A sign reading SQUANTO'S EXCHANGE blinked overhead and Regis hobbled inside, stopping to wait as Artoo dragged the cart of goods behind him. A Gamorrean guard rose from his seat with one hand on his blaster but, recognizing Regis, he sat back down and watched him with bored disinterest.

"Reggie!" said a familiar voice. "It's late. I was just about to shut down!"

Squanto hovered into view behind the counter. The small Toydarian's bulbous eyes flicked over the goods hanging from Regis. When he saw Artoo beeping and dragging a cart piled high with trash, his purple tongue flicked out momentarily, then he effected a stoic expression. Regis knew the alien was already calculating the value of his goods, and how he might rob Regis with minimal effort.

"Forgive me, sir!" said Regis.. "Guess the time got away from me. Lot of good stuff came in with the last haul!"

"Good stuff, you say," said Squanto. He scoffed, then settled down on top of the counter. "We'll see about that!"

Regis looked around the shop. Besides the Gamorrean guard lounging in the corner, he saw no customers. The backroom looked to be stacked with parts and droids, but he saw no assistants.

"Go on, droid!" said Regis. "Show Mister Squanto what we got today."

As Artoo trundled up to the counter beeping in protest, Squanto looked him up and down before making a show of looking away. "What is that, an old astromech?"

"He just pulls my cart for me, sir."

"Ah. Well. I might take him off your hands, if you want to throw him in."

Regis adopted a surprised expression. "Well, sir, Mister Squanto, I thought you might want to weigh all this copper wire first."

"Sure, sure," Squanto waved a hand dismissively. "Say, is that astromech pre-Imperial?"

"I wouldn't know, sir."

"Hm. He looks to be in rough shape..."

"Take a look at him if you like, sir. He's strong, and can pull quite a lot!"

The Toydarian gave Regis a look of contempt, then flapped his wings and hovered over Artoo. Regis averted his gaze, satisfied that he had played his "stupid human" card well enough. Realizing what was about to happen, his heart began racing, and sweat beaded on his forehead.

"Ah, sir, let me blow some of that dust off him, so you can get a better look."

Regis opened the valve to his tank, forcing gas into the hose.

Squanto's brow knitted with distrust. "What is that thing?!" he said.

"Dust blower, sir," said Regis. "Let me show you how it works."

Regis crouched near Artoo. Once he felt the hose grow tight from the pressure, he swung the nozzle toward the Gamorrean guard and hit the pressure release on the spigot. At once the steel rod burst forth with a sigh, then the Gamorrean fell back as the steel rod hit the center of his chest. The steel rod clattered against the ground and the guard flipped over in his chair, legs flailing before going limp.

"What are you doing?!" Squanto shrieked.

Regis answered by bringing the nozzle down on top of the Toydarian's head, spinning him and bringing him down on the concrete floor. With inordinate satisfaction Regis unslung Big Painful from his shoulder and dropped the heavy gas tank on top of the Toydarian's neck. Then he unslung the rest of the garbage he had been carrying and let it drop with a heavy clatter. He felt as if he was shedding layers. He stalked over to the Gamorrean, noting his dull, vacant expression, and pulled the blaster from the holster crammed into his fat belly. As the Toydarian fought to push the heavy tank away, Regis examined the blaster. It felt good in his grip.

"A-180 Blaster Pistol," said Regis. "Very nice! But she's in desperate need of a good cleaning, Mister Squanto."

"Bastard human!" Squanto shouted. He managed to roll out from under the tank of gas, but with one wing squished, he could only roll over onto his side. "What do you want?! You want money, don't you!"

"Stormtroopers can't be bought." Regis heard the statement from his own lips, and felt stronger, as if suddenly remembering that he was more than just a man.

The Toydarian turned to look at him, his hideous, long nose twitching in disgust. "The galaxy runs on money, you idiot! How much do you want? You want... you want a job protecting me? Is that it? I can give you-"

"The Emperor gives me what I need." Regis leveled the blaster and fired, shredding the Toydarian's face off in a wave of blazing light. Artoo wailed in alarm. Spotting movement, Regis turned - then a blast of gunfire threw him against the wall. Unable to breathe, he was sure that a laser blast had torn through his ribs and seared his lungs shut. Another shot went wide, throwing parts from a shelf and sending them clattering on the ground. The green Gamorrean sat propped up, his pig-like face screwed up in pain as he tried to aim a DD-5 snub-nosed blaster at him. Regis fired, twisting the Gamorrean's arm with the first shot, then sending the next two directly into his guts.

The room fell silent. Regis slid down the wall. He opened his mouth but, unable to breathe, he focused on a dusty jar of bore-cleaning spray in order to work through the fear. Artoo beeped with concern and slowly rolled up to him. Finally Regis drew in a breath.

