Regis returned and saw Sindo patting Lando’s face. She had propped Lando and Chewbacca against a pile of abandoned Luggage, but neither were responsive.

“The last one got away,” said Regis. “But I doubt we’ll see him again.”

He stopped and watched Birdy massage his wrists, catching his breath after the difficult fight.

“You there, Vasili?” said Regis.

“Yes, sir!” said Vasili. “Just wait til you hear about that last shot I made! You’ll never believe what happened.”

Regis scoffed. “I think you’ll be the one picking up his jaw, when you see who we found.”

“Who?”

“Just… hurry down here, buddy.”

“Will do, sir.”

Birdy finally turned to Regis. He nodded, then turned away, as if ashamed.

“I saw you earlier,” said Birdy. “On Naboo. I saw you guys when you were getting away.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?” said Regis.

“Well.” Birdy made a fist, then winced. “I was paid to shoot you dead. You and everyone with you. But our intel wasn’t clear on your identity, so it took me by surprise.”

Sindo glanced at Birdy, then she too turned away. Chewbacca blinked and moaned pitifully, and Sindo pretended to help him, though it was obvious he only needed time to recover from the noxious effects of the grenade. Regis also felt uncomfortable. He was not sure why. He had actually daydreamed about what it would be like if the old team was back together. He imagined everyone saluting and greeting one another warmly, happy to be back together again. The reality was awkward, and Regis wished that this was not so.

“Well,” said Regis, “Birdy, I’m… I mean, all of us… we’re all glad you’re here. Glad you helped us. We, uh… I mean, we probably wouldn’t have made it without you.”

Birdy glanced at the Mirialan female lying dead. He nodded, then turned away again. “Anyway,” said Birdy, “you see all those credits?”

“What?”

Birdy gestured. “Those credits.”

Regis turned and noticed Lando’s briefcase lying open. Credit datapads had spilled out in a large pile. They were not just credits, but bank-marked datapads that probably recorded entire accounts, property holdings, moveable assets, loans and debts that could be exchanged from one holder to another. Regis wondered if he was seeing right. He pulled off his helmet and crouched to get a better look.

“By the Emperor,” said Regis. “Why, there’s probably enough here to buy an entire planet!”

Regis glanced at Lando and Chewbacca, and noted that Lando was still out, and Chewbacca had rejoined him back in la-la land. Birdy suddenly rose and moved to stand over Regis and Sindo.

“All the money you could ever want,” said Birdy. “We could split that between us, and never have to do anything for anybody ever again. Live like kings on some world nobody from the New Republic has ever heard of. What do you think of that?”

Regis looked up into Birdy’s piercing blue eyes. He could feel his old teammate staring into him, even through him. Suddenly annoyed, Regis squared up in front of him.

“Look, Birdy. I don’t know what your deal is these days, but when it comes to money… the Emperor gives me everything I need,” he said, repeating an old mantra that had been drilled into his head. “Retirement is the last thing on my mind. Not with everything that’s going on. On this planet, and other worlds, too. Now, I need to know something.” Regis gathered his resolve and stepped closer to his old point man. Though Birdy was tall, and broad-shouldered, Regis told himself that he was the one in charge of Omicron Squadron. Not Birdy.

“What?” said Birdy, looking down at him.

Artoo suddenly rolled up, beeping excitedly.

“A ship?” said Sindo. “Is it nearby?”

Regis turned away from Artoo and forced himself to hold Birdy’s gaze. “I need to know if you’re with us. You can stay here. You’re free to do what you want. But we’re on a mission!”

* * *

Empress Organa stared down at Luke, drinking in the sight of him scrambling to hang on to a smooth ledge now slippery with sweat. The idea that this was her own brother receded deep into a shadowy corner of her mind. Now, she could see this servant of the dark side for what he was, his face scorched and bleeding, eyes pressed shut against the blinding light of justice. As he fought to scramble back up, like a bug caught in her clutches, she pressed down on him with the Force.

