Adversity is a friendship's true test.
Recap: Revenge! Boba Fett, son of the notorious bounty hunter Jango Fett infiltrated a Jedi cruiser in an attempt to assassinate General Mace Windu, the man who killed his father. After a near-miss at Windu's quarters, Boba was forced to destroy the Jedi cruiser and escape with the help of notorious bounty hunter Aurra Sing. Now, having lost contact with Admiral Killian when his doomed starship crashed the Jedi search for survivors with the aid of a Republic rescue ship.
Anakin Skywalker and Mace Windu were shown in their fighters as they were departing from a Republic medical cruiser. Once the cadets were safety accounted for, the pair were now heading to the planet Vanqor. Awaiting them down on the planet's surface were Luna and Storm as they had gone ahead and begun searching for their missing allies.
"General Windu, we're picking up the last of the survivors now. We need to get them to a hospital station as soon as possible," said a clone navigator to the Jedi Master.
"We'll contact you as soon as our search for Killian is complete," replied Windu.
R2 gave a beep to Anakin as the transmission ended.
"Let's go, R2," stated the Jedi Knight to his droid.
The two fighters were now descending to the planet. They each ejected from their hyperspace rings and entered the planet's orbit. The ships were now heading to where Luna had transmitted their coordinates. In the distance, there was the Republic cruiser as it created a huge creator when it crashed.
"We're coming up on the crash site. Let's hope Admiral Killian and the command crew are still in one piece," stated Windu.
R2 gave some beeps as they were descending.
"Hmm. Looks pretty bad. But the bridge seems to be intact," said Anakin as he heard R2 and looked at the wreckage of the Republic cruiser.
"Set down behind the cruiser. We'll approach on foot," stated Windu.
The Jedi then circled back as they landed a few meters away from the destroyed ship. R2 gave some beeps as Anakin was getting out of the cockpit.
"You're not kidding, little buddy. I don't like the feel of this place either," said Anakin as R2 was a bit concerned about being here.
"You're astro-mech is programmed to feel?" said Windu as he found that hard to believe given that it was just a robot.
"R2 is kind of a... special case. He's got a lot of personality, that's all," said Anakin as he explained to the Jedi Master just how unique the blue droid was.
"You encourage it too much," said a voice.
The pair now looked up. Above them were Luna and Storm. The Jedi Master was standing on a piece of the destroyed ship that broke apart upon impact as Storm was sitting on the edge. The pair had seen their allies arriving as they waited for them to land before investigating the wreckage.
"A droid is a droid, Skywalker. It's made of nothing but metal and code. It's not like us. We have emotions and can feel things." stated Luna as she agreed with Windu on how Anakin said that R2 was special.
"Wonder what Twilight would think if you said that to her," smiled Storm to his master before jumping down.
He didn't see that Luna's expression changed the moment he mentioned the princess' name as she shook her head and sighed. Luna then leaped down as she landed next to her allies.
"R8, start scanning the area for signs of life. And calculate an entry point to the cruiser," stated Windu to his astromech droid. The droid gave a beep as it began to do its job with both Jedi Masters following it. Soon, R2 gave a beep to both boys.
"You're right, R2, it doesn't look good," stated Storm as the Jedi Knights now began to follow the Jedi Masters with the blue droid following behind them.
As they were walking, hiding in the wreckage of the ship, were gundarks. R2 heard a sound as he barely saw at the last second, a Gundark run by as it hid behind some pieces. The droid turned around and began to beep as he was scared. Everyone turned to look at the droid.
"A bit jittery, isn't it?" said Windu at how the droid was acting.
"He must have seen something," stated Anakin as the droid gave a beep.
"We do not have time to listen to a droid. We have a mission to complete," stated Luna with a stern look.
"Come on, it looks like R8 has found an entry point," said Windu as he pointed out that his droid was doing its job.
"You sure you saw something, pal?" asked Storm to the blue astro-mech. R2 gave a beep to the boy. "Okay, okay. No need to get your wires crossed. Trust me, the last time me and Anakin were here, we were chasing Dooku and Sunset and wound up trapped in a cave."
