Star Wars: Saviors of the Broken

Chapter XXXI

"As a Jedi, you must always be selfless. Think of the wellbeing of others, never of yourself." - Sen Clovis, from Collected Wisdom of the Jedi Masters

"Finally," Ray said as the Black Mariah approached Kriselist. He'd had to put up with being left behind on Truwel, finding a way to stay safe in the middle of an Imperial invasion, and listening to Gerard and Frank making out for hours on end, but now that they were here, it was all worth it. Soon, he'd get his control chip out, and he'd be free from the Empire at last.

As Frank piloted the ship toward the surface, Ray looked out the window. He thought of his brothers - did they even know that the Empire was controlling their minds? Even if they did, did they care? They'd all been taught to be loyal to the Republic, and even though the Republic was the Empire now, many of the clones still were. Ray, however, was sure that there was a greater purpose to his life than slavishly serving the government. He may have been designed to fight for the Republic, but the Republic was dead and gone now. After today, he would finally have the chance to create his own destiny.

Gerard was drawing again, and Frank glanced over at his sketchbook. "That looks amazing, Gee," he said.

"Thanks," Gerard said. "I think I might do another drawing of you next. It's just...you look so beautiful today, and I'd love to capture it..."

"Can we get going?" Ray said. They were on the ground now, and he wanted to get the chip removed sooner rather than later.

Frank sighed and opened the door, and the three of them climbed out of the ship. Kriselist didn't look too different from most urban planets, but there were certainly fewer stormtroopers here than there were on Truwel. Even the Galactic Empire forgot about places like Kriselist.

Frank led them into a dark alley, where he ducked into a small, nondescript shop. Ray and Gerard followed him, and when they were inside, they found a strange alien waiting for them. It was an octopus-like creature, with mottled yellow skin and thin, noodly tentacles.

"What?" Frank said when he saw Ray and Gerard staring. "You've never seen a Kriselissian before?"

"It's okay. Most humans haven't," the creature said in a high, reedy voice. "So Frank, I presume you want another tattoo? You know, you're going to run out of room one of these days..."

"Yes, but there's something far more urgent I need your help with," Frank said.

"What is it?"

"It's Ray."

Before Frank could say anything else, the alien asked, "Which one's Ray?"

Frank gestured toward Ray, and the alien extended one of her tentacles toward him. "It's nice to meet you, Ray," she said. "I'm Sola."

"Nice to meet you, Sola," Ray said as he awkwardly shook the tentacle.

"Ray was a clone trooper during the war, and there's a control chip in his head that needs to be removed," Frank explained.

"I see," Sola said. "Once I know where the chip is, that should be a simple operation. More importantly, Frank, what tattoo would you like?"

"I'm thinking of getting a scorpion on my neck," Frank said.

"Ooh, I like that idea," Gerard said. "You'll never be able to get a real job though."

"Why would I want a real job when I have you?"

Ray rolled his eyes as Sola led him into the backroom. "I've had to put up with those two ever since we left Truwel," he said.

"That's a long way away," Sola noted.