Who my father was matters less than my memory of him.
Recap: Calm before the storm! A rare and welcome respite from endless battle awaits Jedi Knights Anakin Skywalker and Storm, as well as Jedi Masters Mace Windu and Luna, as they travel through deep space aboard the Jedi Cruiser Endurance. Preparing to rendezvous with a Republic frigate, the Jedi remain unaware of a deadly peril lying hidden in their midst.
In space, the Republic cruiser carrying the Jedi was shown. Approaching them was a small cruiser as on it was a class of young cadets who were listening to their teacher.
"War does not come with a guarantee. No soldier gets the promise of safety, survival, or victory. But men, I guarantee you this: Every member of this Clone Youth Brigade will have his moment. And it is that moment when you are no longer a cadet, you are a soldier." said the instructor as he walked in between the two lines of kids while addressing them.
"There's the Jedi Cruiser," whispered one of the boys to the kid behind him.
"You have the best training in the galaxy, but no one can train you for the moment you look death in the eyes. What you do then, and the soldier you become, that is up to you. Docking procedures begin shortly. Until then, dismissed!"
The class of boys then turned around as they walked. They entered the hallway as a few were talking among themselves. There was one boy who stuck out as he just kept quiet to himself. The only difference that separated him from the others was that his hair was a bit longer than the other cadets.
"Who's the new guy with the long hair?" asked one of the boys to his friend as they saw the kid.
"Some last-minute replacement," scoffed another kid.
Looks green to me," said another cadet.
"Hey. What outfit are you from?" asked one of the kids as he approached the boy.
"322nd," answered the kid with long hair.
"I heard they had their tour," replied another cadet.
"They did. I... I couldn't make it. Broken arm." explained the boy.
"A real trooper could lose an arm and still report for duty. So what are you, soft?" taunted a cadet to the boy.
"What's going on here, gentlemen?" said the cadet who was the leader of the group of them all.
"Just having a little fun," replied the cadet who made fun of the boy to their leader.
"Oh, I've seen your kind of fun, Hotshot. Stand down," demanded the cadet leader to his friends.
"Come on, Whip. Air's getting stale around here," replied Hotshot to his friend as they left along with the rest of the cadets.
"Hey. What's your name?" asked the cadet leader.
"I'm Lucky," responded the boy.
"Jax."
"Thanks, but I can handle myself," stated Lucky.
"Yeah, sure, but a trooper's only as strong as the trooper beside him. We're all in it together, right?" asked Jax to the boy.
"Right," stated Lucky.
"And with the training we got, I feel ready for anything," said Jax as he and Lucky turned the corner to catch up with the rest of their class.
Their small cruiser now was under the Republic cruiser as it got into the docking bay. Once it was secure, the docking tube extended to attach to the smaller ship. The doors opened as the instructor and the class of cadets were walking through the halls. Clones were standing along the halls as the kids were looking at them as soon as they got old enough, they would be in the same position and be sent to the battlefield.
"Oh! Man!" said one of the boys at the front of the line as he looked at the clones.
One of the clones broke face as he saw the kid looking at him with a smile. He couldn't help but return the gesture before going back to looking straight ahead. While almost all of the boys were amazed by the clones they were passing, Lucky just had his head down as if he was focusing on something.
"Don't be nervous. The only thing between us and them is experience. It's not like they're Jedi." said Jax to Lucky. However, that word: Jedi, resonated with Lucky as an angry scowl formed on his face.
Speaking of Jedi, the doors in front of them opened. Walking through were Anakin, Storm, Windu, and Luna as the kids saw them. Safe to say, just seeing them got the boys to be in awe at seeing such powerful people.
"Morning, troops," stated Anakin to the kids.
"Welcome aboard the Jedi cruiser Endurance. I am Mace Windu."
"I am Luna. And this is..."
"Anakin Skywalker," said the Jedi Knight as he cut off the Jedi Master as Luna was anything but pleased at being interrupted.
"Sup, kids. Name's Storm. Welcome aboard." stated the other Jedi Knight doing a two-finger salute to the boys who were, but a few years younger than him.
"Today, you'll see how a real, working Jedi Cruiser operates. And you'll have the chance to serve right alongside two Jedi Knights," said Anakin to the class as he and Storm were looking forward to tutoring the kids. In the background, Luna and Windu shook their heads as seeing Anakin talk about himself to inflate his ego in front of the kids.