Storm recalled that last visit he had on Vanqor as he turned with R2 and continued to walk to catch up with the others. Once they were a good distance, the gundarks that were trailing the Jedi emerged as they saw them heading towards the wrecked ship. They soon began to follow them.
"There would have been a command crew left aboard to try and land. Admiral Killian and at least three navigational officers," stated Anakin as they got close to the ship.
"Commander Ponds stayed as well," said Windu as he knew his clone commander made sure his men got to safety over his.
The four Jedi and two droids entered a small hole as they began to search. They entered to see the whole ship was destroyed with several holes in it. As they were walking, R2 stopped and noticed something. The droid saw a clone on the floor lying in front of him. He gave a beep as it got the attention of the Jedi Knights.
"What did you find, little guy?" asked Storm.
R2 gave a beep as the Jedi Knights looked at where the droid was. They saw the clone on the floor.
"Mace! Luna! Over here!" shouted Anakin as he called the Jedi Masters.
The Jedi Masters ran as they made it over to where the Jedi Knights were. They saw the clone as they rushed towards the body and began to inspect it. Windu turned the clone over to its back as they saw a blast wound on the armor.
"Hmm. This man did not die in the crash. He was executed." stated Windu.
R8 then gave a beep as it signaled the Jedi. It showed another clone lying on the ground.
"There's another one over here. Same thing," said Anakin as he saw the other clone also had a blast wound on its armor.
"We know the assassins were after me. Perhaps they returned to look for my body," said Windu.
"We need to get to the bridge to find Admiral Killian. Send the droids to scan for any survivors down here. Maybe the killer missed one." ordered Luna to Anakin as she and Windu began to walk together to the bridge.
Anakin turned and bent down in front of the droids as both were beeping.
"I know there's a lot of interference but do your best," said Anakin to the droids.
"Skywalker!"
"Storm!"
Both Jedi Masters were calling the Jedi Knights to come up to the bridge. Anakin stood up and was making his way to where they were. Storm gave each one of them a rub on their dome heads as he joined Anakin as the Jedi Masters were waiting for them. They arrived as they all passed through a door. They saw a pole as they all began to climb it to get to the bridge.
The droids looked at each other before pulling out their scanners. They turned and rolled next to each other as they began to do their task of searching. R8 turned the corner as a shadow was shown flying behind R2. The blue astromech droid quickly turned around as he thought he saw something. R2 looked around, but he saw nothing.
With the Jedi, they made it to the upper levels of the destroyed cruiser. The floor was slanted as they were cautiously walking to avoid slipping. Storm tripped on a wire and was about to fall before Luna grabbed her student's arm as she managed to keep him from falling. The boy smiled at his master and she couldn't help but return the gesture while putting her hand on his cheek. They continued to walk as they soon caught up with Windu and Anakin. All four of them were now taking in the scene in front of them as there laid the clones that stayed behind all on the floor not moving.
They approached a clone that didn't have his helmet on as his armor had a similar blast wound on it.
"They're dead. Executed like the troopers below," said Windu.
"But I don't see Admiral Killian or Commander Ponds," said Anakin as he looked around but didn't see their bodies.
"They must have been sucked into space when the cabin lost pressure," stated Luna.
The Jedi then began to contact the medical cruiser that was waiting for them.
"Captain, there's no sign of any life down here. I'm afraid Admiral Killian and Commander Ponds are lost," said Windu. "Take the survivors back to the hospital station. We'll meet you there. Mace out."
"Captain Silver out," said the clone as the transmission ended. "Head for home. Lightspeed."
The medical cruiser then began to prep its engines as a few seconds later, it entered hyperspace and disappeared.
Down below, the two droids collided with each other as they were reporting the details of their search. Just as R8 was speaking, a Gundark was shown appearing behind it. R2 saw it as he began to give off beeps to signal his comrade of the looming danger. R8 looked behind and saw the creature as it growled at the droids. The duo then began to book it as the Gundark lunged and missed them.
