Chapter IX – Revelation at Thundera: Something is seriously wrong in the galaxy far, far away

Despite the fact that the Black Sun Pearl was traveling faster than the speed of light, time aboard the pirate freighter went by very slowly. The situation aboard was very boring and the various crew members had little in common with each other, so any form of entertainment was pretty much out the window. It was perhaps a miracle that they weren’t at each other’s throat yet and on the third day everyone was pretty much done with each other.

“Are we there yet?” Goku asked, “I’m bored.”

“We know,” Alpha Five snapped back, “You told us several times already in the past few hours. And the answer is the same: We still have a few hours to go.”

“You can’t blame him for being bored, Alpha Five,” Luke scolded, “Goku is a man who needs space and action, and all he’s had these last few days is plenty of space, but no action.”

“We could have stopped at a planet in between,” Alpha Five said, “But you lot wanted to go to Thundera as quickly as possible.”

“Peter wanted that,” Luke corrected, “He decided for us. Just as he decided to include my father in his deal with General Grievous.”

“I thought you agreed with me, that we were on the same page!” Peter replied, surprised by his friend’s outburst. 

“Clearly we are not!” Luke snapped back.

“Then why didn’t you protest? Say so before?” Peter asked.

“I don’t know, isn’t that how a monarch is supposed to work, King of the Space Pirates?” Luke snapped.

“Luke… I’m sorry,” Peter said, “I didn’t realize…”

“…Because I didn’t say,” Luke said softly, “It’s all right, Peter. We shouldn’t let anger and frustration dictate us. It’s not who we are.”

“It really is not,” Peter smiled.

They gave each other a handshake and vowed never to fight again. And so the rest of the crew made up as well. There was still tension aboard the ship of course, frustration like that just doesn’t go away with a few good words. But gradually it died down… and was forgotten altogether when the Black Sun Pearl finally dropped out of hyperspace. 

“Have we arrived?” Goku asked, as all gathered in the cockpit area to get a view of what lay ahead of them. 

“Yes, ahead is the planet Thundera, the third planet in the system,” Alpha Five replied, “It’s exactly where Grievous’ information said it would be.”

Ahead of them they could see a planet, still a distant circle against the night sky, as they had dropped out of Hyperspace a good distance away from the planet, but still clearly visible. Its orange clouds gave it a bit of an odd appearance, but the familiar blue of the world’s ocean could also be seen. The planet seemed accompanied by three moons, each at different distances from the main planet. There was no sign of any space faring traffic, although they did detect some smaller satellites. 

“Take us closer, Alpha Five,” Peter ordered, folding his arms over his chest as he gradually saw the planet ahead of them grow bigger and bigger.

“Something is amiss,” Luke said, joining Peter and observing the planet as well, “Something is not right with this planet.”

“What do you mean?” Peter asked, “What do you sense?”

“I’m not sure,” Luke said, “Or maybe it is… that I’m not sensing anything. And yet I sense something, I just don’t know what it is.”

“The planet is quiet,” Goku nodded.

“You said you sensed something,” Peter repeated, staring sideways at Luke, “You’ve said that before… that you sensed or felt something. Is that something you’ve experienced more often?”

“No,” Luke replied, “My father often told me about his Jedi abilities and how it allowed him to feel things by instinct, or rather, by something more than instinct; but I never had that talent. Although recently, I did begin to experience something similar.”

“Maybe you are a Jedi after all,” Goku suggested.

“But my father had me tested in the past,” Luke protested, “I never had the gift. It’s unheard of that a sensitivity to The Force manifests itself at a later age.”

“Unheard of but never impossible,” Peter smiled, “A perfect talent for the First Mate of the Spider-Man Pirates.”

“I guess,” Luke grinned, “Or maybe I’m just imagining things. Maybe nothing is wrong down on the planet after all.”

Alpha Five took the Black Sun Pearl closer to the planet and had the shuttle enter orbit around it. However he did not initiate a landing sequence yet, wanting to find out more about the world first before they would pick a landing place. 

thundera

“Aye yi yi,” Alpha Five said not much later, “There seems to be something strange with these readings.”

