Project Boussh: A Different Perspective by Josh Nolan Bill Morrison paused at the doorway of the warehouse, grudgingly lifting his arms while the stormtroopers scanned him. He always resented this whole procedure - didn't they realise that he wasn't going to do anything to jeopardise hanging around *real* Star Wars stuff? He'd probably keep a memento or two after they'd finished on Earth, of course, but until then, he'd be clean. "He's clean," said the armoured stormtrooper, and nodded at the two plain-clothes Nazis standing beside him. "He's all yours." Bill slouched out the doorway, hearing the sentry log his departure - "Nineteen-fifty, Bill Skywalker leaves, accompanied by Two-Seven and One-Niner. Destination is Romeo-Papa." Bill shook his head, wondering at the aliens' insistence on calling him by his online nickname. Still, Skywalker sounded so much *cooler* than Morrison. And at least he could pretend he was a Jedi. He shot a grumpy look behind him at the slabs of muscle that were dogging his footsteps. If he was a Jedi, of course, he wouldn't need those two as bodyguards. Or babysitters. And he wouldn't have to do what they said, either. And he wouldn't have to take them to his role-playing group, either. The last session a couple of these guys (was it these guys? Or was it another couple? Even out of their armour, Bill found it hard to tell them apart) sat in on, they'd gotten really annoyed at how his group had mown down vast numbers of fictional stormtroopers. One had even stood up and done a detailed rundown on just where the gamemaster's tactics were severely flawed. The way the new Major, the Defel guy, looked at him, Bill was sure that incident had been reported as a big black mark on his record. Still - Bill had an idea for shaking his babysitters tonight, and when he came back in the morning, they'd see he wouldn't *need* the security these guys lumped on him. All he needed was to find the right kind of people. They were certainly in the right part of town. Bill walked with purpose, trying to conceal from his shadows the fact that he was actually wandering aimlessly. He walked up streets, down dingy alleyways, cut through rubble-strewn vacant lots, crossed over graffiti'd train stations, until finally, Bill saw just the people he'd been looking for. Two cars sat askew near a corner of a vacant lot, where about six young men were huddled, their voices drowned out at this distance by the throbbing subwoofers in the vehicles. Bill grinned, and picked up his pace, heading towards them. "Oi!" he called out as he got closer. "Whaddaya think you're doing on my corner?" The men glanced at each other, then back at Bill in sheer disbelief. Bill could hear the footsteps of his shadows behind him, so kept approaching. "Well?" he called out. "I don't hear an answer." At the very edge of Bill's hearing, he heard one of them mutter a short comment. However, the drubbing bass drowned out the words, and only left the other men laughing uproariously. Bill yelled out, "What did you say?" The men stood up from where they were lounging and spread out into a line, the one who had spoken standing slightly forward. "I said," the speaker replied, "that you're just a pansy who can't do jack without his bum-buddies to back him up." A few of the men in the line sniggered at the repeated insult. Bill slapped his chest like a method actor, saying, "Oh yeah? Do you think you can take me, huh?" The man smiled a very nasty smile, and said, quite distinctly, "Yeah." He gestured to his friends, and advanced towards Bill, beckoning menacingly with his hands. One of the stormtroopers grabbed Bill's shoulder and pulled him roughly behind the trooper. "Stay down, you blasted idiot," the stormtrooper growled at him, and turned to meet the attacking men. Bill had no intention of following the stormtrooper's orders, and sprinted off down the road as fast as he could. Behind him, he heard a few shouts, and the distinctive sound of a gunshot. The sound spurring him on, he ducked down an alley. He ran for about ten minutes, losing track of where he was, trying to put as much confusing distance between himself and the stormtroopers. He rushed along an alley, jumping the slumbering form of a homeless woman, and turned the corner into an empty street, its only feature an off-white van sitting by the side of the road. He staggered up to the vehicle, and leaned against it for a moment to try and regain his bearings. Suddenly, the sliding door on the side of the van slammed open, the sudden shock causing Bill to freeze. A man dressed all in black leaned out and grabbed him, hauling him into the dark interior of the van. Bill thought he saw something furry, and then there was a blue flash - then, nothing.