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"He-e-ey, Vasili-i-i! It's me: Sergeant Regis," said the drunk man in the hologram. Regis winced as he put together the fragments of memory. The incredibly potent drinks he'd had must have taken their time getting into his system. The worst part was that he could hear Sindo and Artoo arguing in the background as they struggled to evade Cheka pursuit ships. "I'll keep this short, buddy. Listen, I need you. The Empire needs you. I know you've got a job hauling freight, but look. Look. The Empire, it..." In the hologram, Regis held his chest as he tried to manage a burp. "Look. The Empire has a secret base on Dagobah. We're heading there now. And we need you to..." Drunken Regis's eyes suddenly went vacant as he realized he was leaning against a comfortable-looking bed. "Just come out here, buddy. It's happening. I wouldn't lie to you. The Empire is... it's back, Vasili! And it's on Dagobah! Okay. Um. Okay, goodnight."

Regis turned deathly gray as the blood drained from his face. Glancing at Sindo, she looked mortified, covering her mouth and refusing to look at him. Behind her, Luke sat in the corner of the cabin of Vasili's ship, seeming impassive.

Vasili maintained an expression of grave concern, with his hands folded in front of his mouth. "The Sergeant was showing signs of hyoscine poisoning," he finally said. "I thought he had been captured, maybe interrogated by the Cheka. But you seem okay now, sir!"

"I was drunk." Regis leaned against the cockpit control panel awkwardly, unable to maintain his dignity as he spoke the painful truth.

"I... didn't know you drank, sir."

"Not normally, no." Regis rubbed his forehead. "I needed some bravery."

"Ah..." Vasili said quietly. "So where's the Imperial base?"

"There isn't one," said Sindo.

"Well, where's your ship? I can't break through a Cheka blockade in a freighter they've already used for target practice. But if you've got a fighter, maybe we could pull off a maneuver like we did during the Battle of Mon Cala. They can't get us both!"

"We don't have a ship," said Sindo. "The one we used to get here is a wreck."

Vasili turned away. He idly scratched his head as his eyes glazed over.

"It's not your friend's fault," said Luke. "It's mine. I was exiled to this planet years ago. When my friends tried to get a message to me through an astromech droid, they were attacked. Your friend Regis found the astromech. Artoo stretched the truth in order to get back to me. That's how your friends ended up in this situation."

Vasili scowled at Luke, then turned to Regis. "Who is this guy?"

"That's Luke," said Regis. "He's Empress Organa's brother."

"Right. Right. Of course." Vasili shook his head at the absurdity. He suddenly perked up. "Okay, I know what we have to do!"

"What's that?" said Sindo.

"We get some vines, make a noose, and hang this Rebel scum from the tallest tree we can find. Or! We cook him and feed him to some of those aliens out there."

Regis shook his head. "I already tried. He's stronger than he looks."

"How many ships did you see in the blockade?" said Luke. "What type? Are you sure you can't skirt around them?"

"And go where?" Vasili shot back. "Look, I didn't necessarily believe that the Empire was hiding out here, but I could tell the Sergeant needed help. But... I didn't expect to be in this kind of mess! If I'm lucky, all I'll lose is my job! And I can't even afford to lose that! I... I just... I can't..."

"Vasili..." said Regis, but his teammate turned and stalked out of the cabin, his robotic leg hissing with each heavy step.

Heavy silence filled the cramped cabin. Regis had thought he felt bad when he stranded Sindo on a miserable prison planet, but knowing that he had managed to drag yet another teammate into this mud pit made him sink even lower into dejection.

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Pushing past Sindo, Regis made his way outside. He saw Vasili standing in the mud, leaning his weight on his robotic leg. Vasili watched a group of goblinoid aliens squatting over a cooking pot, unable to hide his scorn. Regis had meant to go off on his own and think things through, but seeing his teammate suffering, he knew he had to suffer with him. He slowly made his way up to him.

"I should have gotten you a job at Bilbousa Distribution," Vasili said immediately. "That's where I work. It's not like I haven't been trying. It's hard for a human to get a job there. Or anywhere, I guess. If I had, though... then maybe you wouldn't have ended up in this spot. I'm sorry, sir."

"Don't be. I had fun going off the rails."

Vasili looked at him sidelong. "What do you mean?"

"After years of scavenging on Tatooine, living shoulder to shoulder with a bunch of aliens, I finally had enough. I went on a bender and set the town on fire. A lot of Cheka got an early retirement thanks to this old stormtrooper."

Vasili laughed. "I thought you were the reasonable one, sir," he said, shaking his head.