Anakin's response was met with some thunderous responses as the kids were ecstatic to be learning under two powerful Jedi Masters, but two Jedi Knights who were the best when it came to the battlefield. Just as Anakin and Storm were about to take the kids, a clone approached the Jedi.
"Generals, new orders from General Kenobi await you in the war room, immediately," said the clone.
"Another time, then. Sorry kids, but duty calls. I promise we'll give you that field trip once we wrap up our business." said Storm as they all left to the communications room.
"Wow!" said some other cadets as they murmured among themselves.
"The other guy's Anakin Skywalker. I heard he's the strongest Jedi."
"I can't believe General Storm is a Jedi and is only a few years older than us! This is going to be the best!"
The kids continued to express themselves as Lucky was shown again, as the look on his face turned from anger to hatred at seeing the Jedi. More particularly at a certain one.
While the kids were being starstruck by the Jedi they saw, Anakin was shown to have a bit of disappointment on his face as both Luna and Windu noticed it.
"You seem more disappointed than our cadets," stated Windu.
"It's our job to instruct and inspire," said Anakin as that was the reason he was disappointed.
"Bullshit, Anakin!" said Storm as he could tell that was a lie.
"You just wanted to show off," stated Luna with a smug smile as she too could see through Anakin's lie.
"Hey, when I show off, it is instructive and inspiring," said Anakin to the others as he defended himself.
"For you, maybe," said Windu as he and Luna had the same thought. They pushed a button to unlock the door to the communications as they entered and closed it behind them.
While the Jedi were occupied with their meeting. The class of cadets was on the bridge. They met with the Admiral of the cruiser as the kids were watching a clone doing some targeting practice. Nearby another clone shot out an explosive skeet as his comrade took hold of the gun and began to fire as he aimed and took out the thing.
"Looks easy, doesn't it? Well, looks can be deceiving. There's nothing more dangerous in all of space than a moving target." said the admiral to the kids as he walked in front of them.
"What do you use for targets, sir?" asked Jax.
"Malfunctioning droids," said the clone at the gun. His response got R2 to be beep agitatedly as he found that disrespectful.
"Just messing with you, little guy," said the clone to the astromech as he rubbed his dome head.
"Mechanical skeet, packed with explosives. Now, this is my ship and my rules. I do not allow tourists on board, only soldiers. Now, time for target practice." stated the admiral." You, there. Take the gun."
The Admiral looked at Jax as the boy nodded. He then got into the seat and took control of the gun. The clone operating the other pushed a button as an explosive skeet shot out. The kid was now firing the turret as he looked to hit the skeet but missed all of his shots.
"Not even close. Next!" said the clone operating the other turret.
"But I only..." spoke Jax.
"Oh, no, you're done. You only get one chance. I promise you, the Separatists don't give more." stated the Admiral as Jax exited the seat. "Next!"
Another kid hopped into the seat as he decided to take a crack at it. The clone then pushed a button as he fired another explosive skeet into space. He fired a wide array of shots as they came very close to hitting the thing but he still didn't hit his target.
"Near-miss is still a miss, kid," said the clone to the boy.
"The Sergeant's right. Training is no match for experience. And it's the one thing none of you have." said the Admiral as he then saw Lucky. The look the boy had caught the admiral's interest. "I know that look."
He then challenged Lucky to step up. The clone immediately fired another explosive skeet as Lucky quickly rushed into the seat. As the skeet was getting out of range, Lucky aimed the turrent in the direction of the object as he fired and managed to successfully blast the thing.
"Yeah! I see why they call you "Lucky." But let's see how you are when Seppies come at you in tri-attack formation." said the clone as he threw another challenge at the young cadet.
He then shot out three explosive skeets as they were flying in a triangle formation. Lucky wasn't sweating as he aimed the gun and fired three separate shots that took out each one of the skeets with precision accuracy. It caught the attention of everyone, including the clone as he stood up in awe while looking at the window. The cadets were cheering and celebrating Lucky for showing off his impressive skills.
"All right, all right, cut the chatter, men. We're due on observation deck 13. Fall out!" said the instructor as he gathered the boys up and were exiting the observation deck.
"Now that's a cadet to watch." said the Admiral to the clone as they were impressed by Lucky's abilities.
The class of boys was in two single-file lines as the instructor was leading them to the next part of their tour.
