Previously on Guardians: Lost Stars...

"I know someone who might be able to help us," The orange woman said, drawing the attention of the entire meeting. "A great military commander with a vast knowledge of the Outer Rim. He could assist us in finding a base. And his experienced leadership would make him a powerful ally."

"And how do we recruit this 'leader'?" Sato asked.

"Well… there is one option I've not yet attempted."

"Is that… the head of an old tactical droid?" Kanan asked.

"These droids were great at finding things," Ahsoka replied. "Calculating. Found me and my master a few times when we didn't want to be found."

And Kanan, if you find my friend, you must trust him."

"If he's all the things you say, we can't afford not to," Kanan said.

"Trust him," Ahsoka stressed again before the door closed between her and the full cockpit.

"Now that is a work of art," Sabine marveled.

"Looks like an old Republic tank," Kanan observed, "Used during the Clone Wars…"

"Hey, does the number 7567 mean anything to you?" Quill asked.

"I haven't heard those digits in…" The man mumbled, "Well, that's my birth number!"

"Birth number?" Ezra and Quill asked simultaneously.

"They're clones," Kanan said with a scowl

"Well, my name's Ezra, this is Kanan, that's Sabine, Star-Lord and Zeb. It's nice to meet you, 7567," The young man greeted.

"Actually, my name is Rex, Captain. 501st Clone Battalion. Meet Commanders Gregor and Wolffe."

"We were sent by Ahsoka Tano," Ezra told Rex. This brought a look of recognition to the clone's face.

"Ahsoka Tano… I fought by her side from the Battle of Christophsis to the Siege of Mandalore, and a friend of hers is a friend of mine."

"How is Commander Tano?" Rex asked.

"Uh, well, in need of help," Ezra answered. "We all are. Look, we're trying to fight the Empire, but we're outnumbered, overmatched, and taking a beating. We could use your help."

"Well, I'm not sure I'm much help to anyone these days," Rex chuckled before crossing his arms and slightly spinning in his chair. "Didn't you hear? The Emperor said the Clone Army has outserved its purpose and retired us. Now we just spend our days telling stories and slinging for Joopa's."

"So, what useless life forms have you picked up now, Mando?" Durge asked in a hateful tone

"More stranded ones, like us," Ordo answered.

"Beings from more universes?" F asked.

Ordo nodded. "Everyone, meet F and Durge."

"And who might you be?" F asked.

"Quinlan Vos, former Jedi master."

"Former?"

"I was already on the outs with the Jedi before the purge. I didn't exactly wear my knighthood like a badge of honor once they were all gone."

"Where's the kid?" Ordo asked F.

"In his makeshift workshop," She answered, "Still working on that droid."

Right, well… this is Sam and Cosmo. You two, this is Miles Prower," Ordo introduced.

"I, uh, go by Tails."

"Where… where am I…?" The droid said, though the voice was slightly distorted.

"You're on a planet called Qiilura," Tails answered. "You were stranded here with us, so I started repairs on you."

"I… thank you for your assistance…" The droid said.

"You're welcome. I'm Tails," Tails said.

The droid nodded. "I am Imperial training droid prototype ten - designated Proxy."

A figure went out of sight just before another speeder bike flew from the tree line and away from the makeshift homestead. "We were being watched! Tell the clone!" Durge leapt onto his bike and burst after the other figure.

The Weequay quickly drew a blaster and shot the bounty hunter dead-on twice. Both bolts did nothing before Durge grabbed the Weequay's blaster hand and lifted him up off the ground by it, followed by squeezing and crushing all the bones in the hand, forcing a piercing scream from the man. "You're coming with me."

Guardians: Lost Stars

Chapter 7: Joopa Jumble

Kanan sat alone in the cockpit of the Phantom, adjusting the parts of his lightsaber, wanting to be left alone and as far away from Rex and the other clones as he could. Quill was starting to get on his nerves as well. The Guardian had kept on about just trusting the clones, but he didn't understand. Neither did Ezra.

As if on cue, the backdoor to the Phantom opened and in stepped his young Padawan. "Okay, you don't trust these clones, but they haven't done anything."

Kanan sighed. "You don't understand, they're dangerous. They could-"

"They could what? Rex doesn't seem bad at all! Ahsoka said to trust him. You trust her, don't you?" Ezra asked.

Kanan wheeled the pilot's chair around. "You weren't there! You weren't even born!"

"What are you talking about?" Ezra asked.