They were running as they looked to escape when a Gundark landed in front of them and grabbed R8's head to hold it from escaping as R2 turned and ran. He turned and saw the Gundark charging at him with R8 in its mouth. It was then intercepted by another Gundark as they began to fight. R2 took that opportunity to free his friend as he pulled out a device that had a sharp end to it. He charged at the Gundark holding R8 as it drove into the creature's behind which resulted in a roar of pain.
The Gundark swung his fist into R2 as a result of being stabbed. The droid hit the floor and rolled as he was then knocked down. The Gundarks continued to fight over R8 in their mouths as soon the droid was ripped apart into pieces as it gave one final beep.
The Jedi were still investigating the wreckage for any more clues. The only thing they saw was more dead bodies that lay about. Soon Anakin noticed something out of the corner of his eye. On a nearby table, there was a Mandalorian helmet.
"Is that a Mandalorian helmet?" said Anakin as that got the attention of everyone else as he began to cautiously approach the table.
Back with R2, the Gundarks were now approaching the downed astromech. He quickly got back up as the creatures bared their fangs.
"What is that doing here?" stated Storm.
Both Windu and Luna went bent down on each side of a clone as they were thinking. The clone lay on his back, with one hand outstretched and the other draped over his stomach. This trooper had also lost his helmet in the crash. The clone's eyes were closed and both Jedi Masters saw that the assassin killed the trooper by shooting him in the chest. They each began to look at the clone's face.
"Clone cadets. Jango Fett! Boba!" said Luna, while she was saying this to Windu, Anakin made it to the table and grabbed the helmet. At that moment, both Jedi Masters had the same thought as they looked at the Jedi Knight.
"Anakin, no!" shouted Windu.
When the Jedi Knight picked up the helmet, the inside was shown a timer that was about to go off.
"Drop it!" shouted Windu as he put his hands out quickly to pull Anakin away from the helmet.
"Storm!" yelled out Luna as she put her hands out to pull her student into her arms for protection.
But it was too late.
Anakin was pulled as the bomb went off as Storm didn't make it into Luna's arms before the explosion occurred. From the outside, the bridge where the Jedi were was shown. The Gundarks noticed the explosion as they looked up as R2 let out beeps. Soon pieces began to fall as the Gundarks moved out of the way as they soon turned tail and ran. One of the falling debris crushed one of the retreating Gundarks as the other escaped.
In the distance, there was a group of people shown. One of them was Boba as he was looking through binoculars. He saw the bridge and smoke coming from it. Behind him were his acquaintances as they too had watched the whole thing go off.
"Mace is dead. Are you happy now?" said Aurra Sing to the boy.
"I wanna make sure he's dead," said the kid as he knew that his father taught him that when eliminating someone, you make sure the job is a success.
"There's nothing left of Windu to find, Boba," assured Aurra to the kid as she jumped down from the rock they were on.
"I wanna get off this planet now. This place is crawling with gundarks. And, besides, we've got these hostages to drag along with us now." said a male Klatooinian bounty hunter named Castas.
The bounty hunters approached their ship as tied next to them were Commander Ponds, Admiral Kilian, and a clone navigator as they managed to survive the crash. They were taken as hostages when the others killed the remaining clones.
"This extra baggage will fetch us a hefty sum from the Separatists," Aurra to her comrade.
"Well, it's a lot of trouble for not enough payout if you ask me," said Castas as Boba was annoyed to hear that.
"You haven't even done anything! I've taken all the risks!" shouted Boba as he threw the binoculars on the ground.
"Quiet, runt!" shouted Castas as he grabbed Boba in one hand and looked to punch him. Aurra quickly pulled out her gun and pointed it at him.
"I wouldn't do that," smiled Aurra to her comrade. He soon let go of Boba as he backed off.
"Count Dooku will pay us well if we bring back the Jedi's head," said Boba to the group.
"Dooku might pay us for killing Windu. Then we're looking at a profit," said Aurra as she could see the boy's line of thinking.
"Uh, well,..." said Castas as he too was starting to see what the boy was saying as he still had Aurra pointing her gun at him.
"Now relax. Boba is right. To get paid we need proof of Windu's death. And if we killed Skywalker, we can ask for double." said Aurra as she put her blaster away. She boarded her speeder with Boba getting on the back of it.