“What is it, Alpha Five?” Peter asked, “What do the sensors pick up?”

“That is the problem,” Alpha Five replied, “They are not registering anything. There are signs of civilization down there, but there is no activity. No communication signals, no movement, no life signs, not anything. It is as if all advanced life on the planet has mysteriously disappeared.”

“That is what I felt as well,” Luke agreed, “Previously whenever we approached a planet, I would feel some sort of sensation brushing against me, like a gentle wind that washes over you. It was a warmth, I’m not sure how to describe it other than that, but I think it was me sensing the life force of the world we were visiting, of its inhabitants. But here, with Thundera, I sense nothing at all. Well, I do sense something, something unfamiliar, but it is not the touch of life.”

“I don’t like it,” Goku said, “It’s as Luke said. Something feels off.”

Peter was silent for a moment, and the others didn’t speak as well. All of them stared at the world in front of and below them. There was life down there, but only minor life, non complex life, like plants and small animals. “Alpha Five, you said there were signs of civilization, right?” Peter finally spoke, ending the silence, “Can you find the capital city of this world? Or at least a major metropolis?”

“I think I already have,” Alpha Five replied, “There are not many major cities on this world, whoever the inhabitants were, they seemed to prefer either a nomadic lifestyle, or to live in smaller settlements; not something you see often, really. But there is one city that is clearly larger than others. I presume that would have been Thundera’s capital city.”

“Very well,” Peter said, “Take us down there, but remain vigilant; we’ll land directly inside the city and will get to the bottom of this.”

Alpha Five took the shuttle down into Thundera’s atmosphere. There was some turbulence, making the descent a bit bumpier than expected, but no real difficulties. And as they approached the planet’s capital, there was still no attempt to communicate, only confirming that there was no sign of intelligent life to be found on the surface. Given the state of the city, Alpha Five did not bother to seek out any space port or official landing place, but instead landed the Black Sun Pearl on one of the largest open areas, a market square of some sort in front of a massive government building that had all the markings and indication of a palace.

“Where are we?” Goku asked after they had left the shuttle, “And how come such a beautiful city such as this was left abandoned?” 

“I have accessed some global network infrastructure systems before we landed,” Alpha Five replied, “There wasn’t much information, but I found out that this city is called Thundera as well. The planet was caste based with scarce population concentrations, but there was a monarch. The large building in front of us was the royal palace.”

“The city has been abandoned for a while by the looks of it,” Luke said, observing their surroundings, “But it doesn’t look like there has been a battle, there are no signs of damage, except by decay and a lack of maintenance.” 

“What could have happened?” Peter asked, “This place is more emptied out than a town square at a Trump Rally.” 

“What does that mean?” Luke asked.

“I don’t know.”

“I would suggest entering the royal palace,”  Alpha Five spoke, “There might be computer systems I can interface with directly. It might give us some insights on what has transpired here.”

“Let’s go then,”  Peter agreed, “It’s really bizarre how everything looks. I want to find out what happened here.”

They entered the royal palace by ascending a set of massive stairs and went inside through a huge archway which led to an inner courtyard. The doors leading further inside were still open, so they had no trouble entering the complex itself. The building itself was old and rich with decorations in the walls and ceilings themselves, but also in terms of art. At the same time the presence of technology was clear and present, with high density monitors on various walls as well as holographic emitters in various places. None of it was working, of course; whoever had lived here, they had made sure to turn off the lights first before their grand disappearing act.

“Do we know anything about the people of Thundera?” Luke asked.

“Not much, the one Grievous has fought with was one of the few who had traveled beyond the unknown regions,” Alpha Five explained, “As I said, they were clan based, and their appearance was feline. But we know little of their society other than that.”

“Let’s hope we can learn something here then,” Luke replied, “Any idea on where to look?” 