"I don't feel like discussing it," Kanan snapped, turning back away so as to not face Ezra, then detached the emitter from his lightsaber and looked down the inner barrel. Ezra backed away and started to leave the Phantom, and Kanan let out a heavy sigh. "It was at the end… the end of the war. Our fellow soldiers, the clones, the ones we Jedi fought side-by-side with suddenly turned and betrayed us. I watched them kill my master. She fought beside them for years and they gunned her down in a second!" Kanan's voice momentarily brok. "Then they came for me… Later, they said they had chips in their heads that made them do it, said they had no choice…"

Ezra looked at his master sadly, feeling the agony and loss emanate from him like water from a fountain. Rex's voice startled them both. "I didn't betray my Jedi." The two Jedi turned around to face the old Clone Trooper, who was leaning against the left side of the doorway. "Wolffe, Gregor and I all removed our control chips." Rex gestured to a small, straight scare on the right side of his temple. "We all have a choice." He then left them, rubbing the back of his head. Kanan turned back around in his seat and quietly sighed, and Ezra looked towards his master again.

"Well, for what it's worth, I believe we can trust Rex," he said before also leaving.

Durge dropped the Weequay before everyone else. The man held his shattered hand, whining in pain. "I stopped him before he made it half a click through the woods. He was watching us from the trees," Durge said. Ordo put on his helmet and kneeled down in front of the Weequay and ripped him up by the collar of his shirt.

"Why were you watching us?" Ordo demanded. "Talk, slimo!"

"I-I won't say a thing!" The Weequay cried.

"You will, or what he did to you will seem like a mercy," Ordo threatened.

"Hey hey, take it easy," Tails said, trying to get the clown to calm down.

"Hey, Ordo, ease up a bit man. Let me handle this," Sam said.

"What are you gonna do?" Ordo asked.

"Just watch," Sam said before grabbing the Weequay, taking him from Ordo's hands. "Going up!" Sam then blasted off into the sky, taking him as high as the clouds.

"That's going to take some getting used to," F remarked.

Sam brought the Weequay above the clouds and stared him down. "Alright, pal, you have two choices: you can tell us what you were doing, or I can drop you."

"I-I won't say anything!" The Weequay stuttered.

"Alright," Sam shrugs before simply letting go and dropping him, letting him fall down from the sky. The man screams the entire way down, seeing as the ground grew ever closer.

"O-Okay! I'll talk! I'll talk!" He cried. In an instant, Sam bolted down, caught him, and brought him back before everyone else as the man quivered in fear. Sam himself touched down on the ground next to Cosmo.

"You better," Ordo said threateningly.

"Th-There's a bounty! Th-The Empire put a bounty on them!" The Weequay exclaimed, pointing at Sam and Cosmo. The entire group looked at them immediately. "A-And him, the J-Jedi!" He then pointed at Quinlan.

"You're bluffing," Ordo said.

"He's telling the truth," F said, reading the Weequay with the Force.

"It doesn't surprise me. We encountered a Sith Lord on Dantooine, and barely escaped to Ord Mantell," Quinlan said.

"R-Really, it's the truth!" The Weequay insisted before pulling a small circular metal object off his belt and putting it out to Ordo. Ordo snatched it from his hands.

"A bounty puck," Ordo said before activating it, lighting up a hologram with three Imperial wanted posters, each depicting either Sam, Cosmo or Quinlan. "Dank ferrick…"

"That's a lot of zeroes…" Tails commented.

"The Empire wants the kids, and they want them bad," Quinlan said.

"On Dantooine, that guy mentioned Cosmo and I were the source of a 'disturbance'," Sam said. "I think he means when my friends and I came here through the rift, 'cause Cosmo was already here."

"And what's the risk he sensed your multiversal origins?" F asked.

"Dunno. I still don't know how this Force thing you guys have works."

Ordo looked back down at the Weequay. "Are you here alone?"

"N-No! There's a whole group of us, just past the village down the valley!" The Weequay answered.

"Anything else we should know?" Ordo asked.

"N-No! That's it, I swear!"

"Good." Ordo then quickly drew one of his blaster pistols and aimed at him.

"No!" Sam exclaimed. Ordo fired, but the blaster bolt stopped short, freezing in the air. Sam looked to see F's hand out, using the Force to keep the bolt from hitting its target. The Weequay yelped and started backing away from the frozen bolt, only to hit Durge's leg. He looked up to see the bounty hunter staring back down at him. Durge growled, and the Weequay quickly crawled back away. Sam grabbed him and quickly pulled him away from the center of the group, and away from Ordo and Durge. F then let the blaster bolt go and it hit the dirt.

"What do you think you're doing?" F sternly asked the ARC.

"Killing a witness. If we let him live, he goes back and warns the other bounty hunters where we are!" Ordo replied.

"And if you kill him, they'll think somethin's up," Quinlan said.