"Double?" asked Castas.
"Yes, but we need proof. Bossk, take care of our guests while we're gone," instructed Aurra to their other comrade. Soon she and the others all left as the male Trandoshan bounty hunter looked at their hostages.
R2 was now searching for his friends. He made it to where he saw them climb up as the droid looked up. He activated his rocket boosters as he began to soar up the shaft. He soon arrived at the top level where the Jedi exited as he began to roll forward. The blue astromech droid saw the damage done by the explosion and he got worried for his friends. He was passing by a hole when a voice called out to him.
"R2! Over here!" called out Anakin as he was hoping to get his droid's attention.
The droid looked down the hole as he saw his master. On his left was Storm as the boy was still conscious as he lay just an arm's length away from Luna who was knocked out. R2 dropped down as he began to help his friends.
"Good to see you, buddy," coughed Storm while smiling.
R2 then began to help his friends from the debris that was piled on top of them. As he pushed some of it off, he revealed Windu who was next to Anakin as the Jedi Master was also knocked out. However, when R2 pushed the debris a few inches to uncover Windu, the entire place began to shake.
"Careful, R2. I'm afraid the whole bridge will collapse," said Anakin to his droid. "We need you to go back to the fighters and call the Temple for help. OK?"
Anakin let out a cough as R2 processed what was said.
"OK?" asked Anakin once more in a louder tone as he needed a response from the droid. R2 whimpered as he didn't want to leave his friends trapped.
"Go get help. We'll hold out as long as we can. Go on, R2. We'll be fine, bud." assured Storm to the droid as soon he and Anakin coughed before passing out.
With time running out, R2 gave a beep as he activated his rockers and fell out of the hole. He made it to the window as the droid looked through his scopes to see the bounty hunters on speeders. They were heading to check on the Jedi as the droid knew his pals weren't going to be able to defend themselves. He then began to work on trying to halt their advance.
The bounty hunters arrived at the entrance of the wreckage as they looked to see if Windu had somehow survived the trap.
"Come on. We've gotta find Windu's body," said Boba as he was anxious to find the Jedi.
"Careful, Boba," said Aurra as she saw the kid starting to run.
A piece of debris fell and Boba rolled out of the way to avoid getting flattened. Aurra approached him and she gave him a look before continuing to walk.
"Yeah, careful. I'd hate to only split the money three ways," said Castas with sarcasm in his voice as he didn't care much for the kid.
Boba made a face as he got up and caught up with them. They all approached another hole as Boba entered first with the pair following behind. The trio was starting to climb up a slope as they were hunting for Windu's body. R2 was behind a pillar as he saw them heading his way. The droid began to put his plan in motion as he hoped to drive them away from finding his friends. The blue astromech pulled out a cable as he began to pull a piece of debris towards him. Once he was in position, the droid then pushed the object down the tunnel the bounty hunters were coming from.
"Look out!" shouted Aurra as she looked up and saw the object heading for them.
They all quickly moved to the side and covered their heads as the object flew past them. R2 saw they moved out of the way as he groaned and disappeared.
"This place is a death trap!" stated Castas as he felt like it wasn't worth searching for the Jedi if it meant he could get hurt.
"When I hired you, I didn't realize that you were such a coward," said Aurra as they continued to climb the tunnel while glaring at her comrade.
"Well, I don't wanna be next," said Castas.
R2 began to next part of his plan as he was hooked into the doors. He then accessed them as the door in front of the bounty hunters shut.
"Blast!" shouted Aurra in anger.
"The door must have malfunctioned," stated Boba.
R2 heard that from the other side as he chuckled evilly at the fun he was having.
Back with our heroes, Storm and Anakin were starting to wake up. Windu and Luna were now starting to stir as the male Jedi Master rolled onto his back.
"Skywalker? Skywalker, are you alright?" asked Windu to the Jedi Knight.
Yeah, I'm OK," groaned Anakin, "Except I can't move."
"Luna," said Storm as he saw his master opening her eyes.
"Storm!" said the Jedi Master as she moved her arm out.
