrance - thankfully, the stormtroopers hadn't found it yet. They ran into the rebel base, and when they got to Andy's office, they found him slumped over his drum set. Darth Vader was nowhere to be found.

"Andy!" Joe shouted. "Are you okay?"

When Andy didn't respond, Joe started to panic. Without Andy, there was no Rebellion. He was their calm, compassionate leader, the beating heart of the resistance movement. His discipline, determination, and love for his planet had guided the Truwel Rebellion from the moment the Republic became the Empire. If Andy was dead, then the Truwel Rebellion was dead too.

He had put up a good fight though. The room was splattered with blood, but hardly any of it was Andy's. The electrostaff he'd used to defend himself sat in the corner of the room. He'd used it well - Darth Vader had only turned the tide when he used the Force to choke him. Andy had nearly succeeded where Patrick had failed. If he had held out for a little longer, he could have killed Darth Vader.

All of a sudden, Andy opened his eyes. "Joe? Patrick? Mikey?" he said. "You're alive?"

"Yes, we're alive!" Joe exclaimed. "Is everything alright?"

"I'll be okay," Andy said.

"Why did you surrender?" Joe asked.

Before Andy could answer, Ray and Pete ran into the room, quickly followed by Frank and Gerard. Mikey ran up to Gerard and gave him a hug as soon as he saw him. For a moment, it didn't matter how he'd survived the crash. All that mattered was that he was here, alive and well.

In all his life, Mikey had never felt so relieved.

A few more rebels joined them, including Hayley Williams, but there were only about a dozen of them gathered around Andy. The Rebellion was nearly gone, and the Empire had already taken over Truwel. It felt like they'd already lost.

"The Truwel Rebellion is not dead," Andy told his surviving followers. "The Empire thinks they've stamped us out, but we're still breathing. We'll take back Truwel one day, but for now, we're going underground."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Patrick asked.

"We're playing the long game," Andy said. "We'll take down the Empire without letting them know we even exist."

"And how are we going to do that exactly?" Hayley asked.

"I'm staying here on Truwel, but I want everyone to disperse and lie low for a while," Andy explained. "We'll continue to resist the Empire, but we'll have to be quiet about it."

"Maybe we can move off-world," Joe suggested. "What's the nearest habitable planet?"

"I think it's Chadhillit," Hayley answered.

"Don't we have to fix our ships first before we can go anywhere?" Frank said.

"Yeah, the interceptor I was flying took a lot of damage," Ray said.

"There are mechanics on Truwel that sympathize with our cause," Andy said. "They'll be able to help us."

"So after we get our ships fixed, we can relocate to Chadhillit," Joe said.

"That's not a good idea," Frank said.

"Why not?" Joe asked.

"It's just not safe there."

"Arbra is even worse."

"We'll talk about this later," Andy said. "I just want you all to know that you gave it your all. We fought for our planet, and even though the Empire's taken over, the fight isn't over. We can still win."

As he heard that, Joe felt something stirring in his heart. He glanced toward his fellow rebels - the few, the proud, and the emotional - and he knew they felt it too.

For once, they had hope.

The days went by, and things only got worse on Truwel. There were stormtroopers constantly patrolling the streets, and more Imperial ships landed on the planet with each passing day. Already, the Empire was hard at working transforming Truwel. They were chopping down its forests, mining its ores, and hunting its fauna, and there was no one to stop them.

As the Empire tore the planet apart, the rebels lay low. They hardly ever left the base, knowing that the stormtroopers could kill them if they dared to venture outside. The Force users were particularly in peril - the Empire had already started searching for Force-sensitives on Truwel, and they violently slaughtered anyone they found.

However, the Truwel Rebellion had plenty of allies across the planet. As long as they existed, the people of Truwel would never give up on the Rebellion, even if they pretended to cooperate with their new Imperial rulers. There were Rebellion sympathizers fixing their ships, rebuilding Truwel City, helping the Truwel Rebellion become the power they once were. The Horseshoe Crab and the Black Mariah were as good as new, and soon, the other ships would be repaired too.

Three days after the Empire's invasion, Joe, Pete, and Patrick announced they were leaving. "We're going to Chadhillit," Joe told the rest of the rebels. "I think we'll be safer there, and we'll be close enough that we can keep helping the Truwel Rebellion."