"Of course the Jedi want to let him live," Durge remarked. "I say just let me crush his skull under my boot."

Sam took a breath of relief before looking at Cosmo, who seemed very uncomfortable in the situation. He then looked over at Tails. "Hey, Tails?"

The fox looked over then walked over to join them, clearly also uncomfortable with the situation. "Y-Yeah, Sam?"

"Can you take Cosmo back to your workshop for now? Things are getting heated, and if they get worse, I'd rather neither of you be out here. Maybe she can help you with Proxy," Sam suggested.

"That… sounds like a good idea," Tails agreed. "Come on, Cosmo, let's head inside."

"O-Okay…" Cosmo muttered, hesitantly following Tails back to his laboratory.

"And of course your answer is murder," F remarked.

"As much as I hate to say it, I'm on the clone's side. We can't let him leave," Durge said.

"So we just kill the man in cold blood?" F asked.

"That's exactly what we do," Ordo said.

Sam grabbed the Weequay by the collar and knocked him out cold with one punch before dragging him back over to the others and dropping him. "No matter what happens, nothing good follows. The bounty hunters will find us."

"Or worse, they use the villagers as both bait and living cover," F said. "Especially if they know there are two Jedi here."

"So what's the plan?" Quinlan asked.

"It means we either leave the planet now, or we go fight the bounty hunters and raise a red flag for the Empire," Ordo answered. "It's a simple choice."

"Or we go and take them down before they have a chance to call the Empire," Sam said

"Ordo's right," F sighed, somewhat dejectedly. "If we leave immediately, we can be gone before the pirate's call it in. But if we stay? Or if we pull them into direct confrontation? They'll contact the Empire, and they'll be down on us before we can escape. Death would be a mercy if we're caught."

"Not to mention, maybe if we leave, the villagers will be out of the immediate crossfire," Quinlan added.

"Then we don't do it head on," Sam said. "We go into the village to scope things out and plan a way to take them all out fast enough to keep them from sending out a signal."

"Kid, if you go in there, you'll be caught," Durge said.

"Yeah, and Durge and I stand out too much. Even without my armor, I'll be recognized as a clone," Ordo said.

"True enough, but the Empire is looking for Nova and Quinlan Vos," Sam said before taking off his helmet, his Nova Corps uniform blinking out of existence, "Not Sam Alexander and an inconspicuous village girl." Sam jabs a thumb towards F.

"I'm sorry?" F asked.

"He's right," Quinlan said. "Of all of us, you two have the best bet to blend in, so long as you both ditch the masks."

F was visibly uncomfortable with the idea, shifting her posture a bit and crossing her arms. "I… don't believe that's the best idea."

"Well, if you guys wanna stay hidden on Qiilura, this is the only option you've got. And if we all really wanna find a way home, then we shouldn't be moving around too much. So our best bet is to scope out the setup, make a plan, and use that info to take 'em out quickly before they can call the Empire."

"So what do you do once you're in the village?" Ordo asked.

"The pirates have to be set up somewhere, so we figure that out first. From there, we get as much info as we can without drawing too much attention, and with luck, and whatever else you can get out of him," Sam said as he gestured to the unconscious bounty hunter, "We can make a plan on how to take them all down without them calling the cavalry."

"You know this plan is crazy, right?" Quinlan asked.

"Yeah, that's why you like it," Sam smirked.

"Kid, you're gonna get this old man killed," Quinlan chuckled. "Alright, I'm sold."

"It's better than turning tail and running." Durge remarked.

"It's a risky play, Sam… but it's worth a shot," Ordo sighed.

Sam then looked at F. "Hey, you with this?"

F glanced away, still keeping her slight uncomfortable posture. "Well… it's as you said, there aren't many other options."

"If it makes you feel uncomfortable to remove your mask, I can go alone, I don't wanna force you to do anything," Sam assured her.

"My feelings on the matter are irrelevant. If we are to stay on Qiilura, this is what must be done," F said.

"That's kind of a bad way to look at it," Sam replied.

"It's the Jedi way of looking at it," Quinlan corrected, "Still not a good way regardless." F's eyes narrowed under her hood.

"So… you're in?" Sam asked.

"So I am," F answered

"Well, if you're going, the two of you need to get changed. Neither of you have the 'mud people' look," Ordo said as he hauled up the unconscious Weequay and slung him over his shoulder. "And make it quick. We want you both back here by sundown."

Ezra walked around the exterior of the AT-TE to the front where Sabine and Quill leaned on the walkway, Rex sat an the front turret, and Gregor stood at the absolute front, both of whom were looking in front of the walker at Zeb, who walked ahead while wearing a harness attached to the walker by an electrical beam. The Lasat held his bo staff tightly in his mighty paws, nervous of the prey they hunted. Ezra took up a place next to Gregor.