She was reaching out toward Storm as the boy was also doing the same. The pair were inches from touching as soon they linked hands. They smiled as Luna had a sense of clarity knowing her student was fine as they released their hold.
"Can either of you get free?" asked Storm to the Jedi Masters since they were more powerful than them and could potentially get the debris off of them.
Both Windu and Luna put their hands on the debris on top of them as their power resonated. It caused the whole thing to shake furiously as Storm saw a rock coming at him as he moved his head out of the way. Luna quickly stopped using the Force as she was concerned for the safety of her student.
"We already tried that. You'll bring the whole place down on us!" said Anakin as Windu managed to save a piece of debris from falling on him.
"Well, how do we plan on getting ourselves out of this mess?" asked Windu to both Jedi Knights.
"Don't worry, we already sent R2 back to the fighters to call for help. We're sure he has everything under control," stated Storm to both Jedi Masters as they each made a similar face in putting their trust in a droid to save them.
R2 was rolling through another hall as he was approaching another tunnel as the voices of the bounty hunters were getting louder. He stopped and looked down another tunnel to see them.
"I'm just saying. I didn't know there'd be all this climbing," replied Castas.
"Shut up! It wasn't my idea for you to tag along anyway," stated Boba as they were climbing up the tunnel R2 was looking down at.
"The next one who says anything will get a blaster bolt through the brain," said Aurra as she couldn't handle the two of them arguing.
R2 then rolled back and went to go cause some more havoc. As the bounty hunters were climbing, the blue astromech was shown carrying some crates as it hummed happily. He then arrived at the tunnel's entrance as he set the crates down and then turned around as he pushed them over the edge and down towards the bounty hunters.
"Incoming!" shouted Castas as he looked up to see the crates falling.
Once more, they all barely got out of the way as they each hugged the wall as the crates fell past them.
"What was that?" said Anakin as the Jedi heard the crates that R2 dropped.
"The ship is falling apart around us," stated Windu.
"This is no good. If we can barely survive in here, Windu must have been killed in the blast," stated Castas to his comrades.
"I'm not quitting now, not when I'm so close," said Boba as he was determined to have his revenge and continued to climb.
R2 saw they survived as he began to have some more fun. This time, he went even bigger as he turned to see a dead clone on the ground. He then picked up one of the grenades on the belt as the droid beeped when translated it meant he had a devious smile. He then approached the tunnel as he held the grenade over the shaft and then without thinking, dropped it straight down.
The grenade began to bounce along the walls as the bounty hunters saw it at the last second. The force of the bomb caused all of them to be shot back down the tunnel towards the bottom.
"Look out!" shouted Castas as the bomb went off in front of them.
"We're running out of time," said Luna as she felt the bomb go off as the debris on top of them shook.
"That's it! We're out of here. No one can survive this place." said Castas as he had enough of trying to not die.
"A Jedi could," said Boba as he was still determined to find Windu.
"I hate to agree with Castas, but there's a better way to do this," spoke Aurra to the kid.
"But, Aurra,..."
They all began to walk towards the exit as the female bounty hunter began to contact their comrade. An antenna was shown growing out of her head as she was sending out the message.
"Bossk, fire up Slave 1. We're going to blast what's left of this ship to pieces."
Bossk was dragging their hostages onto the ship's ramp when he got the message. "I'll be ready when you arrive."
The bounty hunters made it to their speeders as they got on and zoomed away. Seeing that they were leaving, R2 took that moment to finally go back to the fighters and call for help.
"I hate just sitting here!" coughed Anakin.
"Calm yourself, Skywalker. We'll soon see if the faith you put in that droid is worth it," stated Windu.
"Don't be scared, Storm," said Luna to her student.
"I'm not, Luna," said the boy but the Jedi Master didn't hear that as she was too focused on them surviving.
R2 was now outside of the wrecked ship as he was close to making it back to the ship. As he was about to make the call, the Gundark that escaped earlier was back. He jumped and landed on the fighter as it tipped to his side. R2 let out a scream as he was on the other side and the creature looked to destroy him. The Gundark tried to swipe at the droid as he rolled back to avoid the claw. It then took apart the windshield from the fighter and threw it at the droid. R2 activated his rocket boosters as he ascended into the air to avoid the object.
