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It was late at night. Or, wait, was it? It's hard to tell in space.
Certainly it was late for LK-71665, a first-year stormtrooper who couldn't wait to get back to the barracks and pull off his sweaty bucket and turn in. He'd gotten lost again. He was sure he was heading the right direction this time, even if he hadn't seen another soul in these last few corridors.
As he turned a corner, a metallic *clang* echoed from the dark corridor ahead.
LK-71665 stopped. "Hello?" his voice crackled through his helmet.
Another clang. Then two more.
Aw crud, he thought. Figures this happens on my watch. And at the end of the shift, too.
The clanging continued, joined by *zaps* that illuminated the edges of a doorway ahead in bright bursts. Nervous, but buoyed by his sense of duty, LK-71665 gripped his blaster and slowly approached the door.
What's going on in there? he wondered. He'd heard rumors of an unused barracks that were supposedly haunted—not that LK-71665 believed any of that. But there was something suspicious going on here. He was sure of it.
With a deep breath, LK-71665 stepped into range of the automatic door, ready for whatever lay in wait.
Nothing happened.
The door didn't open.
LK-71665 pushed his palm against the heavy door, then pressed his ear against it. The clanging and zapping was coming from inside. Taking a small step back, he pounded three times.
No response. He grunted and exhaled sharply.
"This is LK-71665," he shouted over the din inside. "What's going on in there?"
The noise stopped. The zapping light faded. He heard footsteps approaching.
Suddenly, a voice from within:
"Say what?"
Startled, LK-71665 jumped. The voice was right on the other side of the door.
"This is LK-71665, an armed guard of this ship. What's going on in there?"
A pause.
"Uh, nothing," said the voice on the other side of the door. It sounded male. Human. "Go about your business."
The clanging began again, and LK-71665's eyes were stung by the bright flashes from the edge of the door.
Banging louder this time, LK-71665 became insistent.
"Open this door by authority of the Wing Commander!"
"The Wing Commander, eh?" said the stranger's voice. "Well why didn't you say so?"
The door wooshed open, revealing a dimly-lit space. Workers crouched in greasy gray overalls, hammering and welding an immense shape in the middle of the otherwise empty room. The stranger stood before LK-71665 and wiped a dirty glove across his brow. Tall and dressed like the others, he smirked at the bewildered stormtrooper.
"So, Frown sent ya, eh?"
LK-71665 blinked, his blaster hanging limp at his side.
"What's going on in here?" he asked.
"Oh, this?" said the stranger. "This is Project Nunya."
"Project Nunya?" LK-71665 repeated.
"Yep. Nunya business." he chuckled. Then, whistling, he called out, "Algernon!"
As his eyes adjusted, LK-71665 began to make out details of what the workers were building.
"Say," he said. "Is that a TIE Fighter?"
Just then, a mouse droid screeched into view, making a beeline for the stormtrooper.
"Sorry kid," said the stranger. "You ask too many questions."
The mouse droid skidded sideways to an angry stop at LK-71665's feet, extended a stun baton, and knocked the stormtrooper flat.
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