“L-Leia…” Luke stammered, fighting to hold on.

“Just relax, Luke,” said Leia. “Just relax.”

Leia’s attention was drawn to her ship, the Praxagora. The modified, and heavily armored, white Theta-class T-2c shuttle must have been brought out of its private docking bay in order to get her off the planet. She sighed, suddenly annoyed that the situation had gotten that bad on Mustafar. The ship made straight for Vader’s Fortress, then adjusted as the pilots no doubt saw her shining upon the ledge. She smiled, wondering what they would think of the sight of her punishing evil on the very site where her father had also been punished when he turned to the dark side long ago.

As the Praxagora drew near, Leia suddenly felt a warning tremor through the Force. The ship was not making for the fortress landing pad, but was instead coming straight for her. Without slowing down, she saw the figure of a man rising from the upper entry hatch.

Leia leaped skyward and flipped backward just as Birdy leveled his CR-1 blaster cannon in her direction, sending several shots of scattered plasma at the sloping rooftop. With a safety harness attached, he rode the ship like a chariot, the hot wind racing through his hair as he fought the blaster’s absurd recoil. Then the ship’s mounted lasers turned in her direction, and Leia leaped away once more and saw her violet-robed Republican Guards returning fire through the window, the shots from their long rifles bouncing off the ship’s armored hull.

Leia’s Force Illumination sputtered and went dark as she lost confidence and awkwardly fell against the wide window ledge. As her guards covered her, she fell over the side, squawking as she fell onto a metal walkway.

The Praxagora descended beneath the rim of the sloping roof. As the masked guards called for backup, Leia popped up and glared at the edge of the sloping roof. She watched as the Praxagora rose once again, with Luke lying propped up in Birdy’s arms. They descended through the entry hatch elevator and disappeared from view, then the Praxagora’s exhaust ports flared to life, and the ship blasted through the gray skies of Mustafar.

She considered waiting to see if any of the fighters in her escort would give chase. Finally she turned away from the window. She knew in her heart that, against all odds, her brother had gotten away.

* * *

Leia stood at the landing platform, waiting for a replacement ship to be found. The sun was setting and the land had grown dark, a featureless black landscape somehow made darker by the glowing streams of lava cutting across the land. In a fit of blinding rage she had listened to the reports of what had happened in the city. How Lando had looted the treasury and fled after tricking the humans into fighting, and how the law enforcement officials had beaten down the uprising and were enforcing a curfew. Now she could only stand and watch the lava bubbling and churning across this tormented world.

She felt her guest approach, then turned and saw Zuckuss. Though he was escorted by two tall Republican Guards, the hunched bounty hunter leaning on his cane somehow carried himself as if completely sure of himself.

“Your Majesty,” said Zuckuss, “I am glad to see that you have fared well during this stressful day.”

Leia said nothing, but waited in silence.

“However,” Zuckuss continued, “I must be the bearer of… uncomfortable news. Sadly, my trusted team has been eliminated. They were destroyed by the very criminals who have been giving you trouble. My ship has also been destroyed. Now, I, together with my team, and my ship, form a corporation that is held in common by many members of the Hutt Cartel. Viddu the Hutt owns majority stock in that company. That company has been effectively destroyed while within the boundaries of your territory - that is, in some sense, while under your care. I am afraid that Viddu will not be pleased to hear what has transpired under your watch. He will no doubt expect some compensation for-”

Leia lifted one hand with an abrupt gesture, as if swatting a fly - and Zuckuss was flung up and into the sky. Leia craned her head and watched as the aged bounty hunter arced far overhead, then she walked to the edge of the platform as Zuckuss fell over the side. His limbs flapped, and his vocalizer shrieked in an oddly broken chirp. Leaning over the edge, she watched his body go limp. Zuckuss seemed to disappear in a puff of light and smoke the moment he fell into a stream of lava slowly making its way past the fortress.

“Forgive me, Mister Zuckuss,” said Leia. “I will avenge the loss of your crew. I trust that will be compensation enough!”