"Cadet 1151, tell me where this Jedi Cruiser's main stabilizers are located?" asked the instructor as he was now testing the boys' knowledge as they walked.
"Sir, hull 17, behind the main reactors, sir."
"Good. Cadet 1174, how many engines fail before auxiliary power kicks in?"
"Sir, three on port and starboard sides, sir!"
Seeing that they were distracted, when they came to a crossroads, Lucky stopped for a moment. He watched to see the others keep on walking as he now went down a different corridor. He then pulled out a commlink as he began to contact someone.
"Channel 7 open, ready to receive Code 5 transmission," whispered Lucky as he walked around cautiously.
"Boba, is that you?" responded a woman's voice on the other end.
"It is."
As it turned out, Lucky wasn't Lucky. But rather the boy's name was Boba Fett, son of the legendary bounty hunter Jango Fett. The boy was currently on a mission to get revenge on the Jedi that murdered his father.
"I'm sending you the data now," said the boy's contact as he looked at his communicator as the info he requested was received.
"Received transmission. Boba out."
The boy was continuing to walk as he was making his way to his target. He turned the corners and made sure to keep an eye out for anybody. He turned another corner as he unexpectedly bumped into two clones.
"Hey, what are you doing here?" said one of the clones as he saw the kid.
Uh, communique, sir, eyes only. I've been dispatched to General Windu's quarters," said Boba with a white lie. "There's no problem, sir."
Oh, there's a problem. You're lying. Admit it. You're lost." said the clone as he looked Boba in the eye and didn't believe what the kid was saying.
"Come on, cut the kid a break," said the clone next to his friend as he felt like he was scaring the boy. "Windu's quarters are that way, shiny."
"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir," stated Boba as he quickly left as the two clones continued on their patrol.
In another part of the ship, Luna and Windu were shown talking with one another. They left the business of the meeting to the Jedi Knights as they had other things to discuss. They passed by the class that was touring the ship as they smiled at them and continued to walk towards the Jedi Master's room.
At that moment, young Boba made it to Windu's room as he approached the door. He pushed the button as the door opened and he stepped in. The boy was now looking around as he noticed the side of the door. Boba bent down as he placed a small device near the door's entrance and touched something on its interface.
With his mission complete, the boy left the room as he pushed the button. The door closed as he began to walk away. While Boba was walking away, he then touched his commlink to activate the device, and a laser shot out. It was set to go off the moment anything passed it.
Boba was now looking to make his way back to the class. He turned the corner and he bumped into two individuals who he was worried about. The boy managed to run into Luna and Windu as they saw the kid.
"Eyes on where you're headed, cadet," said Windu to the kid with a stern look.
"Yes, sir. Sorry, sir," responded Boba.
"Where is the rest of your class?" asked Luna with a stern look as well.
"I... just got lost, ma'am," said the boy to the woman.
"You know the rules, no sneaking off. Now run along. We won't tell your teacher." stated Luna as she pardoned the kid as he left. "Back to what I was saying, Windu. I think we..."
Boba had managed to make it back to his classmates just as the instructor stopped them and turned to ask him a question.
"Cadet 327, what reaction propels the main engines of this Jedi Cruiser?" asked the instructor to Boba.
"Pulse combines sparking off the reactor core rods, sir," answered the son of the bounty hunter.
"Hmm. Excellent," said the teacher.
Windu and Luna were still having a conversation with one another as they were approaching the male's room. Just as Luna was about to leave her Jedi Master brethren, a clone trooper came up to them.
"Sirs. General Skywalker requests both your presence on the bridge," said the clone.
"I'll be there shortly," sighed Windu as he pushed the button to open the door. The laser was shown as the Jedi Master was about to take a step in.
"The General requests your presence immediately, sir," stated the clone to Windu.
"No rest for the weary, then," stated Luna as she urged Windu to go right now.
"Fine. Put these inside my quarters, would you?" said Windu as he handed the things in his hand to the clone.
"Yes, sir."
The two Jedi Masters were now walking side by side as the clone was entering Windu's room. Upon setting a foot in, the laser went off as an explosion occurred that took out the clone and flung him back. Luna and Windu saw it as they covered themselves with their arms as an alarm went off.
The doors around Luna and Windu were starting to close as a way to seal off the area of the explosion. Luna put her hand out to stop the door behind them from closing as Windu stuck his hand out to grab the body of the clone and pulled it with him through the door. Luna held it and then stepped through herself.