“Assuming the people of Thundera uphold a similar structure as with other common monarchies within the galactic rim, most of the accessible levels of the palace will be reserved for the royal family and will also be set up to receive and accommodate guests. But there should be some space dedicated to communication and infrastructure, usually in the back of the building or at some higher levels. We can start there.” 

They split up but it didn’t take much time to find the palace’s data center; there were signs clearly pointing the way, as it was not a secret installation. Fortunately for them the palace’s main power supply was also nearby, which could be switched on without much difficulties, providing access to the systems they wanted to access. Alpha Five immediately interfaced with one of the terminals, syphing through the data in search of some information on the situation and history of the planet. 

“Any luck finding anything?” Peter asked after roughly twenty minutes had passed.

“Not yet,” Alpha Five replied, “The system is still installing updates; there’s a backlog. But I should be able to access the central database soon, at least the public information. But that should suffice.” 

“All right,” Peter replied, “Tell me when you have something.”

Peter walked over to one of the windows where Luke was already standing, looking outside. The window oversaw part of the city and in the distance the forests beyond. The world looked so tranquil without the presence of sentient life to give it activity. “Nothing at all,” Luke said, responding to the question Peter had not asked yet, “Yet I still have that odd sense of foreboding.” 

“It’s strange,” Peter said, “I’ve heard of worlds being abandoned before, but there’s usually signs of something going on. But here… nothing. It’s as if everyone just went to work one day and didn’t come home again.”

“And yet this feels like an almost perfect world,” Luke said, “Peaceful, remote, hospitable…” 

“Aye yi yi!” Alpha Five suddenly exclaimed, “I’ve gotten access to the central database; and I’m downloading and analyzing information on the last days of Thundera now!” 

“The last days?” Luke repeated, as they both rushed over to where Alpha Five was stationed, “What do you mean? The planet is still here, isn’t it?” 

“It is a term that refers to the days before Thundera was abandoned,”  Alpha Five said, “It looks like the entire population left. The only reason why that was possible was because it wasn’t a sizable population to begin with. So relocation was easily possible.” 

“Where did they go?” Peter asked, “Does it say that?” 

“It doesn’t mention a destination,” Alpha Five replied, “But that might be related to the reason the Thundercats left.”

“Thundercats?” Goku repeated.

“It’s what the native population called themselves,” Alpha Five explained, “The majority of Thunderians was a clan called Thundercats, so the name was adopted by the entire race.” 

“So what happened?” Luke asked, “Why did they leave?”

“They had interactions with an external group that frequented the planet over the years, a group that called itself The Frieza Force,” Alpha Five replied, “They are another group from deep space.”

“I have never heard of them,” Luke said.

“They are a group of mercenaries without a home planet,” Alpha Five replied, “Judging from the information I found on them in the systems here, they operate via a moving space fleet and send our mercenaries for jobs as required. The rewards from these jobs help to sustain and improve the fleet. They have often employed groups of Thundercats in the past because of the fierce and intelligent warriors they make.”

“So the Thundercats were kind of mercenaries for a group of mercenaries?” Peter asked, “Talk about your complex backstories.” 

“It was a mutually beneficial agreement,” Alpha Five explained, “The income from the various mercenary jobs did not only sustain the fleet, but they also helped improve general prosperity at Thundera. And the inhabitants of this world love to fight and to be challenged. The Frieza Force provided that.” 

“I can respect that,” Goku said, “I love a good fight. And I love for it to be challenging.”

“Then what happened?” Luke asked, “Where did they all go?”

“I am accessing that information now,” Alpha Five said, “Hang on. It details one of the Frieza Force’s last visits.”

They waited for a moment while Alpha Five was accessing the information. Then, finally, the droid spoke again: “The Frieza Force had made plans to depart from this region of space for reasons not described in this database. They had given the inhabitants of Thundera a choice: Join them aboard the fleet, or stay behind on Thundera.”

“And they left their home? Just like that?” Goku asked, “I can hardly believe that.” 

