"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.

"We've been traveling around quite a bit," Ray explained. "I ran to Alderaan after Order 66, and that was where Frank and Gerard found me."

"Order 66?"

"We were ordered to kill the Jedi. That's why I want the chip removed. I never want anything like that to happen again."

Sola nodded. "I completely understand," she said. "If you could lie down on the table here, I can use the scanning machine to locate the chip."

"Of course," Ray said.

He lay down on the table, and Sola scanned his head. "I think I've found it," she said. "As I suspected, it won't be too hard to remove, but I'm going to have one of my surgical droids give you some anesthetic." She smiled and said, "You won't feel a thing."

Ray nodded, and as the surgical droid approached him, he thought of everything he'd do after this was all over. With the control chip gone, he could truly fight against the Empire. He could help rebuild the Truwel Rebellion, save the surviving Jedi, make the galaxy better for his friends and for his brothers, atone for what he'd done during the war. He would have a chance that he never thought he'd have: the chance to make things right.

All of a sudden, the anesthetic kicked in, and all of Ray's thoughts drifted away.

While Ray recovered from his surgery, Frank waited outside, his nose in a book. As he read, he escaped into another world, one where the Empire didn't exist, where he, Ray, and Gerard could finally be free.

When Frank looked up from his book, Gerard was gone.

At first, his heart pounded, terrified that he'd lost his boyfriend. What would he do without Gerard? Frank needed his partner in crime, but after some thought, he realized that he knew exactly where he was. He set his book down, and he headed toward the Black Mariah.

Sure enough, there he was, painting something across the front of the ship. There was a blue star with a lightning bolt with the words "Jet Star" underneath, a red cobra with the words "The Kobra Kid," and now, as Frank stepped closer, he was painting "Fun Ghoul" in green. "Wow," Frank said. "That's rad."

"Thank you," Gerard said. "I thought you might like something to remember us by."

"Why would I need to remember you?" Frank said. "You're right here."

As soon as he finished painting Fun Ghoul's symbol, he put his paintbrush down and turned to Frank. "I won't be here for long," he said. "I'm going to Ilum."

"When?"

"After Ray's surgery is over."

Frank looked at Gerard, hoping that this was all a joke, but he was dead serious. Already, Frank's heart was breaking. Maybe their casual affair hadn't meant much to Gerard, but to Frank, it was everything. Gerard's face was all he needed to stay sane, and he had no idea what he'd do when it was all over, after Gerard was out in the Unknown Regions, where no one would ever find him.

"But why?" Frank asked in a desperate attempt to change his boyfriend's mind.

"The Empire's probably looking for both Mikey and I," Gerard explained. "We're not safe within Imperial territory, but we might stand a chance of survival in the Unknown Regions."

"Mikey's not even here," Frank argued.

"I still want to go to Ilum. I'll find somewhere to live, and Mikey can join me later. You could join me too, if you want."

"I can't."

"Why not?"

Frank wanted nothing more than to stay with Gerard, but the rational part of him knew that he still had a million jobs left to do, jobs that wouldn't get done if he settled down on Ilum with Gerard. Despite all of his other faults, Frank was a man of his word. He'd do nearly anything for the right price, he'd steal and kill without a second thought, but he'd never betray a friend.

"Are you sure you want to go?" he asked after he'd finished explaining to Gerard why he couldn't come with him.

"I'm sure," Gerard said.

"And this isn't just because of Mikey?"

"It's not just because of Mikey. It's what I want."

Frank sighed, but he didn't have much of a choice. He'd promised Gerard that he'd take him, as long as it was his decision, not anyone else's. He had to set his worries aside and put Gerard first. "Okay," he said. "I'll take you to Ilum."

"Thank you, Frank," Gerard said.

Frank wrapped his arms around Gerard and said, "I'm going to miss you so much."

"I'll miss you too," Gerard said, and when Frank heard the sadness in his voice, he knew that this was just as painful for Gerard as it was for him. Neither of them wanted to leave, to end their relationship before it had really begun, but it would keep Gerard safe. Frank loved him, so he had to let him go.

Knowing it was right didn't make it any easier.

When Ray woke up, the first thing he saw was Frank and Gerard walking back into Sola's office. He wondered where they'd been, why they both looked so heartbroken, but he was too afraid to ask. His control chip was sitting on Sola's desk, and he breathed a sigh of relief. The surgery had been successful. At last, he had been released from the Empire's grip.

As Sola started on Frank's tattoo, Frank asked, "So Ray, where are you going after this?"

"I don't know," Ray said. "What about you guys?"

"I'm taking Gerard to Ilum," Frank said. "Would you like to join us?"

"Sure," Ray said. He had nowhere else to go, so why not see the galaxy?

"I wonder how the others are doing," Gerard said.

"I'm sure they're fine," Frank said, ignoring the pain of the tattoo. "I mean, there are three Force users on that ship. How much trouble could they really be in?"

Ray didn't respond. After all, he knew exactly how easy it was to kill a Jedi.

When Sola was done tattooing the scorpion on Frank's neck, and Gerard was done gushing over how beautiful the tattoo was, the three of them headed back to the Black Mariah. This time, Ray made sure never to let Frank and Gerard out of his sight. The last thing he wanted was to get left behind again.

As Frank launched the Black Mariah into space, he held Gerard close, as if he'd never see him again, as if tomorrow didn't exist. Meanwhile, Ray looked out the window, ready for the next chapter of his life to begin. Things had changed for all three of them, but for now, that was okay.

Somehow, Ray got a feeling that once they got to Ilum, nothing would ever be the same again.