"I'm okay," he said. "Just make sure... no one is... coming..."

While Artoo beeped too fast for him to understand, Regis pulled aside his charred shirt and revealed his stormtrooper breastplate. Though blackened and cracked by the Gamorrean's plasma particle, his life had been saved. He recalled hearing stories about stormtrooper fatalities during gunfights, followed by a quick recovery as long as they were extracted from the battlefield. Every breath he drew was agony, and he had no idea if any ribs were broken, but he felt more alive than he had in years.

"You don't sense anyone? Good," said Regis. "Take a look behind the counter, see if that little gnat had any more weapons."

Artoo beeped and spun with fearful excitement.

"No, no, don't touch that gas tank," said Regis. "Just let her spew gas. Big Painful has kept quiet all this time. Let her... let her complain if she wants!"

Regis laughed, then grabbed his side to stifle the sudden stabbing pain. He knew that he was still solidly drunk, and wondered how bad the pain would be when - or if - he sobered up. Artoo rolled back around the counter and beeped about his findings.

"That's good news, at least," said Regis. "But no, we can't do that just yet, buddy. There's something else we have to do first."

* * *

Every step through the darkened streets was painful but Regis was fascinated by the streetlights reflecting on the filthy cobbled streets, every detail seemingly imbued with importance he had never noticed before. He did not feel afraid, but alive, as if newly born and only noticing the world for the first time. Artoo rolled along behind him but as they approached the square Regis waved his little friend back.

The square was already full of aliens bickering in their unintelligible tongues. Their bizarre forms shone under the red lights of the Cantina's sign, revealing misshapen faces, black soulless eyes flicking here and there, bug limbs scratching out crude signs upon the dusty ground. Regis let his jacket fall open, revealing the two blaster pistols hanging at his side, but no one noticed as he made his way through the crowd.

As he drew near the Cantina, the crowd parted for him, revealing Sindo making her way out of the front entrance with several aliens. She was no longer in her revealing dancer's outfit, but was bundled up in a dark jacket. The light from the flashing neon sign shone on her pale face as she laughed at some joke, casting a red halo around her for a moment. A tall Quarren in black turned to look at him, its facial tentacles flexing oddly. Seeing the monster standing next to her only ignited his anger. As he drew his blaster, Sindo suddenly turned to him.

"Regis, wait!" she shouted.

Regis fired and the Quarren fell back with a flaming hole in his chest. Some furry brute shouted in alarm and Regis turned and fired on him as well, igniting the beast's furry neck. Realizing what was happening, the crowd erupted into wild alien chattering and scurried in all directions, crashing into one another in their desperation to escape. A Weequay in a ridiculous purple suit went for his blaster but Regis turned and fired with practiced ease, sending the alien spinning with his belly on fire. A Gamorrean near Sindo fumbled reaching for a blaster, then hesitated, staring at Regis with wide-open pig eyes. Regis reminded him how conflicts were resolved by firing a round of plasma through his narrow forehead, sending the alien crashing against the wall.

It was over in seconds. Sindo and Regis stood staring at one another, wide-eyed but otherwise without expression. Regis grabbed Sindo's wrist and pulled her along as he turned to leave.

"Hey!" Sindo shouted in alarm. "Regis! What are you thinking?!" He did not answer, so she shouted, "You just shot my..."

"Your what?" said Regis, turning to glare at her.

"My manager," she said, jerking her head toward the dead Quarren.

Artoo beeped in alarm. In a flash Regis pulled Sindo aside and fired - then a Gamorrean guard making its way out of the Cantina fell against the door jamb, clutching at its burning chest.

"Come on!" Regis shouted at Sindo. He pulled her through the empty square.

"Where?!"

Regis did not answer, and Artoo strained to keep up as they made their way through a darkened avenue.

"Regis, listen to me," said Sindo. "I know you've had it rough. I can see it now. But this is not smart. You might be able to get the drop on some drunks, but the Cheka are dangerous."

"Good."

"You're going to make things worse for the humans living here!" she screamed.

"They're not human," he growled. "Not if they can put up with this place. Now shut up, and come on!"

Sindo walked along beside him, her gaze fixed on the death mask his face had become. He felt nothing but grim determination, like a piece moved on a game board as fate pushed him along. Windows closed as they passed, but Regis still felt eyes following them.

Three Cheka in blue uniforms suddenly appeared at the intersection ahead of them. Though two had furry faces and one looked like some kind of amphibian beach ball, the surprise in their eyes was evident. Their radios blared in alarm yet still they had not expected to see action. Even as they raised their blaster rifles, Regis fired and blasted one of the fur-covered monsters, sending it crashing into its comrades.