“Based on the information I’ve found in this database, it looks like there wasn’t much of a choice,” Alpha Five explained, “The planet’s inhabitants and the mercenary force had become too entwined, to separate both would mean problematic times for both parties. In addition, it seems like the planet Thundera is dying. The core has become unstable and may cause the planet to become uninhabitable in a few generations. The Frieza Force offered a solution by taking them along, giving them an opportunity to relocate, should they encounter a hospitable world at their destination.” 

“You mean they actually left?” Goku asked, “The planet’s entire population, just like that?!”

“Half a year ago,” Alpha Five confirmed, “The last ones to go were the royal family and a team of elites.”

“They will be difficult to find now,” Luke sighed, shaking his head. 

A small orange light began to flash on a nearby console, drawing their attention. “Actually,” Alpha Five said, “Maybe it won’t be so difficult after all.”

“What do you mean?” Luke asked, “What does that light mean?”

“It seems the royal family of Thundera left some security protocols in their data centers,” Alpha Five replied, “It will send a Hyperspace signal if someone attempts to access information, in particular to recent history, dealings with the Frieza Force and the last days of Thundera.”

“Does that blinking light mean that such a signal has been sent?” Peter asked.

“No,” Alpha Five corrected, “It means that the signal has been received.”

“What does that mean?” Peter asked, “Will they come back here? Will the planet explode? They’re probably halfway across the galaxy by now.”

“There is an incoming transmission,” was all Alpha Five said in response.

The console with the blinking light now completely flared to life as it was powering up. The light itself stopped blinking, but instead a device on the console activated. It was a holographic emitter, acting as a communication device, displaying an image of someone who was probably lightyears away. The image showed a young man, perhaps in his early twenties, dressed in decorative armor. His skin color was slightly orange tanned and his hair spikey, the color could not be discerned, as the holographic emitter didn’t show images in color. As impressive as the technology was, that simply wasn’t possible. “Greetings,” the visage spoke, “I am Lion-O, Lord of the Thundercats. Can you tell me what you are doing on my planet?”

“A pleasure to meet you, Lion-O, Lord of the Thundercats,” Luke greeted, “I am Luke Skywalker, First Mate of the Spider-Man Pirates, this is our captain, Peter Parker, and our… cook slash brute force, Son Goku. The droid is Alpha Five, our current navigator.”

“You are pirates?” Lion-O repeated, “Bold of you to admit this. In respect to that I will give you five minutes to get to your ship and leave my planet before I activate the palace’s defense systems to have the city purged.”

“No, your highness, you misunderstand!” Luke replied hastily and defensively, “We didn’t come here to loot your city! We came here to pursue a quest!”

“What would pirates want on our beautiful world of Thundera?” Lion-O asked.

“We have come seeing the Space Piece,” Peter replied, “Someone told us about an inhabitant from Thundera who was talking about a local legend of the same name. We don’t want to take anything from you except knowledge.”

There was a moment of silence. Then Lion-O spoke again: “You are not like typical pirates.”

“We really are not,” Luke agreed.

“If you want us to leave your planet, we’ll respect that and will leave,” Peter said, “But we do hope you can help us. The Space Piece…”

“The Space Piece is real,” Lion-O interrupted, “But it may not be what you think it is. How do you know about it?” 

“We follow the path of the legendary pirate Hondo Ohnaka,”  Peter replied, “According to information we got, he may have traveled to your world in the past.”

“Yes, we know about the space pirate Ohnaka,” Lion-O replied, “He was troublesome to our world in the past, but in the end he proved to be a great help; he brought us into contact with The Frieza Force.” 

“Then can you help us after all?” Peter asked.

“I think we can, but it is complicated, and I can’t leave my people alone right now,” the Lord of the Thundercats replied, “I will send someone back to Thundera, one of our finest warriors and one of my most loyal vessels. He should arrive within two days. Until then, you are allowed to stay on our planet, as long as you treat it and our legacy with respect.”

“This shall be done,” Peter replied, “Thank you.”

“Good luck on your quest, Spider-Man Pirates,”  Lion-O said, and then the hologram emitter switched off again.

