Gascon, meanwhile, thinks he spots something on the horizon. He scrambles towards the mirage, which dissipates before his eyes.

Instead of salvation, Gascon finds his discarded canteen, proving that D-Squad has indeed been going in circles. Gascon loses it, reduced to a cackling fit of madness and existential crisis.

WAC-47 refuses to accept R2-D2 as his commander, and stays put as Artoo leads the rest of D-Squad into the void. This leaves WAC-47 and Gascon alone in the emptiness. WAC-47's refusal to give up gives Gascon reason to change his thinking. He was trained to seek out rational solutions -- something seemingly impossible in the madness of the void.

The ground starts to shake and a rumble rolls in from the endless horizon. WAC-47 and Gascon watch with surprise as a stampede of hundreds of bird-like creatures approaches. The colonel realizes that salvation lies not in his training or WAC-47's programming, but rather on natural instinct. He and WAC-47 each leap onto the back of two passing creatures, riding with the flock as the creatures approach a city and its life-giving reservoirs.

The city, carved out of the surface, is Pons Ora. Gascon and WAC-47 are surprised to see the rest of D-Squad already there.

Gascon is pleased to realize he has a second chance to complete his mission. Out of gratitude, Gascon promotes WAC-47 to the rank of corporal.

WAC-47, content with his new title, begins to bark orders at the rest of D-Squad. The astromechs, bemused by the situation -- Artoo still holds the encryption module, after all, which is most important -- head into the city, ready for the next phase of their adventure.