However, the Gundark quickly reacted as he leaped into the air and tackled the droid to the ground. He then lifted the droid in its claw as R2 let out a beep. The droid spilled some oil to signal something. He then opened his port to attack the Gundark as he merely held the droid just out of range as he toyed with the blue astromech. He turned R2 around as the droid then popped out his plunger on his backside as it shot and attached to the Gundark's head. The Gundark released the droid in his grip momentarily to tug at the plunger. R2 took that moment and began to quickly roll towards the fighter as he had his target still attached.
R2 got on Anakin's fighter as he detached his end of the plunger to the ship as he looked at the Gundark. He then pushed the ignition button as the droid hopped off. The Gundark tried to grab the droid when he jumped, but the ship zoomed ahead and yanked him away at the last moment. The pair were now flying ahead as they soared a few miles away into the distance as an explosion occurred when the fighter crashed.
"What was that?" asked Aurra as they had heard the sound of the explosion.
"Scanners picked up an explosion. Near where the Jedi landed," informed Bossk as he read what the scanners said.
"Windu!" said Boba.
"Jam any communications off this planet," ordered Aurra to her comrade.
R2 made it back to the rest of the fighters as he hopped into Windu's ship. He plugged himself into the port as he began to use his scanners to send a signal. But as he was doing that, Bossk was able to jam his communications as the screen inside the cockpit was phasing in and out. R2 then turned the controls over to him as he made the fighter turn on as he began to leave the planet to get help.
However, the bounty hunters had made it back to the Slave 1 as their ship hovered into the air. It saw the fighter R2 was piloting as they trailed behind it.
"The fighter's markings match Windu's," said Castas as he saw the ship with his own eyes.
"I knew it! I told you he wasn't dead," said Boba.
"Bossk, after him!" ordered Aurra.
The Slave 1 began to open fire on the fighter. R2 gave out some terrifying beeps as he didn't like being shot at. The blue astromech then began to make the ship dodge and weave the shoots so that he could deliver his message to save his friends. The droid was doing his best to not get hit as the chase circled the wrecked ship and they flew dangerously close to the side that had the Jedi trapped. All the while, R2 was letting out scared beeps as he was screaming for his life.
"I don't like the sound of that," said Storm as the Jedi could hear the rumbling that was going on of the bounty hunters shooting at R2.
Soon the small hole they could look out of saw the droid flying by.
"R2?!" said Anakin as he was surprised to see the droid flying the fighter when he needed to send a message for help.
"I thought your astro-mech was supposed to call for help, not take off and leave us here," said Windu as that seemed to be what the droid was doing.
"Come on, R2, I'm counting on ya," said Anakin to his pal as they soared into the upper atmosphere.
The chase was still going on as both parties had made it to the orbit of Vanqor and were in space. The ship was still firing at the droid as R2 pulled out his communicator and tried to see if he could now get a signal.
"Hold it steady!" instructed Boba as he was manning the weapons of his father's ship.
The boy aimed and fired as several shots traveled with a few of them hitting and knocking out R2's communicator.
"You've knocked out his communications," said Bossk to the boy as Boba kept on firing.
With his communicator destroyed, R2 had only one solution. If he was to get help for his friends, then it meant that he had to go to Coruscant and deliver the message himself to the Jedi. Knowing that time wasn't on his side, he activated the hyperdrive rings from before as they were prepped. R2 was now approaching them as the bounty hunters also noticed them.
"Two rings. Mark 35. They're powering up." said Castas.
"If we can take out the rings, he'll be trapped," said Aurra.
"Which one?" asked Boba as they didn't know which one R2 was going to use.
"Destroy them both!" shouted Aurra.
"We can't get range. You'll get one shot at this, kid," stated Bossk.
Boba was now thinking carefully as he had to time his shot to destroy both rings. R2 was getting closer to them as this was his last hope to save his friends. He was starting to direct himself to the ring on the right as all he had to do was fly into it.
"I've got you, Windu!" shouted Boba as he fired.