“Do you think we can trust him?” Luke asked after a moment of silence, “He could be headed here with an entire army to ambush us or imprison us for all we know.”

“I trust him,” Peter replied, “And the Black Sun Pearl is a fast ship; it can outrun any ambush they might throw at us.”

“I’ve never camped on a different planet before,” Goku said, “Sounds like fun.”

“Then let’s wait,” Luke proposed, “And see who will come to pick us up.”

Two nights did indeed go by without anything eventful happening. The pirate group remained on the planet but relocated to the edge of the city, closer to the forests where they could easier forage for food and fresh water. Then halfway through the second day the serenity of the planet was disturbed by the arrival of a spaceship which descended into the atmosphere, remaining afloat stationary above the capital city.
The group of pirates observed the ship, wondering if it would come down after finding a place to land or whether a shuttlecraft would fly down instead to deliver its occupants to the surface. But neither happened. Instead a large hatch at the bottom of the vessel opened and two large humanoid figures came flying out, descending towards the surface. They had a metallic appearance, making the group believe they were dealing with droids at first, but that didn’t seem to be the case. The two figures landed a few yards away from the pirate group and after getting their bearings they came walking towards them. The one on the left was shaped like a huge mechanical lizard with odd tiny arms and sharp teeth. The one on the right was more human looking though at least twice the size of a normal human. His body was mainly composed of a bright yellow metal with some black accents, his head like a human head and a viking helmet merged together. At least that’s what the group would think if they knew what vikings were. 

“Greetings, visitors of Thundera!” the yellow colored robot greeted them, “My name is Bumblebee, and this friendly fellow here is called Grimlock.”

“Me Grimlock! Me King!” the other robot proclaimed. 

“Now I’m confused,” Peter replied, “I thought Lion-O was the king here. Or is this one of those planets where everybody is a king in their own hearts?”

“You made fun of Grimlock?” the monstrous lizard threatened and did a single step forward.

“Don’t be a dick, Grimlock,” Bumblebee said, poking his companion, “And don’t stay in your dinosaur form. Be polite and transform for them; and stop talking like that while you’re at it, it’s not fun to tease these people.”

“Oh all right,” the one called Grimlock replied and did a step back again. His body suddenly began to move and twist in odd ways as the lizard figure was coming apart and transforming into something else. Seconds later there stood another humanoid figure, though slightly bigger than Bumblebee was, “I was just making good sport,” he said.

“Not how we typically introduce ourselves,” Bumblebee scolded, “You don’t want to embarrass the Frieza Force.”

“I guess not,” Grimlock said, sounding somewhat apologetic and uncomfortable.

Peter Parker grinned; he could appreciate the robot’s humor. Even though they looked very intimidating, they didn’t seem too harmful. “I am Spider-Man, Captain of the Spider-Man Pirates and future King of the Space Pirates,” he introduced himself, “These are my companions, my first mate Luke Skywalker, our navigator Alpha Five and our companion Son Goku.”

“You not king!” Grimlock began, “Me…”

“Stop it!” Bumblebee interrupted, “You just agreed not to do that.”

“I’m sorry, it was too easy, I couldn’t help myself,” Grimlock said with a somewhat robotic grin.

“You were the ones King Lion-O talked about?” Luke asked, “He said someone would come to us, but I didn’t get the impression he spoke of multiple people.”

“Technically, it’s Prince Lion-O,” Bumblebee corrected, “But that’s a complicated story. But Grimlock was the one he spoke about; I’m just here for the transportation since Grimlock can’t fly a spaceship by himself.”

“It’s difficult!” Grimlock shouted as an excuse.

“It’s those tiny arms of yours when in dinosaur form,” Bumblebee joked.

“Careful or I’ll bite your head off in that same dinosaur form,” Grimlock grinned back.

“Not to worry, we can fit Grimlock aboard our ship if need be,” Peter grinned, “Assuming we need to travel.”

“You won’t need your ship just yet,” Grimlock replied.

“No?” Luke asked, “So Thundera is where we need to be after all?”