"Are you all right?" asked Luna to the clone in Windu's arms.
"Trooper! Trooper!" shouted Windu as he took the helmet of the clone off and was hoping for a response, but didn't get any.
"This doesn't look like a drill," said Jax to Boba as he and the rest of the class saw multiple clones running by them.
"No time for chatter. There's been an explosion. Let's show these troops how the Clone Youth Brigade rises to the challenge." said the instructor to the kids. "Line up! Two by! I don't want any heroes. Our job's to get to the nearest safe room and let these troops do their job. Now, move!"
"Think it's a Seppie attack?" asked one of the cadets to his friend as they walked.
"Out here? Perfect place for it." responded the other cadet.
"You heard the Sergeant! Secure the loose talk!" stated Jax as he was behind the two and told them to obey orders.
At that moment, some more clones turned the corner in front of them as they were heading to where the explosion happened.
"Status report, trooper," asked the instructor to one of the clones.
"Ship's undamaged, one man down. General Windu's quarters got hit but he survived," responded the clone.
"Survived?" said Boba as he was shocked to hear that.
The fire from the explosion was put out as both Anakin and Storm made their way to Windu's quarters. Luna and Windu were standing inside as they looked at the scorched room as almost everything was blown up.
"Damn!" spoke Storm looking around the place. "Luna, you sure there are no traps in your room?"
"Yes, Storm. I already checked," said the Jedi Master to her student.
"You're lucky to be alive. And our trooper?" asked Anakin to Windu.
"Dead."
"This was no accident," said Storm.
"Agreed," responded Luna.
"Keep moving!" said the instructor to the kids as they turned the corner.
Boba waited back a bit as they disappeared. He then turned in the other direction. Meanwhile, the Jedi Knights and Jedi Masters were still standing in the middle of Windu's room as they were thinking about the explosion.
"The ship's navigation is nearby," stated Anakin.
"Admiral, has the navigation been damaged?" asked Windu through his comlink.
"Hobbled, not destroyed. Systems are repairable. I've ordered a shutdown of all engines until we're fully operational. We'll hold orbit over Vanqor."
"Any sign of attack ships?" asked Storm.
"None, but we'll keep scanning. Until we get navigation back, the Endurance is a fat and easy target. I won't have it. Kilian out." said the Admiral as the communication ended.
"If the navigation wasn't the target, then hitting your quarters was intentional," said Anakin to Windu as they were all exiting the room and walking the hallways.
"But why? Why target a Jedi Master?" stated Storm.
In another part of the cruiser, Boba was shown scouring the halls. He saw nobody near him as he pulled out his communicator.
"Watcher, this is Boba. It's a miss. Repeat, miss. What should I do?" asked the boy.
"Head to the reactor. Blow the core," stated the woman on the other end.
"But the crew! It isn't about them, just Mace," said Boba as he only wanted to get revenge on the Jedi Master and not hurt the others.
"If you want Windu dead, do as I say!" shouted the woman to the kid.
Boba made a face as he began to head toward his destination. In the communications room, the Jedi had rounded up the clones as they were informing them of the situation.
"We have a killer on board this ship and we are locked in dead space," said Luna.
"Just like our assassin. We'll form an unbroken line of troopers and scour the ship from bow to stern, checking every corridor, bulkhead, and storage unit," ordered Anakin.
"I want him alive," stated Windu to the clones as that was their priority.
The clones nodded as they left while the Jedi began to think some more.
Boba had made it to the reactor room as he pushed the button to open the door. He ran inside as he was heading for the center panel. Just as he was about to reach it, a clone was shown walking on the other walkway as he was doing a patrol of the area and saw the young boy.
"Hey, you there! Come here!" called out the clone to the kid.
"I got lost, sir," replied Boba.
"The ship's on full lockdown, son," sighed the clone at seeing the kid running about when there was danger.
"Yes, sir, I know, sir. I just... I'll return to my company," replied Boba.
"Uh, not alone, you won't. Emergency protocols are in effect. Look, I'm calling a trooper to escort you out of here," said the clone to the kid as he began to contact the others via his comlink. "This is CT-1477, I need an escort for a cadet back to his group."
As the clone was talking to his comlink, Boba noticed the blaster that was in his hand as he got an idea.
"Is that a DC-15A?" asked Boba.
