Throughout the night Regis helped Artoo repair himself. The little droid was pushy, and Regis was not used to taking marching orders from a machine, but the work helped him keep his mind off Sindo.

"You know," Regis admitted, "I was thinking that getting you in working order was going to be a weekend project. I figured I would give it, say, six months, something like that, before finally giving up and... well, you know. I am a scavenger, after all."

Artoo beeped in annoyance, then pulled a tangled mass of gently-used wires out of Regis's collection.

"Well, yes, but I haven't been that in a long time," said Regis. "A scavenger is what I am now. Not that I'm complaining. I'm glad to get you fixed up! But what's the hurry? It's not like there's anything to do here."

Artoo suddenly froze, then turned to Regis. He trilled apprehensively.

"You're on Tatooine," said Regis. "I don't know where you were heading, but I doubt this was it. You came in on a trashliner. I'm guessing you were dragged in from a ruined ship left over from a battle. You sure you don't remember?"

Artoo slowly looked left, then right. He wheeled away from Regis and rolled into the center of the room. Though the little droid had been almost frantic with purpose for the past few hours, he now seemed lost in thought.

"Well?" said Regis. "It didn't look like your brain got scrambled... but maybe your memory isn't what it used to be."

Artoo ignored the comment. Though Regis had cleaned up the incriminating stormtrooper armor earlier, Artoo had pulled out so many spare parts and wires from the closet that several pieces of armor had found their way back on the floor. Artoo rolled up to a white helmet sheared in half and gazed at it. Though Regis had never heard of astromechs being especially cunning, when Artoo slowly turned to him, he truly felt as if he was being sized up.

"Why do you look at me like that?" said Regis. "Don't like being on Tatooine? Just look out the door if you don't believe me. You'll either see sand, or some ugly alien... or both, if you're unlucky."

Artoo ignored the statement and beeped inquisitively.

Regis grimaced. "Well, if you really must know, I was a Sergeant in the Imperial Forces. Omicron Squadron - that's special forces, if you don't know." He was stung by sudden shame, and felt defensive. "I know I'm not much to look at now, but I used to be somebody. I was important. I fought hard and did what I could for people. But now I..."

Regis's throat constricted. He tried to concentrate on soldering articulation circuits to a fresh board, but still Artoo stared at him. When he finally had enough of the droid's gaze, he set the tool down and stared back at him.

Before he could speak, a hologram projected from Artoo. A small woman in a white dress glimmered in blue static. Regis was taken aback. He rose to his knees and crawled forward, but the woman was hooded, and did not look familiar. Regis sat down before her. He thought she was the sort of noblewoman one might have seen on Coruscant long ago.

"She's beautiful," Regis said under his breath. "How old is that holo, Artoo?"

The hologram stuttered, then the woman spoke. "General Kenobi, years ago you served my father..." Again the image stuttered, then the audio shifted slightly. "... against the Rebellion. Now he begs you to help him in his struggle against the... New Republic."

Regis's mouth fell open. "Can you clean up the recording a little, Artoo? It's hard to understand what she..."

Regis fell silent as the woman continued. "I regret that I am unable to present my father's request to you in person, but my ship has fallen under attack and I'm afraid my mission to bring you to..." The image and audio stuttered, then the audio shifted as the woman said, "bring you to... Dagobah... has failed."

"Dagobah?" said Regis. He had never heard of such a place.

"I've placed information vital to the survival of the... Empire... in the memory systems of this Artoo unit. My father will know how to retrieve it. You must see this droid safely delivered to him on... Dagobah."

"Was she on the ship with you, Artoo?" said Regis. His heart was racing.

As if in answer, the woman in the hologram said, "This is our most desperate hour. Help me, Obi-wan Kenobi. You're my only hope."

The woman must have heard something, for she suddenly turned in alarm, then bent over a control panel. The image of the woman froze, then faded away.

Regis covered his mouth, then ran a hand through his hair. While he knew he should not care about some junk droid's old transmissions, he could not help but feel a sense of purpose. After years of digging through junk, and being pushed around by alien scum, seeing a glimpse of another, better world was intoxicating.

"General Kenobi," he said suddenly. "Who is he, Artoo? An old Imperial general?"

Artoo said nothing. He turned his head, as if in thought, then turned back to Regis.

"Oh, nevermind. You really did get scrambled, didn't you?" Feeling suddenly anxious, Regis wiped his sweating palms on his pants. "I guess that poor woman was on a ship with you. She was probably your owner, wasn't she? And then the New Republic destroyed your ship..."

Regis got up and paced. With his mind running in circles, he was unmindful of Artoo following him with his gaze, watching and calculating.

"I've never heard of Dagobah, but if General Kenobi is there, then that must mean a garrison of Imperial loyalists are hiding there. Makes sense that they would choose an obscure planet! But..." Regis froze and turned to Artoo. "Wait a minute, she said you have... information vital to the survival of the Empire! Artoo, what is it? What information do you have?"

Artoo turned left and right, but said nothing.

Regis wiped cold sweat from his brow and plopped down on his thin mattress. "If only I knew something about droid brain functioning! You probably lost the information when your ship was..." Regis felt sick and lightheaded. He had not eaten or slept for hours. He suddenly felt weak and overwhelmed by something that was beyond him.

"No - your brain does work, doesn't it?" he said, looking sidelong at Artoo. "If it didn't, you wouldn't have known to play that hologram for me. But you can't give the information to just anyone, can you? Of course not! Only General Kenobi can unlock it! And you're the... you're the only one with that information..."

Regis suddenly laid back on his thin mattress. Though Artoo did not bother replaying the recording, Regis clearly heard in his mind, "... information vital to the survival of the Empire..." as he drifted off to sleep.