“Yes and no,” Grimlock said, “It’s complicated but will be explained.”

“I must leave you and return to The Frieza Force,” Bumblebee said, “I promised Lord Lion-O I wouldn’t take longer than needed, they need my help.”

“Something important going on?” Luke asked.

“The Frieza Force was about to engage in an important conflict,” Bumblebee said, “The battle would have started today; and they need all the capable warriors they can get.”

“I understand,” Luke said, “Then let’s not keep them waiting; thank you, Bumblebee, and good luck.”

Bumblebee flew off into the air and back into the spacecraft’s open hatch again, and shortly later the vessel began gaining altitude again before disappearing into the upper atmosphere and disappearing from view. Moments later they saw a faint flash in the sky when Bumblebee’s ship entered Hyperspace. 

“So what can you tell us about the Space Piece?” Luke asked, “And what is your connection to it all, Grimlock?” 

“Bumblebee and I are travelers without a past,” Grimlock said, “Or rather, our memories of our past are either locked or gone; we’ve been wandering the galaxy for centuries in search of answers, but have found none.” 

“And this brought you to Thundera?” Goku asked. 

“Bumblebee and I sometimes traveled together and sometimes apart,” Grimlock replied, “But yes, the winds of fate did bring me to Thundera over a decade ago, and set me on the course of destiny, the destiny of this galaxy. Maybe this universe.” 

“What do you mean?” Peter asked, “What happened?” 

“I met Hondo Ohnaka when he came to Thundera,” Grimlock replied, “I joined his crew, hoping we could help each other in finding our answers. Me about my past, and Hondo about the Space Piece.” 

“You knew about the Space Piece?” Peter asked.

“I didn’t,” Grimlock replied, “But Hondo had heard about it in ancient stories of legend about Thundera, a legendary place called The Space Piece. He wanted to find out more about it, as it was a place of answers according to legend. With that said, I joined him as well, of course.”

“Then how did you find it?” Luke asked, “A place of legend.”

“A scholar and a warrior accompanied us in our search,” Grimlock explained, “His name was Jaga the wise, a Jedi who had journeyed to Thundera after his graduation from the Jedi Academy. He had become an advisor for the royal court, which is quite something for an outsider, and had grown interested in the planet’s history. He’d already spent many years investigating the Space Piece and was convinced it could be found.” 

“And you did find it?” Peter asked.

“Hondo found it,” Grimlock said, “I wasn’t there for the final moment of his journey, but he did find it. And he returned a changed man. Still cheeky and a pirate, of course, but changed.” 

“Then where do we go?” Peter asked, “How do we reach it?” 

“We must travel to one of the moons of Thundera,” Grimlock said, “There we will find the way to the Space Piece. I can tell you the course Hondo took, but we will need your spaceship to do it.”

“I will activate the ship immediately and remotely,” Alpha Five suggested, “We can depart as soon as we’ve boarded!”

They rushed back and boarded the Black Sun Pearl. It was a tight fit for Grimlock but eventually they managed to get him on board, after which Alpha Five plotted a course for Thundera’s second moon as per Grimlock’s instruction and the freighter turned pirate spaceship finally took off. 

“Following this heading,” Grimlock said, “We tracked Hondo’s ship to this location fifteen years ago and then it disappeared. Oddly enough, other ships tried to stay the same course afterwards, of course, but nothing happened.”

“We’ll see what happens then,” Luke said, “Maybe we’ll find some sort of clue.”

“Crater, dead ahead,” Alpha Five reported, “It’s massive, I’ve never seen anything like that before.”

“I don’t recall anything like that,” Grimlock said, “Not even in the star charts.”

“Then hang on,” Alpha Five said, “We’re almost at the last known location of Hondo’s ship before it disappeared; five seconds… four.. three… two… one… and now.”

Nothing happened.

“That’s it?” Peter asked, “I would have expected a massive rift in space time or an attack by highly advanced techno aliens in gigantic space cubes or something.”

“This isn’t star trek, Peter,” Luke sighed.