"And we can help save the other Jedi," Patrick added. "There have to be other Jedi out there that survived Order 66, and we can make sure the Empire doesn't find them."

"We only have room for one more person aboard the Horseshoe Crab, but the rest of you can join us on Chadhillit later if you'd like," Pete said. "By the way, do we have any leftover blue milk pizza? I'm kind of hungry."

"Pete!" Patrick shouted. "That's not important right now!"

"It's important to me..." Pete mumbled.

As Pete and Patrick bickered again, Ray turned to Frank, Gerard, and Mikey. "I'd go with them, but I need to get that chip out of my head first," he said. "Do you guys know when we can go to Kriselist?"

"It doesn't need to be right away, does it?" Frank said.

"I think it does," Ray said. "I know the Empire is phasing out its clone troopers, but there are still a lot of us left. Some of the stormtroopers are volunteers, but some of them are my brothers. If the Empire decides to give an order to every clone out there, then I'll have no choice but to obey as long as I still have the chip. I have to get it out, and I have to get it out now."

Frank thought about it and then said, "Okay, Ray. We'll take the Black Mariah, and you, me, and Gerard will leave tonight."

"What about me?" Mikey asked.

"You should go with Pete and Patrick," Gerard said.

"But they're going to Chadhillit!" Frank said. "I told them not to do that."

"It doesn't matter where they're going. Mikey needs to train with them."

Frank was about to argue, but he decided against it. However, Mikey was sure that he didn't want to leave his brother, not after he'd almost lost him. It didn't matter that he'd get to hone his Force abilities, or that he'd get more time with his closest friend. Gerard was part of his family, and family meant more to him than any of that.

"I don't want to go with them," he said. "I want to stay with you guys."

"That's not what's best for you, Mikey," Gerard said. "You have powers that none of us could ever dream of, and Patrick and Pete can help you learn how to use them. You'll be better off if you stay with them."

"I don't care if I'll be better off. I want to make sure you guys are okay."

"We'll be fine. We can take care of ourselves."

"We survived the Black Mariah exploding!" Frank exclaimed.

"Frank's right," Gerard said. He then turned to Frank and said, "I don't know what I would have done if you didn't make it. I don't know how I would have lived with myself."

"Me neither," Frank said as he inched closer to Gerard.

"Can we stay on topic?" Mikey said. "I want to go to Kriselist."

"I'm sorry, but Gerard's right," Frank said. "You should learn how to use the Force."

Mikey sighed, realizing that this conversation was going nowhere. No matter what he did, he wouldn't be able to go to Kriselist with Frank, Gerard, and Ray. He would go to Chadhillit with Patrick, Joe, and Pete, whether he wanted to or not.

That evening, the Black Mariah and the Horseshoe Crab blasted off, leaving Truwel behind for at least a little while. Before they left, Mikey gave Gerard one last hug, not knowing when he'd see his brother again. "I'll miss you, Gerard," Mikey said.

"Relax, Mikey," Gerard said. "We'll meet up again soon."

"I hope so," Mikey said.

Gerard let go of his younger brother and waved to him one last time as he approached Frank's TIE fighter. "May the Force be with you," he said to Mikey as he climbed aboard.

Mikey stood in place for a moment, watching the early sunset as the Black Mariah launched into the air. However, Pete leaned out the window of the Horseshoe Crab and shouted, "Come on, Mikey! Let's go!"

As Patrick pulled Pete back inside, Mikey stepped toward the Y-wing and climbed aboard. Joe and Patrick looked ready to go, but Pete was still reapplying his eyeliner.

"Could you do that later?" Patrick asked.

"But I want to make sure that everyone thinks that guys are beautiful!" Pete exclaimed, causing Patrick to roll his eyes.

As Joe prepared for takeoff, he sighed, turned to Mikey, and said, "Welcome to the Horseshoe Crab. Don't worry, we'll all get through this."

Joe launched the ship into the air, and for a moment, Mikey left all his troubles behind. There was nothing but the stars above him, the clouds below him, and the Force binding it all together, and he wouldn't have wanted it any other way.