A blast rang out for miles and a ship was blown to pieces right in front of us. The princess was on that ship. Kane was on that ship. My master was on that ship. Now, who knows where they were. Or how many pieces they were in.

***An hour earlier***

Kane was lying on the floor, half conscious when Varian Kai found him. He could hear the footsteps of his general, and groaned trying to attract attention.

"Kane!" Varian cried, rushing to his side. "What happened?" He demanded. "Where's Mars?" Varian wrapped Kane's arm around his neck and attempted to lift him to his feet. Kane cringed at the sudden jolt of pain that ran through his body.

"Mars..." He started weakly. "she-she..." He tried.

"Don't hurt yourself!" Varian said walking Kane to the infirmary. With the princess close behind. "Don't worry about it, wherever she is, I'm sure she's-"

"Grievous..." Kane muttered.

"What?" Varian asked in disbelief.

"She was captured by General Grievous."

Varian almost stopped. The princess bumped into him accidentally because of the sudden hindrance in his movement.

"She wasn't quite trained to handle a with of that caliber...maybe a few of his guards but, never him..."

"Sir-" The com link buzzed in and out.

"-Sir-"

"This is General Kai," Varian began. "What is it?"

"-Several explosives have been detected on board the ship-" The clones voice went on the fritz as everyone's eyes widened.

"Copy that," Varian replied. "Request immediate evacuation."

"Copy that," The com link stopped flashing and Varian looked urgently at Kane, then Princess Dania.

"We have to get out of here...now."

"The escape pods are this way," Kane croaked.

"We have to get you medical supplies first, though!" Princess Dania cried putting her hands lightly on the clones shoulder. Kane looked at her and sighed, wishing that it was really Mars here instead of the princess...wait! What was he thinking!?

"Don't worry, Your highness," Varian looked at Dania and nodded his head reassuringly. "There's medical supplies on all of the escape pods-" The ship shook violently signalling that it was time to get a move on. "Let's get going!"

***An hour later, Grievous's ship***

I was literally thrown into my cell as the plasma doors locked me in again. This time however, I was wearing full handcuffs that covered my entire hand, wrist to fingertips. With all the tech and precautions Mac set up, it was almost like he was expecting me to come...almost like he wanted me to come. And honestly, it scared me.

"Now you stay put, 'princess'," Mac said mockingly.

"Not like I have a choice," I sneered back at him, and all he could do was smirk. He turned and left me to myself.

It pained me to even think about this, but I couldn't believe how much I wished I had paid more attention to my lessons...because now I was stuck in the holding cell of one of the most notorious Generals in the galaxy, with no way out.

"I cannot believe I was stupid enough to think I could save them..." I chided myself silently. "I mean, I'm just a Padawan! Barely even that, considering the way I've been 'paying attention'," I lifted my cuffed hands in failed attempt to do air quotes. I let myself cool down a bit before continuing. I cleared my head. "No point in arguing in such an obscure detail..." I sighed. "I need to find a way out of here..." I sat on the cold, stone hard ground of my containment unit, and closed my eyes concentrating on opening my mind, and letting the force flow through me.

"What to do, what to do..." I thought to myself as I sat in my quiet cell. "I need a plan, and I need a good one."

***Fifteen minutes earlier***

The ship started blowing up, one sector at a time. First the bridge, then the docking bay, and so on. Varian, Kane, and Dania could feel the pull of gravity on the ship as it lost its atmospheric shield and began diving into the endless space all around them. They all ran as fast as they could, Varian still holding Kane. The closest pod was about a sector away, and Varian Kai, for once in his life, wasn't sure he was going to make it out of this one. Normally, Mars would be here with her brilliant ideas and schemes to get them out of trouble. Sadly, this time, Varian would have to depend on only himself and escape safely with Kane and Dania, Princess of Alderaan.

"Almost there," Varian urged everyone on as two sectors behind them exploded into nothingness.

"There it is!" Kane cried.

"We're going to make it!" Dania cried joyfully.

Entering a 7 digit combination on a panel to the left of the escape pod's door, Varian escorted both the princess and Kane inside, shutting the doors behind them. As soon as they were all inside, Varian hit the detachment sequence on the control panel at the front of the pod, just as the entire ship blew to pieces.