“What’s Star Trek?” Goku asked.

“I can take us around again,” Alpha Five suggested, “But sensors don’t read anything out of the ordinary. I’m not expecting any different results.”

“Don’t bother,” Luke said, “This won’t bring us anything.”

“Take us back to Thundera instead,” Grimlock suggested, “But instead of the main city, head for the south pole, to the small continent just above it. There’s a small mountain range there that we need to go to.”

“Why?” Peter asked, “You have an idea?”

“Jaga the Wise,” Grimlock replied, “We can find him there.”

“That’s impossible,” Alpha Five protested, “We’ve scanned the planet multiple times; there is no sign of any advanced life, no one down there.”

“None that you can find,” Grimlock corrected, “Master Jaga is very skilled at hiding himself. You won’t discover him unless he wishes to be found.”

“Impossible,” Alpha Five protested, “The Black Sun Pearl may be an older ship, but she has a most advanced scanning system. Even people in suspended hibernation wouldn’t escape detection.”

“Do not underestimate the skill of a Jedi,” Grimlock warned, “They are wielders of The Force, which gives them many talents which some may consider unnatural, or at least inexplicable.”

“That is so impressive,” Peter gasped, sparks twinkling in his eyes. 

“Sensors are detecting something on the landmass ahead,” Alpha Five suddenly reported,  “It just showed up on the scanners. A life sign. Only one.”

“Looks like Jaga wishes to be found,” Grimlock concluded. 

“Take us down there, Alpha Five,” Peter commanded, “I want to meet this master.”

Alpha Five landed the spacecraft at the base of the mountain range which Grimlock had described earlier. They didn’t need to go far searching for the Jedi. When they left the ship, Master Jaga was already standing there, waiting for them. He was an elderly man, with gray hair and a beard, dressed in long robes, radiating an aura of calmth and wisdom. “At last you have come,” he greeted them, “Those who will inherit Hondo’s will and legacy.”

“An honor to meet you, sage Jaga,” Peter greeted, “I am…”

“…Peter Parker, the Spider-Man, and the one who will be king of the space pirates,” Jaga finished, “Yes, I am aware; Doctor Strange told me a great deal about you.”

“Doctor Strange was here?” Luke asked, “Then why didn’t he tell us? Tell us about you and to come here? Why the long path we had to take to find out about Thundera?”

“You have your journey, and Doctor Strange has his own,” Jaga replied sagely, “At least, it was what he told me five years ago when he visited.”

“That’s impossible!” Peter shouted, “We met Doctor Strange only a week ago; five years ago I was still a little boy on Coruscant.”

“Time isn’t as linear as you might think,” Jaga explained, “Especially not to one as peculiar as Doctor Strange. But he will probably explain that to you himself one day; or maybe he already has.”

“So what you’re saying is that it was important for us to take the path we took, because it helped us mature and work together better as a team, as well as grow into our powers,” Luke guessed.

“Perhaps,” Jaga smiled. 

“Then we arrived here at the right moment, no shortcuts?” Luke asked.

“Perhaps,” Jaga smiled again.

“Then why didn’t the course Grimlock described paid off,” Luke asked, “Why were we unable to reach the Space Piece?”

“Because you weren’t ready and missing one final piece of the puzzle,” Jaga smiled and briefly tapped his own chest, “Me.”

“I don’t understand,” Grimlock said, “You weren’t with Hondo when he made his flight; how does your presence make a difference?”

“Oh, I won’t be joining you,” Jaga smiled oldly (yes, that is a word), “But I will give you the final bit of information you need to know. And then you are ready.”

“Aye yi yi,” Alpha Five sighed, “You’re not going to tell me to crash the ship, are you?”

“In a way,” Jaga smiled.

“Aye yi yi!”

“The course you flew was the right one,” Jaga said, “Except for the last bit. Downward is the direction you need to go.”

“Into the crater?” Luke asked.

“Aye yi yi!” Alpha Five, “That would work if the crater was a cave leading into the moon. But it’s a shallow crater of some ancient impact! We’ll crash into the surface!”

