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Sindo followed Vasili into his freighter while Regis conferred with Luke at the entryway.

"Looks like some of the natives are getting curious again," said Regis, eyeing a group of ragged scavengers watching them from atop a mound of garbage. "Should we say something to them? Maybe get some of the humans to work with us?"

Luke slowly shook his head. "No. You're right about the different species not working together. If we got help from the humans, then word would spread. And then..."

"Right," said Regis. "We'd have Rodians, Ugnauts, and whatever else you've got here looking for ways to screw us over and turn us in."

Luke did not respond, but sighed. To Regis, it was a familiar sound, like a man deflating over the course of years of disappointment.

"Just what do you mean to do, Regis?" Luke finally said.

"Well, Vasili's a good shot, so if he's got any guns, he could set up over by that-"

"No, I mean, what do you mean to do if we pull this off? We steal a Cheka ship, and then what?"

Regis gave Luke a half-smile. He was surprised at how good it felt having a purpose once again. "Think I'm going to retire, maybe start a farm on Lah'mu? Not likely. I want to hurt the Cheka. It was a mistake trying to lay low. Now, I want them to regret what they did to us." Looking Luke up and down, he added, "I doubt you could reason with the Empress on your own, but if you had some help? That might work. I've heard talk of Imperial warlords hiding in the Outer Rim. Maybe we could find them, and convince them to hit Coruscant, or pressure them, at least. The Empress would be sure to listen if we forced her to."

"No! I won't work with Imperials, Regis."

"You're working with them now, you fool! You've got three stormtroopers who've got your back. Not because we agree on anything, but because you're human. We're the same! We were always on the same team! You just didn't know it."

Regis regretted his tone, and was surprised when Luke's expression softened. "Look, Regis. I have an old friend on Naboo. Funny you should mention retiring on a farm - that's what he did. But he can get us close to my sister. He can cut through the red tape and get me close to her."

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"You sure about that?"

"If anyone can do it, he can."

"And if he can't? Will you agree to my plan, then? We find some Imperial remnant, and take the fight to your sister's front door?"

Luke clenched his jaw. "My friend will help us. I know he will." Luke nodded to Regis, then added, "I'm going to speak to my children."

* * *

"Where do you hide your gear?" said Sindo. "You have fake floor panels in this old boat?"

"Nah!" Vasili opened the chest of drawers in his cramped bedroom and began tossing socks and underwear aside. "I stay out of trouble, so I never get boarded."

Sindo laughed. "Until today, huh?"

Vasili shrugged. "Sergeant Regis needed help."

Sindo crouched beside him. "Why do you still call him 'Sergeant'?"

Vasili frowned. "Just an old habit," he said, shrugging. He retrieved several blaster rifle components. "Anyway, I got rid of most of my stuff, but I kept my Sonn-Blas F-9E."

"It's so nice!" said Sindo, smiling as her old teammate set to reassembling the scoped sniper rifle.

Vasili smiled sheepishly. "Isn't she?"

"You didn't keep any armor?"

"Oh - throw the mattress off that bed. And, uh, look, most of the stuff that's under there isn't mine..."

As Sindo lifted the mattress, her gaze fixed on a set of perfectly preserved stormtrooper armor wrapped in plastic. Though it lay nestled among several questionable vid cubes, she never noticed any of it. She could not look away from the black eye guards set within the shining white mask.

"I've got a lighter set of armor, too, but it's for me," said Vasili. "It's got no lower body protection, but I need to be able to move around, get down in the bushes, you know how it is. I should probably smear it up with mud. Damn shame! Oh, guess what? I've even got a death trooper helmet tucked away somewhere! It's black, and looks real mean. I'll give that one to the Sergeant."

Sindo suddenly tore the protective plastic away from the armor without any conscious thought. The smell of fresh plastoid hit her, waking an almost painful sense of nostalgia and longing.

"Why do you have this?" she demanded.

Vasili laughed awkwardly, then turned away. "Oh, I don't know. I thought maybe if I saved my credits up, then maybe... I mean I never really had a set plan, but I thought... maybe I'd meet a lady, and we could find some little out of the way place, and settle down. And if any bad guys ever showed up, then, you know, we'd both have some armor, at least..." Vasili laughed again, then trailed off. He checked his scope, then wiped it with his sleeve. "It's stupid, I know," he said.

"It's not stupid." Sindo ran her thumb over the white plastoid helmet, feeling an electric thrill coursing through her skin. Suddenly remembering her anger at Regis for dragging her into this, she felt a deep sense of shame and regret.

"Vasili, do you have a shower in here?"

"Yeah, it's back there! But hey, you might not have time. No telling when trouble will show up, you know?" Noticing the strange look on Sindo's face, he said, "You okay? Why do you want to shower, anyway?"

Once again she ran her fingers over the sleek, white armor, then she said, "Because I want to be pure."