Rifle fire smacked into the sidewalk and Regis threw Sindo against a narrow entryway. Artoo bleated in alarm as he rolled in next to them, bumping into them before spinning and squawking. Regis leaned around the entryway and fired just as the amphibian Cheka drew back around the corner.

"Damn," he muttered. "They'll call for backup!"

Sindo reached into Regis's jacket. "Cover me!" she said.

As Sindo took off across the street, Regis wondered if he was dreaming. She fired at the two Cheka with a blaster; feeling of his second holster, he realized she had taken his snub-nosed blaster. Unable to explain her sudden change, he simply aimed in their general direction and fired at the sidewalk, hoping that the Cheka would dig in and not fire at Sindo.

Whatever the case, she managed to take cover in an entryway on the far side of the intersection before any shots found her. Regis took off for the intersection and hugged a wall. Seeing him, Sindo leaned out and fired at the Cheka; though Regis could not see them, this was not the first time he had been in a similar situation with his old teammate. He swung around the corner and immediately spotted the two aliens hiding behind a curving concrete guardrail leading up a staircase. With their attention on Sindo, they never saw him before he fired off half a dozen shots, drilling them through.

"Targets down!" he shouted.

She jogged up to him, red in the face. "Knock it off with the military-speak," she said.

"I thought you were back onboard," he said, glaring at her. He picked up a rifle. He was not surprised to see that the Cheka were equipped with old Imperial blaster rifles. Holding the familiar weapon in his hands was an intoxicating rush.

Sindo looked away uncomfortably. "If they kill you, I'll say you kidnapped me. Plenty of witnesses would back me up."

"Idiot," he muttered.

"What?"

"You fry your brain on deathsticks, Sindo? Aliens aren't going to back up your story, especially not in some backwater kangaroo court. You fight if you want to live. Now come on!"

"But-"

Before she could speak, Artoo squawked noisily as he barreled past them. An alarm sounded in the distance, then another. They took off running.

"Oh, no," said Sindo. "Are we running for the spaceport?!"

Regis only laughed in response. Four Cheka guards stood at a checkpoint before a steel gateway leading to the spaceport. Though the gateway was shut, Regis did not bother slowing down. Sindo suddenly pushed him aside into an entryway.

"What are you doing?" he said. "Artoo's going to get blasted!"

Sindo peeked at the droid racing toward the gate. She sighed in exasperation. "What's your plan, Regis?"

"There isn't one," he said without hesitation. "Plans are for-"

"Okay, okay, okay," she said, shaking her head. She peeked around the corner once again, then said, "Be ready."

She turned and ran. Thinking that she was racing back to the Cantina to beg for her old job back, he was surprised to see her making for the gateway checkpoint. As the four Cheka turned to her, she limped dramatically.

"Help me!" she screamed. "He's shooting, he's shooting everybody! Please, help me!"

The guards hesitated and she fell into the arms of a dark Wookiee. As all attention turned to her, Regis raised his rifle and fired. A three-eyed Gran's head was drilled open by a red plasma bolt, tossing cooked brain matter against the steel door. As two Cheka scattered, Sindo's Wookiee doubled over as her blaster fired through his belly. His ululating cry turned into a high-pitched bleat as he fell forward, crushing her under his weight. Both Cheka turned toward her with rifles raised.

In horror Regis realized he could not kill them both in time. He fired again and again, tearing through the chest of a Gotal with a head like a misshapen pillow covered in fur. Sindo fought to crawl out from under the dead Wookiee, then threw her hands over her head as the final Cheka turned and prepared to fire - only to trip, shrieking wildly as its legs flew over its head. Artoo trundled past, beeping a battle cry as he crashed into the wall.

"Stealth ops, this is not," said Regis, smiling as he took aim. The guard rose to his knees only to take a blast straight through his guts. Regis raced up in time to see Sindo dragging herself onto her feet, face red with exertion. "Grab a rifle!" he shouted.

"You don't have to tell me that!" she responded, leaning against the gate.

"You winded?" he said. "You act like this is the first time you've had a Wookiee on top of you!"

She glared at Regis with unconcealed rage. "Just tell me you have a plan for getting this gate open," she said.

Regis winked as he pulled Squanto's keycard from his pocket. "Of course," he said, smiling. He slid the keycard through the reader, and was rewarded with the shrill beep of a declined keycard.

"What!?" he shouted. "But that creature should have full access! I don't see what-"

Artoo beeped, nudging Regis aside as his interfacer extended toward the control panel.

Sindo checked her newfound rifle. "Let's hope your little droid General knows what he's doing," she said. "If not, you'll be the one taking care of Wookiees."

