“There,” Kid said, pleased, as he descended the ramp of his ship, “Batteries are hooked up, power generators are recharging.”
Kid looked around at the clearing. Bravo sat, staring at the two still forms of Buck and Data. Delta stood atop one of the junkyard piles, scanning the area for intruders. Otto and Mickey sat together in another area playing some sort of board game. Kid smiled briefly at the tranquility of it all and walked over to Bravo and knelt next to him. “Anything yet from those two?” He asked.
Bravo’s expression soured and he shook his head.
Kid looked puzzled, “It’s been several hours, they should wake up soon.”
Bravo merely continued to stare. Several more minutes passed and then there was a groan followed by the teens squirming on the ground. Bravo's eyes brightened slightly as he quickly stood up and rushed over to them followed by Kid.
Otto and Mickey rushed over as Delta slid down from atop the pile to join them. Just as Buck sat up and rubbed his head Mickey pounced on him, wrapping his arms around him in a big hug.
“Hey bro.” Buck said groggily.
Data sat up, holding his head, “What happened?”
“You guys got kidnapped by the Wolvers.” Otto answered.
“Yeah, I-I think it's coming back to me.” He said as he winced.
“There’s a lot that's happened.”
“I'm guessing that had to do with this guy?” Buck asked, looking at Kid.
Bravo nodded an acknowledgement before he quickly filled them in on what had transpired. Their eyes widened in amazement and disbelief. “You mean he’s actually from space?” Buck said.
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“Well he has a spaceship.” Otto answered.
“That reminds me, I need to check the generator.” Kid said as he scrambled up the ramp into his ship.
After he was gone, Data turned to Bravo, “Do you trust him?”
“He’s done nothing but help us,” he replied.
They heard a cheer come from inside the vessel and Kid descended the ramp beaming. “Generators powered up, and running on it’s own.”
“Does that mean you’ll be leaving soon?” Otto asked.
“Yes I have to get back to my father” Kid said, then paused deep in thought. He smiled then asked, “Why don’t you come with me?”
“And do what?” Bravo asked.
“My father, Toito Nónanae, leads an alliance of resistance fighters against the Empire. We could use all the help we can get.”
Buck glared at him, disbelief clearly evident on his face, “I’m sorry, did I just hear you ask us, us, a group of kids, to fight in a war?”
Kid shook his head, “No, you misunderstand, I’m asking you to join the resistance, not fight in battles, We need more than just soldiers. We need medics, engineers, pilots and the like. You'd be trained, given a place to stay, food, and warm beds.”
The group shared a glance with each other, their faces wrinkled with deep thought. Kid glanced at each of them, seeing the doubt in their eyes and sighed. His eyes unfocused and he stared off distantly as if through time, reliving unseen horrors. “Do you know how many worlds I've seen devastated? Mothers holding their children's lifeless bodies. Children, with their eyes hardened, staring at their parents broken corpses. Planets decimated, with defenses far greater than yours. The resistance needs help, NEEDS able bodied men and women, NO MATTER THE AGE! If we are to face this threat. Yes you’re children, yes you come from a primitive world, but with training you could become more. Besides,” He paused gesturing at the piles of junk around them, “what more do you have to lose?”
Buck shook his head and looked at Bravo, “I don’t know about this. Going off into space, with a man we just met, and joining his war against some evil Empire?”
“But he’s right,” Mickey replied, his eyes staring at the ground, “What more do we have to lose? We live in a junkyard. We’re running out of food, and having a harder and harder time getting scraps, or even stealing some.”
“Not to mention the Wolvers aren’t going to leave us alone forever. We'll have to move locations.” Otto added.
Bravo looked to Delta, who nodded, then he turned back to the other boys, “I think we should do it. There's nothing left for us here.”
Otto and Mickey grinned, excitement filling their eyes as they stared with glee at the spaceship before them. Data simply nodded in agreement. Buck’s eyes hardened with doubt, he looked troubled, but after a few more seconds he nodded begrudgingly.
“Excellent.” Kid beamed, “Pack anything you want to take with you, and I’ll check the rest of the ship’s systems to make sure she’s fit to fly.”