Regis turned and saw Sindo watching them from the ship's entryway. "You going to be okay, Vasili?" she said.

Vasili turned to her, then looked away. "I heard you married some big shot from Coruscant," said Vasili. "Your family's gonna kill you for getting mixed up with this guy."

Regis gritted his teeth. He waited for Sindo to respond. She crossed her arms uncomfortably. "They don't know I'm here," she finally said. "It's a long story."

Vasili nodded, accepting the lie. Regis and Sindo exchanged a look, then Regis clamped his mouth shut.

Vasili tried to put on his gloves, then suddenly threw them down in the mud. "Sergeant, I can't lose this job," he said, his voice shaking. "It's all I've got. In a few years, I could buy this ship from the company. Then I'd... I'd own my own ship. I could maybe start a family, I don't know... I..."

"Knock it off, Vasili," said Regis. "I'm sorry this happened, but quit lying to yourself. Your job wasn't going anywhere. You're lucky they took you on, but face it, you were going to get sacked eventually. You're the wrong species. And you know it. You can't work for some greasy Twi'lek, or some fat Hutt, or any other alien freak, and expect to get out in one piece. You understand that, don't you? You're nothing without the Empire. I figured that out a long time ago. You better figure it out, and fast, soldier."

Vasili's eyes glazed over once again as he struggled to comprehend the fact that his old life was over. Regis also stood in shock, as he had not expected to hear the stern words of a stormtrooper Sergeant coming out of his own mouth.

"You're right, sir," Vasili said. He spoke so quietly that Regis had to strain to hear him.

"Excuse me," said Luke. Everyone turned to look at the Rebel assassin standing at the entryway. "How many ships were in the blockade?"

"Six," said Vasili. He cleared his throat and straightened his posture. "They were fighters, old Y-wings, I think. But I don't think they were expecting someone to drop out of hyperspace behind them. A couple of them shot at me, but I was in-atmosphere before they even started moving."

"They were probably sleeping," said Sindo. "Getting comfortable while waiting for backup. Or waiting for someone to tell them how to handle the situation."

"You didn't see any kind of command ship?" said Regis.

Vasili shook his head. "Could have been on the other side of the planet, though. I was coming in pretty hot, I didn't have time to look around, sir."

"There wouldn't have been a command ship anywhere but right on top of us," said Sindo. "There's nothing on Dagobah but this scavenging colony. But, are you sure it was six ships? I think it was only three that chased us here."

"Six, or maybe seven," said Vasili, shrugging. "Does it matter? Who cares?"

"It's important," said Luke. "It shows they're not going to let this go."

Realization dawned on Regis. "You're right!" he said. Though Luke looked troubled, Regis could not help but smile. "They could just let us rot down here. But they won't. They've got a bunch of Cheka freezing their butts off in those cramped cockpits because..." Laughing quietly, Regis waved his finger at Luke. "Because they think you're up to something. Don't they? They know there's somebody important down here. An exile that a lot of aliens think should be killed, because he's too dangerous to be left alive. So there's people in high places debating on what to do about this. Am I right?"

"Probably," said Luke.

"Probably! Hell!" said Regis. "No, I'm definitely right."

"Why are you smiling, sir?" said Vasili.

Regis bore his gaze into Luke. "Because the aliens influencing Empress Organa are going to pressure her to do something about her upstart brother. They're going to send a bunch of elite Cheka down here. And they're going to be led by someone she thinks can handle her brother."

"Stralucitor!" said Sindo, her mouth falling open.

"To handle this guy?" said Vasili. "What is he, retired spec ops? If he's the Empress's brother, they'll probably just drop a crate o' money on him and tell him to lay off the cloak and dagger shenanigans, won't they?"

Luke remained silent.

"He's more than special forces," said Regis. "It's hard to explain, brother, but I saw him in action. He kept my finger off the trigger of a gun just by concentrating. He's fast, and insanely strong. And now the aliens around the Empress are starting to think that he's at the center of some kind of conspiracy against them. They'll want to make an example of him."

"Is he some kind of gene-freak?" said Vasili.

Regis shared a look with Luke. Without speaking, Regis felt he knew the truth.

"Vasili," said Regis, "I'm starting to think some of that stuff they used to say about the Force... is real. And he knows how to use it."

Vasili looked at the Rebel assassin, then at his old Sergeant . Though his common sense told him it was not true, he trusted Regis. "That true?" he said.

"It is," said Luke. "I'm a Jedi."

"Good," said Regis. "That means you can help us when Empress Organa sends an extermination squad down here. We're going to turn the tables on those freaks and take their ship. That's our ticket off this dump."