"If we're lucky, we'll catch Big Bongo today!" Gregor called to Zeb.

"Let's get this over with," Zeb sighed. "I'm getting hungry."

"Keep going forward, just a little more! We're coming up on a hot spot!" Gregor yelled excitedly, shaking his fists in the air.

"Your 'hot spot' looks like everywhere else on this desolate rock," Zeb remarked, stopping entirely and turning back to face up at the old clone trooper. Then the ground started to quake below them, and Zeb quickly turned to look out at the vast desert.

"Alright, full stop!" Rex commanded to Wolffe, who was in the cockpit of the walker. Wolffe pulled back on the controls, and the walker quickly stopped its progression. Kanan exited the Phantom and stood behind Rex as the shaking continued, each and every one of them anxiously watching the ground.

"Alright, just a little bit more!" Gregor cackled. "Little more!"

"Oh really…" Zeb groaned as he kept walking forward.

Gregor then turned to face Ezra. "Y'know, we really appreciate this. I mean, w-we should do well today with your friend here."

"Yeah, well, Zeb packs quite a punch," Ezra remarked.

"Oh, oh," Gregor giggled. "I-I'm sure, I'm sure, but really, I mean, Joopa's supposedly love Lasats."

"What do you mean 'love' them?" Quill asked.

"Well, supposedly they love the smell, I guess they love the taste as well, and maybe it's about the texture, y'know, it's…" Gregor stammered. Ezra looked up at the electrical line connecting Zeb's harness to the walker, as did Sabine and Quill.

"Wait, Zeb's not the hunter-" Quill started to say.

"He's the bait!" Ezra finished.

"Hunter, bait, it's… it's all the same!" Gregor snickered.

"No it's not!" Kanan yelled. The ground then shook violently, and everyone looked out to see the ground start to crack. "Zeb, you better get back here right now!"

"Zeb, what is that?!" Sabine exclaimed.

"Run, man, you're the bait!" Quill yelled. The breaks in the ground started getting closer to Zeb.

"Oh, Karabast…" The Lasat cursed.

"Zeb, run!" Kanan called.

"Get outta there!" Ezra added.

"He's not gonna make it," Quill said before vaulting over the railing and firing off his foot jets, flying towards Zeb. Before Quill made it, the ground directly below Zeb cracked, and a pinkish tendril shot through the soil and tightly wound around the Lasat.

"Zeb, no!" Ezra exclaimed, just before Zeb was taken underground and Quill shot just past where he was and kit the ground before losing balance and tumbling onto the ground. The electrical wire started reeling like a fishing rod, following Zeb and what took him through the ground, making tears in the rocky soil as it did so.

"This could be him! The Big Bongo!" Gregor cried before rushing inside the walker. Wolffe hit the forward throttle hard and sent the walker chasing the rod at its highest speed.

Rex leaned over the edge of the turret seat to look down at Sabine. "Hey, I bet you know a thing or two about mechanics!"

"Yeah, good bet," the mandalorian replied. Sabine quickly rushed up the ladder next to Rex.

"Keep an eye on this regulator. The line can overheat and shut down. No line, no Joopa, no Zeb!"

"Got it," Sabine nodded before crouching next to the regulator Rex gestured to.

Quill flew back up onto the walker next to Kanan and Ezra. "What about us?" He asked.

Gregor exited the walker with two pikes in hand. "You've got the best job of all! When the line swings around, you'll charge it with the electro poles! Hit the line with the rod, and it'll send a bolt of energy down to the Joopa! Do it enough, and you should bring it up to the surface!" Gregor handed one of them to Ezra, and turned to Quill and Kanan.

"Don't worry, I'll fly ahead, and when the, uh, Joopa-thing come sup, I'll hit it with some explosive charges," Quill said before jumping off the walker again and blasting forward.

Gregor then turned to Kanan and handed the rod out to him. "Here's one for you, general."

"Don't call me that, I was never a general," Kanan replied.

"Oop! My mistake. Sorry, Commander," Gregor said before giving Kanan the electro-rod.

"No, it's not-!" Kanan groaned and rushed to the front of the walker with Ezra. Rex held tightly onto the turret handles as the Joopa zig-zagged across the path. Once the creature stopped it's curve in front of the AT-TE again, Rex called to the Jedi.

"Hit it, now!" Kanan and Ezra then both shocked the line, causing a small burst in the ground where the Joopa hid, but it wasn't enough.