The boy fired the weapons as the spread of lasers was shot. R2 noticed this as he did a barrel roll to avoid them as they destroyed the ring he was heading to. However, that was part of his plan as doing the barrel roll allowed him to get into the other hyperdrive ring. In a sense, the droid managed to fake out the son of a legendary bounty hunter. He locked in and in a second was starting to disappear.
"No!" screamed Boba as he missed the fighter as it took off into hyperspace.
"There goes a fortune! Nice work, kid!" stated Castas to Boba for letting their target escape.
"What's our next move?" asked Bossk.
"Great! This has gone well. Windu will be back here with a fleet. He'll hunt us down." said Castas.
"Don't count on it. The Jedi don't carry grudges. But I have ways of motivating him. We'll make Windu come to us next time on our terms." said Aurra as she turned to a wall and pressed a button to show their hostages. "Now let's get out of here."
With that, the group of bounty hunters then entered hyperdrive themselves as they disappeared.
R2 was now shown as he entered Coruscant's atmosphere. He saw the Jedi Temple in sight as he hurried towards it. He got out and was running down the halls as he shoved other astromech units out of the way as they gave angry beeps. Inside the communications room, there was a small meeting being held. The ones present were Master Plo Koon and Celestia as Ahsoka and Twilight were accompanying them. The princess also had her small droid next to her as they paid attention. The two Jedi Masters were talking to holograms of other Jedi Masters as they were relaying their latest plan.
"We shall reinforce our fleet along the Hydian Way," stated Master Plo.
"This should prevent Grievous from...," said Celestia as she was interrupted.
The doors opened as R2 came tumbling down the stairs as he screamed. Everyone present, and via hologram, saw the droid as he hit the ground.
"R2?" said Ahsoka as she was stunned to see the droid.
The girls then helped the blue astromech to his feet. He wasted no time in shoving Master Plo's astromech out of the way so that he could plug in. The other droid didn't take kindly to being shoved by R2 as he bumped into the blue droid. Now the two began to fight.
"Stop it!" said Twilight as Ahsoka quickly broke up the fight between the two droids.
"R2, what's wrong?" asked the padawan to the droid as he beeped.
"TS-01, translate," said Twilight to her droid as she knew it could understand R2's beeps.
"He says he has a message from General Skywalker," translated the princess' droid.
"Well, then, R2, deliver the message you so obviously need to communicate," said Master Plo.
The droid wasted no time in plugging in as the hologram image of the Jedi being trapped was shown. It was the first sighting that R2 came upon as in the recording Luna and Windu were still knocked out as only Storm and Anakin were able to communicate with the droid. The message then began to play.
"We need you to go back to the fighters and call the Temple for help. OK? OK?" said the recording of Anakin as he then coughed.
The message then ended as both girls were now scared for their individual partners. Celestia saw her little sister in danger as she had to go save her.
"Prepare our ship. We shall leave immediately," said Master Plo as he and Celestia were going to take the girls to rescue their allies.
Back with our trapped heroes, they were still stuck under the rubble as the ship was still blowing up. Windu had managed to free an arm and looked up to see the Mandalorian helmet that Anakin grabbed as it was destroyed. He used the Force to pull it in as only half of it remained. The Jedi Master then began to inspect it.
"Whose helmet is that anyway?" asked Anakin.
"It belongs to a bounty hunter I killed on Geonosis by the name of Jango Fett," said Windu.
"You mean... the clone template?" said Storm.
"Yes. Strangely enough, he had a son. Or at least a clone he regarded as a son. His name is Boba Fett." said Windu.
"I remember now. Obi-Wan listed him in his report on Kamino," said Anakin as he was starting to recall the details his master told him about when he was guarding Padme during that time.
"Boba was on Geonosis when his father died. He watched as I killed him," said the Jedi Master.
"Ah, that would complicate things," said Storm.
"Indeed," replied Windu.
The bridge was now starting to explode as it was making its way toward the trapped Jedi.
"Your astro-mech has been gone too long. He must have failed to deliver your message," said Windu to Anakin.
"R2 will come through," said Anakin as he still had hope.