The gate suddenly opened and Artoo turned around, beeping excitedly as he rolled into the spaceport.

All kinds of starships were lined up along the open-air spaceport. With the tarmac brilliantly lit by floodlights, sneaking would be impossible.

"Let's hurry, before they send an entire platoon out here," said Sindo. "What should we take? A freighter? Do they have any gunships? I've never seen-"

"Shut up, come on!" he said, his point reinforced by the alien shouting of Cheka filling up the spaceport from the far side.

Sindo raced to keep up, firing as she ran. Superheated plasma bolts whipped past them, smacking against ship hulls and raining sparks along the pavement. Regis felt sick, as if a hangover was already pushing through his drunkenness. Though his vision was blurred, his gaze was fixed on one ship - the shining golden yacht called the Luxuriant.

"Wait, where are we going?" Sindo shouted. "That's a luxury ship! It's not-"

In response, Regis's guts heaved, and he threw up violently as he ran. Again he pulled out Squanto's keycard - and was rewarded as the ship's autoscanner picked it up from a distance. Lights blazed to life as the entry hatch opened, then festive music sprang to life. Another volley of blaster fire whipped past them, tearing through the side of the large ship.

Without further argument Sindo raced up the entry hatch, then Regis turned to cover Artoo. He was shocked to see well over a dozen blue uniforms at the far end of the spaceport. He fired wildly and was relieved to see them dive for cover. He considered taking some aimed shots, but his vision blurred still more, and he felt sick again. He heard the engines roar to life, thankfully drowning out the joyful music blasting in his ears. Artoo beeped at him as he rolled up the entry hatch, and Regis joined him just as another volley of blaster fire smacked against the ship.

"They're setting up a cannon!" Sindo shouted. "Regis, where-"

"I'm here!" he shouted, pushing off from the wall as he made his way toward the cabin. He wondered if he had accidentally walked into a fine hotel on Coruscant. Shining holo-art danced along gleaming white walls. Noticing a full bar set within the wall, he grabbed his stomach and turned away. He stumbled up to the cabin, where Sindo sat enfoldened within a plush chair, prepping the ship for launch. Glancing through the window, he saw still more blue uniforms gathering at the spaceport entry. The ship rocked under a hail of blaster fire.

"Fire all cannons at those enemy troops!" he said, pointing unnecessarily.

"We don't have cannons, you idiot!" Sindo shouted. "You got us on a luxury yacht!"

"Does it have a hyperdrive?"

"Yes!"

"Then set a course for Dagobah!" As Regis fought to get into the copilot's seat, Artoo beeped, confirming their destination.

"Dagobah?" said Sindo. "But there's nothing there! I think they dump criminals there. Are we turning ourselves in, or what?"

The cabin shook back and forth and Regis was having a hard time getting into his seat. "The last hope of the Empire is on Dagobah," he said. "Isn't that right, Artoo?"

Artoo said nothing, but turned away.

"Okay, whatever!" said Sindo. The Luxuriant lurched upward with surprising speed, and Regis found himself toppling over the copilot's seat. "Strap yourself in, we're taking off," Sindo said, laughing quietly.

Though the motion of the ship's rapid ascent was sickening, Regis fought to right himself. He worked at his pants and Sindo did a double-take.

"What are you doing now?!" she shouted.

Regis said nothing, but stripped out of his pants, revealing a completed set of aged, yellowed stormtrooper armor he had put together. He stripped off his jacket and the remains of his shirt, revealing the rest of his armor, as well as black undergarments graying with age. It was only the lowest grade of infantry armor, but Regis felt as if he could breathe now that he had stripped out of his scavenger's threads.

Though Sindo had been angry and frustrated with her old commanding officer since their reunion, seeing that he had put together an old set of armor, even in such poor shape as it was, called out to something deep inside of her.

"Regis, you..."

"Woah!" he said, gazing through the cockpit window.

Sindo had banked in order to avoid blaster fire, so they could see Mos Eisley laid out below. Sindo was surprised to see so many blue uniforms gathering throughout the town. They looked like a swarm of angry pessatos whose nest had been disturbed. Suddenly a red fireball erupted in the middle of town, throwing pieces of metal skyward in a grand shower.

"That must be Squanto's!" said Regis, laughing. "Looks like Big Painful just opened her up for a surprise giveaway!"

Sindo laughed as she gunned the engine, sending them rocketing beyond Mos Eisley.

"Well, Sergeant, you certainly know how to make an impression." She turned to him, smiling, only to see that his face had turned green. His attention was fixed on the horizon flying past. Gripping his stomach, he suddenly leaned toward the cockpit controls.