"Yeah. Here. Keep the safety on." said the clone as he was distracted by getting an escort for Boba that he handed the gun to the kid to hold.
"Copy that, CT-1477. We're pretty overloaded with the emergency status, we'll get someone there as soon as possible," said another clone on the other end.
Boba then leaped into action as he jumped to hit the clone in the head with the gun.
"What?" said the clone as he rubbed his helmet and turned to look at the kid.
Boba then continued to deal some more hits with the blunt of the blaster as he managed to get the clone to a knee. He hit him once more as he got the clone on the floor and his helmet was off as he could see the clone's face.
"What are you doing? We're brothers! Don't shoot!" said the clone to Boba as they looked at each other as their faces were shown,
"You're not my brother," responded Boba with a determined and focused look.
"Don't shoot!" shouted the clone.
"Don't worry..." spoke Boba as he was about to pull the trigger.
The clone quickly reacted as he swept Boba off his feet and fell. He quickly went to grab the weapon out of the kid's hand as Boba fired a shot. With the safety still on, the boy only stunned the clone instead of killing him.
"CT-1477, report in," said the clone on the comlink as Boba got up. "CT-1477, why have you broken off transmission?"
Boba looked at the clone on the floor as he sighed. He then turned off the safety on the blaster as he turned to the panel next to him. He banged the brunt of it on the panel as sparks began to fly. He then pointed the blaster at the panel as he fired some shoots to damage it more as he was now destroying the core reactor.
With the Jedi, they were with Admiral Kilian as they were informed the man of their search.
"Our sweep has now covered over half the ship, Admiral," said Anakin.
"Still no sign of the assassin," said Windu.
"The more ground we cover, the less there is in which to hide," stated the Admiral.
The reactor then blew up as the wall behind the Jedi and Admiral burst open into space. It was now starting to suck them all in as the Jedi quickly grabbed onto the side of the hallway to avoid being flung into the void. The clones were caught in the vacuum as most of them flew into space. Both Windu and Luna put their hands out as the male Jedi Master held the Admiral from flying while Luna held the last clone that wasn't sucked.
Seeing that they were losing their grip, Anakin let go and flew past them as he quickly grabbed onto another hold near the hole. The Jedi Knight then pushed the button on the wall as the seal doors were activated and shut the part of the ship that was exposed as the gravity was back to normal and they all fell to the floor.
From the outside, the engines of the Republic cruiser were on fire as the ship was losing altitude. They were now heading towards the planet Vanqor as they were moments away from entering its orbit. While the Jedi quickly made their way to the reactor room to check the damage, Admiral Kilian managed to locate the class of young cadets.
"Huh. More action than you signed on for, eh, boys?" said the Admiral to the kids.
"We're headed for the safe room now, sir. Fine, fine. Although, on second thought, let's make a drill of it. Head for the pods." stated the Admiral as he wanted to get the kids to safety.
"Escape pods? Things must be bad," murmured the kids among themselves.
"The escape pods, sir?" said the instructor as he was confused.
"Mmm. I want to see what they're made of. I'll even time you. It'll all make a fine story when you return to your base." said the Admiral as that was his coverup from telling the kids what was really happening and making sure they were safe.
With their orders given, the instructor began to lead his class to the pods. At that moment, a clone came by as he approached the Admiral.
"Prepare to launch the distress beacon. We're going down," stated the Admiral.
In the reactor room, Anakin and Windu stood near the entrance as they saw the whole thing was destroyed and in flames. Coming towards them on the walkway were Luna and Storm as the teacher-student pair managed to find the unconscious clone that Boba stunned earlier and was helping him out.
"Get your men out of here! There's nothing more you can do," stated Anakin to Windu. "R2, prep the fighters, be ready to take off."
The blue astromech gave a beep to its owner as he began to prep the Jedi's fighters for them to escape. Meanwhile, the kids were making their way to the escape pods. Boba had snuck off, he quickly hid behind a corner as two clones ran by. Just then, a hand appeared on his shoulder.
"Lucky! Stay with the group!" shouted the instructor as he managed to see his student sneak off and went after as the whole class trailed behind.
"Yes, sir," replied Boba as he followed his classmates at the back of the line.
"How are we gonna get through this?" asked one of the cadets to his teacher.