"Storm," said Luna as she got her student's attention. "Don't be scared. It's alright. We're going to be fine." Luna looked her apprentice in the face as she was assuring him that he shouldn't be afraid that they were about to meet their end.
"I know, Luna. I'm not scared," said Storm truthfully as he was ready for what was about to come.
Luna looked at her protégé as she smiled. She once more reached her arm out as Storm did the same. Their hands linked as the Jedi Master now pulled her student towards her. Luna pulled Storm into her chest as she wrapped her arms around him. She rubbed his hair as Storm buried his face into his master as Luna was preparing to protect her student till the bitter end, like a mother.
Just as the four Jedi were about to meet their demise, a group of gunships was shown flying towards the wreckage. They appeared in the hole as the Jedi saw them.
"There, in the bridge! I can see them!" said Ahsoka as she pointed to where they were trapped.
"Ahsoka, Twilight, hold the ship steady," instructed Master Plo to the girls as he and Celestia began to use the Force to keep the ship from falling apart.
With the Jedi keeping the bridge stable, the clones then fired some cables as they attached to the hull.
"Comet, let's go!" shouted Wolf to his comrade as they jumped from the ship onto the bridge to rescue their trapped allies.
"Hurry, Commander Wolfe!" shouted Celestia as they couldn't hold the ship any longer.
"Hold tight, Generals," said Wolfe as he and Comet began to lift the debris as the Jedi pushed on it to help.
"We're losing it, sirs," said the pilot to both Jedi Masters.
They were trying their best to hold the ship as the clones had managed to pull their allies from the rubble and were helping them walk towards the edge.
"Jump!" shouted Wolfe as they all followed his lead and landed on the gunship.
"Cut the lines!" shouted Celestia.
Ahsoka and Twilight did that by turning on their lightsaber and sliced the cables keeping them attached to the bridge. The pilot then booked it as the gunships turned and got out just as the bridge fell as an explosion occurred.
"Tia," spoke Luna.
"I got you, Lulu," said Celestia as she had her sister laying in her arms.
Luna smiled at her older sister as Celestia did the same. She then glanced to the side to see Twilight as she had Storm's head in her lap as she was caressing his forehead.
Eventually, they were able to land safely. As the clones put their injured comrades on medical beds as they were being transported to heal up.
"Some pretty serious burns, but nothing a night in a bacta tank won't fix.," said Ahsoka to Anakin as she gave a light punch to his leg as he groaned.
"Oh, sorry."
"We were lucky to arrive when we did," said Master Plo.
"Guess we have R2 to thank for that," said Anakin.
"Come here, droid," instructed Windu as R2 rolled to where the Jedi Master was being held up, "I can see why your master trusts you, little one. Good job." smiled the Jedi Master.
"That's definitely more praise than I ever get," stated Anakin.
Soon he and Windu were being carried toward a gunship to be transported. Celestia and Twilight were with Storm and Luna as they were having their own conversation.
"So... what's the score of us saving each other?" asked Storm to the princess.
"Just shut up," giggled Twilight as she put her hand to the boy's face. She was looking into his eyes as he did the same. Soon she removed her hand from his cheek and intertwined it with his.
"Get some rest, and then we'll talk," smiled the girl.
"Sure thing, princess."
"Take care, Jedi Knight."
From afar, Celestia and Luna were watching their students interact.
"You know, Lulu. Storm may have been ready to accept his fate. But I certainly wasn't." said Celestia as she looked down at her sister.
"Nice to see you smiling, Tia," joked Luna as she looked at her older sibling. "So... I guess I'm paying for lunch?"
"Yes. And just so you know, there's been some new cakes I've been wanting to try," stated Celestia to her little sibling as her obsession with the sweet treat was being used as a bargaining tool for Luna to pay for when they went out.
"Oh, gees. Just get me out of here!" said Luna as she could already feel a big hole in her wallet at how much her older sibling could eat when it came to cakes.
The clones obeyed the Jedi Master's orders as Celestia was smiling smugly knowing that Luna was gonna have to pay a hefty sum for their lunch. She turned to look at the teenagers as the clones were now starting to lead Storm away. She saw his hand slip out of Twilight's as the girl watched her partner leave.