The last battle

“We've got radar contact!  Three Bogeys dead ahead.” The call came over the comm link, snapping the pilot of the TIE interceptor back to reality.  He had been drifting through a patrol of a far off grid on the edge of the empire, looking for rebel raiders.  He had pulled enough of these routine patrols that he didn’t need to focus on piloting the ship; it was just second nature now, avoiding minor debris and running scans.  He could easily let his mind wander to thoughts of life after this tour of duty, back to the core worlds and a nice retirement to spend with all his back pay from the empire.