"Groups of four, men. Groups of four. Take pods one and two. Set rendezvous coordinates with the other pods, At a safe distance from the cruiser. See you at rendezvous mark six." said the instructor as they all made it to the escape pod area as clones were also getting into their own and jettisoning.
"This is the moment, men. Make it yours," smiled the instructor to the kids as they got into their pods and the doors closed.
He then rushed to the other pod that had the kids as it closed behind him. The pods were then ejected as they were zooming into space. Boba took that moment when none of the other kids were looking as he pushed a button. It extended one of the wings on the pod to slow down, but the momentum was still too great as it broke off and caused them to go off course.
"The pod's malfunctioned! " shouted Jax as they felt the bumpy ride as he tried to steer them.
Back in the Republic cruiser, the Jedi made their way to the bridge as they saw Admiral Kilian scrambling with a few clones.
"The main reactor's beyond hope. You have to abandon ship," said Anakin.
"No. You must abandon ship. I'm staying." stated the Admiral as he wasn't planning on leaving.
The Jedi looked at each other as they didn't like the sound of that. In space, the escape pods that were ejected came to a full stop as they activated their wings properly. However, the pod carrying the other half of the kids just zoomed on by.
"We missed the rendezvous!" shouted one of the cadets.
"I can't stop it!" stated Jax to his companions as he tried his best to steer the pod.
"I'm staying with the Admiral. You better evacuate," stated Commander Ponds to his men as he was getting them to safety.
"Admiral, you must abandon ship," stated Windu.
"Not a chance," stated the man.
"But, sir, with respect, that's an order," stated Storm as he reminded him that they were the highest-ranking officers, which meant that he had to obey them.
"It may be your command, General, but it's my ship," stated Admiral Kilian as he stood his ground to the Jedi.
"We don't have time for that kind of sentiment!" shouted Anakin.
"It's not sentiment! An admiral must go down with his ship. I don't expect you to understand it, Jedi." countered Kilian to all four of them as he was sticking to his morals.
In space, the pod had finally managed to come to a stop as the cadets all sighed.
"We're lost," stated Jax.
"What happened? Do we still have control?" asked one of the cadets.
"Navigation's shot. Looks like our pod was damaged in the escape," reported Jax.
"Can we steer?" asked the second cadet.
"No," answered Jax.
"How about fuel?" asked the first cadet.
"No feed. We're dead weight," stated Jax.
"So what do we do?" asked the cadet nervously.
"Our jobs," stated Jax.
In the hangar of the Republic cruisers, everyone was getting ready to leave. The Jedi had made it to their respective fighter ships as they each got in and began to start them up.
"Get ready to attach the hyperspace rings," stated Anakin as R2 gave a beep.
Not a second later, did all four of them fly out of the hangar. They each attached to the hyperspace rings as they were now flying out of the descending cruiser.
"Admiral, what's your status?" asked Anakin as the cruiser was entering the planet's pull as the bottom of the ship was starting to catch on fire.
"We're caught in Vanqor's gravitational pull. We're going to try to set her down on the surface," replied the Admiral to the Jedi.
"All right. Once you're down, we'll get the rescue teams to your location," stated Storm.
"General Skywalker, this is Sergeant Crasher." said the clone instructor as he contacted the Jedi.
"Yes, Sergeant," answered the Jedi Knights.
"It's the cadets, sir. I can't raise them on any channel, and their locator beacon's not active. Theirs is the only pod unaccounted for." said the instructor as he couldn't be able to reach the other half of his class.
"Sounds like our saboteur may have gotten to the cadets," stated Windu.
"We have to find that pod," stated Luna as they all split up and began to search.
With the missing cadets, they were still floating about in space. Soon a shadow loomed over them as the sounds of rumbling were heard.
"What was that?" asked the first cadet.
"I don't know. A ship, I think," stated Jax.
"Rescue ship?" asked the second cadet.
"It's too early," said Jax as he was still unsure what was happening.
"What, then?" asked the boy.
The sound of clanging was heard. The ship that appeared was now attached to the escape pod as its door was positioned near the entrance of the pod. A button was pushed as the boys approached the door and it opened. Some smoke began to form up as standing there were Boba's two allies. One of them was a male Trandoshan bounty hunter and the other was a female Palliduvan bounty hunter who was named Aurra Sing.
"Well, what do we have here? You boys look lost," snickered Aurra at the sight of the kids. "Congratulations, Boba. Job well done."