"That's it! That's it! Oooh, he didn't like that! Hit 'em again!" Gregor hollered. The Jedi did so again, to about the same effect. The joopa started to speed up and make it further out, pulling the line just out of their reach.

"He's a runnin'!" Rex smirked. "Hit that line! Bring 'em up!" Ezra hopped up on top of the railing and tried to hit the line, still just out of reach of charging it with the rod. The regulator to the line then started sputtering and coughing out small wisps of smoke. Sabine quickly threw herself over the barrel of the turret to get to the regulator, a wrench in hand.

"We're losing the regulator!" She called back to Rex.

"Full stop, Wolffe! Dig in!" Rex commanded. "This is where we finish the battle!"

Wolffe did as told and pulled back on the throttles again, bringing the walker to a sudden and immediate dead stop, acting as an anchor for the line. The lurching nearly sent Ezra off the railing, but Kanan quickly grabbed him and pulled his apprentice back aboard. The Joopa's retreat started to slow, as the full weight of the AT-TE pulled back. "I can't reach it! Kanan, list me up!" Ezra said. Kanen lifted Ezra up and held the boy's feet on his shoulders. "Sabine!"

"I know! Working on it!" Sabine yelled back. After a few moments, the regulator whirred back to full function. "Got it!"

Kanan saw his rod rolling at his feet. "Ezra!" He kicked the rod up to Ezra, who caught it and used both tools to charge the line. Then the Joopa finally stopped, and quickly burst from the ground before their very eyes. It was a large, worm-like creature with several yellow-green mandibles and a dozen red eyes lined across its face, as well as pale-gray scales with dark markings along its back. It let out a shriek as it was forced above ground. Ezra looked in immediate fear. "Go!" Kanan then launched Ezra backwards, who flipped backwards and landed on his feet.

"It is Big Bongo!" Gregor squealed in giddy excitement.

"What it is is dead, soon enough!" Quill remarked as he pulled three small circular charges from his belt and threw them at Big Bongo, each one attaching to the side of its face and exploding. Big Bongo itself was relatively unaffected. "Oh, come on!"

"Won't work, kid, you need something bigger to breach its scales!" Rex said. The Joopa roared at the walker with its gaping mouth. "Like this!" Rex fired the turret dead center into the creature's mouth. It let out one final screech as a solid pillar of smoke filled it's gaping mouth, and toppled over onto the ground, dead. The Ghost crew quickly rushed to the side of the walker to observe the fallen beast and watch for Zeb, while Quill flew over and landed next to Sabine.

They all watched as nothing happened for a moment, and hope felt lost for a brief moment, then Zeb pried open the dead Joopa's mouth and crawled out, covered in pale green saliva. "Ugh, what a smell…"

"Ah, Zeb!" Ezra cried in relief.

"Nice catch, old timers!" Sabien remarked. Rex gave a salute in return.

"Yeah! Way to go!" Gregor cheered as he quickly descended the back ladder of the walker and ran over to Zeb. "Now that, that was impressive!" Gregor helped Zeb up and slung his arm over his shoulders.

"Impressive?!" Kanan said, "You almost got my friend eaten!"

"Yeah, " Zeb agreed, pushing away the clone as Joopa saliva dripped off of him, "I was in that thing's mouth!"

"Oh, head to toe!" Gregor nodded, turning Zeb around to look at Big Bongo proper. "But look at you! You brought in our biggest catch ever!"

"I-I did?" Zeb muttered, seeing the last color go out of the creature's eyes. Zeb then turned back to Kanan with a smug smile. "A-Actually, it wasn't so bad, Kanan! I, uh, I knew I had the beast from the beginning!" Ezra smiled and winked, while Kanan just shook his head and crossed his arms.

Rex descended the ladder next to Ezra, giving the young man a wide smile. "And you are a natural!"

"We held up our end of the deal, Captain," Kanan said, cutting off Rex's praise. "Now it's time to get us those coordinates so we can go."

"I'll get 'em. But you might consider staying for dinner," Rex gestured to the Joopa as everyone else stood by its head.

"It's gonna be delicious!" Gregor smiled.

"That thing tried to eat me. Only fair I get to see how it tastes," Zeb said, one last droplet of saliva dripping from his beard.

"Can't say no to that, right Kanan?" Ezra asked. Kanan just shook his head again. Quill looked up at the three of them, then immediately thought of Sam.

I hope you're doing alright, Sam. We'll find you soon enough.

"Hey, Quill!" Gregor called to him. He turned around. "You mind giving us some help? We're gonna cut some off for everybody before we load Big Bongo onto the walker's cargo hauler!"

"Sure, why not? Won't be the weirdest thing I've eaten."