“Maybe,” Jaga smiled, “Sometimes faith is all you need. Faith in The Force.”

“The Force won’t protect you from the force of impact,” Grimlock protested.

“You have gotten what you need, now go, be on your way,” Jafa said, flinging his cape along himself and disappearing into a shimmer of light, “Good luck, young pirates!”

“Jaga?” Peter shouted, “Jaga? “He is gone!”

“I have been gone for a long time…” the voice of Jaga’s spirit echoed across the lands, fading away in the wind.

“So how about it?”  Peter asked the rest of his crew, “Are you all ready for a little suicide mission?” 

“Grimlock was born ready!” Grimlock said proudly, patting himself on the chest.

“Aye yi yi,”  Alpha Five sighed, “It does sound like suicide! Madness even!” 

They returned to the Black Sun Pearl and Alpha Five entered the exact same course again, taking the pirate spaceship into space and back towards the planet’s second moon. On the viewing screen the massive crater loomed up again, stretching out over an impressively large area. “There we are,” Luke said softly.

“I am taking us into the crater,” Alpha Five announced and took the freighter ship down, sending it directly into the crater. There was a blackness as the sun’s light did not reach entirely into the crater, and then the moon’s surface became visible.

And then everything went dark.

And suddenly there was a brightness as the universe appeared around them again, and they were illuminated by a yellow sun about one Astronomical Unit away from them. Behind them was the moon they had flown out of, showing a similar crater as the one they had flown into, yet the moon was not Thundera’s. In fact, the planet coming into view ahead of them was not Thundera either. 

What also stood out was the massive spaceship blocking their path and approaching them slowly, blotting out the brightness of the new sun eventually. 

“We are being hailed,” Alpha Five reported, “Shall I accept the message?” 

“Sure,”  Peter said, “Let’s hear what they have to say. Maybe we’ll learn something about where we are now.” 

“Attention unknown vessel, this is Captain Ryan Reynolds of the USS Gin. You have entered planet Earth’s sovereign space. Identify yourselves or we will consider you a hostile entity.” 

“Urth?” Goku repeated, “Never heard of that planet before.” 

“Me neither,” Luke said, “We should answer them though.” 

Peter nodded and began: “Attention USS Gin..”

“Don’t tell them we’re pirates,” Luke hissed at him.

“…This is Captain Spider-Man of the Black Sun Pearl,” Peter continued, slightly annoyed at the interruption, “We are space liberators of valuable goods and we seem to have traveled to your star system somehow. We have no hostile intent. Does the name Hondo Ohnaka ring a bell?” 

There was a brief silence. 

Then Captain Reynold’s voice spoke again, and calmly said: “Prepare to be destroyed.”

That answer was enough to cause a panic aboard the Black Sun Pearl, especially Alpha Five of course, who was “Aye yi yi’ing” like there was no tomorrow. “We’re not with Ohnaka,” Peter hastily tried, “But we did follow the course he fared over a decade ago, and it led us here.”

Again there was a brief silence. Then Captain Reynold’s voice responded with the same calmth: “That changes a few things. I’m beaming an agent over to negotiate. Please prepare for their arrival.” 

Moments later the air flickered and a speck of light appeared which grew and took the shape of a humanoid person. The person wore a strange mix between a bodysuit and a military uniform but his face was all too familiar: He looked exactly like Doctor Strange. “Greetings,” he said.

“Doctor Strange,” Luke said, “I guess we shouldn’t be surprised at this point.” 

“Lieutenant Strange,” Lieutenant Strange corrected, “I never went to medical school.” 

“Another variant?” Luke pondered aloud.

“Then hopefully you can help us,” Peter tried, “We’re on a quest to find the galaxy’s greatest secret. We’re searching for the item or the location known as Space Piece.”

Doctor Strange stared at them silently for a moment with a look of disbelief. “What is it?” Peter finally asked.

“That’s odd,” Lieutenant Strange said, “You said you are looking for the Space Piece… but that’s where you just came from.”