"His name's not Boba. He's Lucky," stated Jax to the bounty hunter.
"Lucky?" stated Aurra as she then chuckled. "That's a good one."
"You're with her?" asked Jax as Boba.
"I wasn't expecting you to bring friends along."
"I couldn't help it, Aurra. What are you going to do with them?" asked Boba.
"What do you think?" snickered the bounty hunter.
"Let them go?" answered the boy.
The bounty hunter scoffed at how naïve the boy was, "They're living witnesses, honey," stated Aurra as that got Boba to be concerned.
"That was never part of the plan! I just wanted to kill the Jedi that murdered my father," stated Boba to the female bounty hunter.
"Well, that will have to wait. Grow up! You'll get your revenge in time. Now get on board." shouted Aurra to the kid as she began to walk back to their ship's side. "We have to get out of here. Or, you can go with your friends, who I'm going to jettison into the unknown. That would be poetic." she said while laughing.
"I'm sorry," spoke Boba softly to his classmates as he truly was sorry for them.
"Traitor," scowled Jax at the person who he considered a friend.
Boba made it to his father's ship, the Slave I, as he approached the panel. His finger was on the button as he hesitated.
"Do it!" stated Aurra into the kid's ear.
"You'll regret this!" shouted Jax as Boba push the button.
The doors were sealed shut as a look came on the boy's face. The escape pod became unattached as it resumed to float about in space. The bounty hunters and Boba now made their ship fly as they disappeared and left the cadets for dead.
"I can't believe it. A traitor? He was a traitor?" shouted the first cadet as they were all working to get the pod back online.
"Yes, well, we can't worry about that right now. We have to find a way to contact somebody," said Jax as he was trying to focus on the bigger picture of getting them rescued.
"We already tried! This pod is dead! We only have minimal life support."
"Yeah? Well, whose fault is that? None of us! That guy you defended left us for dead!" shouted the second cadet to Jax as he blamed him for trusting a turncoat.
"Stow it, Whiplash! We need to work together!" shouted Jax as he got in the face of his classmate.
"You're not in charge here!" replied the cadet.
At that moment, some lights began to flash in the faces of the cadets. It shined through the window of the pod and the boys had to cover their eyes to avoid the blinding light.
"They have come back to finish us off!" said the first cadet as he thought it was the bounty hunters.
"No, wait! It's the Jedi!" shouted Jax.
True to his word, the lights died down as a fighter was shown with R2 in its port. Anakin and Windu had managed to locate and track down the missing pod as they were hovering in front of them.
"I found your missing cadets, Crasher," said Anakin as he smiled and waved at the kids.
"Nice work, General. How are they?" asked the instructor.
"I can't raise them on the comm channel. Their pod must have been damaged in the evacuation. Head to point 038, and you can pick them up." said Anakin as he relayed the coordinates.
"Right away, sir," said the instructor as the channel ended.
"Skywalker, have you heard from Admiral Kilian?" asked Windu.
"No, I lost contact when they entered the atmosphere," said Anakin to the Jedi Master.
"Luna, what's your status?" asked Windu as he contacted her.
"My student and I are about to descend onto the planet Vanqor. We're gonna try to locate the Admiral and our missing forces. I suggest you hurry up if you don't want to miss any of the fun." stated Luna with a hint of flirtiness in her voice.
"Copy that, General Skywalker and I have located the missing cadets and have sent someone to pick them up. We'll meet you and General Storm on the surface to begin our search. Windu, out." said the Jedi Master.
The Jedi Knight and Jedi Master then left as they were heading to rendezvous with their allies. The boys saw the Jedi leave as they had smiles on their faces.
"Jax, I'm sorry. I lost my head. I didn't..." said the second cadet as he was apologizing.
"It's okay, I understand," said Jax as he wasn't holding a grudge with his classmate.
"I can't believe it was one of us, someone just like us," said the first cadet as they were still shocked to see that Boba would betray them like that.
"He's nothing like us!" shouted the second cadet to his friend.
"Let's hope he is. If he is like us, he'll realize he's wrong," said Jax as he still had hope that Boba would see things clearly.
At that moment, their instructor was shown approaching them as he managed to pick up his missing students. With the Jedi, they were now beginning a search and rescue mission to look for Admiral Kilian and the clones that stayed behind. It wasn't going to be easy, as with the sudden twist of events, this latest adventure was just starting to begin.