Episode 4.14—"Pakiaka"

Emerie pilots Crosshair's ship through space. She nudges a dozing Crosshair and says they've reached their location. An ocean planet dappled with lush islands comes into view. Irritated, Crosshair says he thought they were going to Kamino. Emerie replies that Nala Se told him to go home. And Kamino isn't their home.

As they approach the largest island, Emerie points out that Jango Fett wasn't native to Kamino or Mandalore. This planet, Pakiaka, is his home world. That makes them Pakiakan, too. Crosshair snaps that his heritage is irrelevant. He was born on Kamino, so he's Kaminoan. Emerie quips that he has a very short neck.

They land at the edge of a small rainforest and conceal their ship in the foliage. They approach the village, which is surrounded by rolling mountains, rich farmland, and the ocean. Most of the islanders have gathered on the mountainside, although quite a few linger in the village. Turning to survey the alarmingly large waves that crash on the beach, Crosshair asks why the people don't look concerned.

Emerie's eyes shine with nostalgia. She says it must be time for the Twin Moon Festival. Once a year, Pakiaka's two moons align, forming large but gently crashing waves that cover most of the islands. The freshwater sea contains nutrients that replenish the farmland. On Festival day, the citizens leave their watertight buildings and celebrate from the safety of the mountains.

Crosshair says he thought Emerie grew up on Coruscant with her uncle. She says she did, after her grandmother died. But she spent the first nine years of her life here with her. She softly adds that she hasn't come back since.

The two decide to search the island for any signs of the Advanced Science Division. They look conspicuous in their off-world clothes, so they head to the only shop that is still open to buy Pakiakan cloaks. As they walk, Emerie teaches Crosshair the planet's traditional greeting. It translates to, "I welcome you into my dwelling."

They reach the shop, where a storekeeper and his grandchildren greet them. Emerie doesn't respond. She stares at the art that lines the walls, as if overwhelmed by memories. Crosshair awkwardly returns their greeting and tries to purchase the clothing. Delighted to have off-world guests, the storekeeper gives them the cloaks for free. Crosshair asks if the islanders get many other visitors. Frowning, the elderly man replies that Imperials come and go here.

Outside, Crosshair and Emerie search the bustling mountainsides for any sign of Imperials. Crosshair tries to avoid the friendly villagers, but a little boy runs right up to him. The child places a kite in Crosshair's hands and speaks to him in Pakiakan. Smiling, Emerie says he has to hold the kite while the boy lets out the line. Crosshair reluctantly grips the toy as the child takes off running. When he's far enough away, Crosshair releases his hold. The boy whoops as the kite soars into the sky. Crosshair watches reflectively as the child's brothers join him in play.

Emerie elbows Crosshair. She motions to an aloof man who is heading to the rainforest. Crosshair mutters that he has the gait of a soldier. They tail him and corner him by their ship. Crosshair aims his blaster at the man, who insists he's just another Pakiakan. He attempts to speak the traditional greeting as proof. Emerie remarks that he just said, "I welcome you into my nose." Her comment actually makes Crosshair laugh.

Crosshair's humor vanishes when the man attempts to break free. Pinning the man to the side of the ship, he orders him to reveal where the Division is hiding. The man hisses that the Division will destroy Crosshair. As he speaks, he surreptitiously sends a transmission via his comlink. Crosshair sees the movement and blasts the man, but he's too late. The transmission has gone through.

Emerie analyzes the deceased man's comlink. She traces its signal back to one of the mountains, which they can see through the spaces between the trees. Inside their ship, they scan this peak with their vessel's radar system. The steep slopes have discouraged any citizens from gathering there, but Emerie detects a hollow interior protected by a strong electrical barrier.

She wonders why the Imperials have hidden a lab in a civilian area. Crosshair suspects they're storing archived information there. Since they wouldn't need to access the archives frequently, hiding them in plain sight would be ideal. He adds that he asked Nala Se for a list of Division labs before she told him to go home. This mountain could hold what he seeks.

Emerie doubts she can shut down the electrical barrier remotely, but Crosshair has an idea. He fills a sack with explosives and suggests they bomb an opening near the mountain's base. The waves will flood in and shut down the barrier. They can enter when the water recedes.

Blaster shots suddenly ring out. They follow the sound to the village, where the last of the Pakiakans are preparing for their sojourn. Imperials emerge from the throng and announce that there is a clone in their midst. They display a hologram of Crosshair and claim that he exemplifies the clones' murderous programming. Anyone who hinders his capture will be shot.

The Imperials force the remaining villagers to take refuge on the Division's mountain. Crosshair and Emerie have no choice but to follow the crowd. As they walk, they overhear murmurs about other clones who attempted to return to their homeland. The villagers judge that the sooner the Imperials take the clone to the square, the better.

Eventually, Crosshair and Emerie slip away from the others. They find themselves in the village square. A gallows looms nearby, its base bolted securely to the ground. Piled about the base is an assortment of clone armor. As Crosshair kneels beside the remnants of his fallen brothers, Emerie whispers that they can't blame their people. They've been conditioned to fear the clones, just like the rest of the galaxy. Crosshair brushes past her and continues his roundabout journey to the rainforest.

At the edge of the village, they find a group of stragglers. The kindly shopkeeper is among them. He meets eyes with Crosshair. Crosshair gives the man an imploring look. Drawing his grandchildren close, the elderly man alerts the nearby Imperials. As the soldiers close in, Crosshair's own people, being just as susceptible to fear as everyone else, react as all people do and call for his demise.

Crosshair evades the Imperials, but Emerie struggles against their onslaught. She cries out as the they grab her. Crosshair guns them down. He proceeds to attack any citizens who draw near. He doesn't kill them, but he shows none of the restraint he had with Syne.

For the first time, Emerie witnesses Crosshair's full vehemence. She yells at him to stop, but he continues to release the pain inside. As the last man falls, a horrified Emerie takes a step back. Her hand instinctively goes to the scars on her neck.

Evening has fallen. Animals scurry up trees and settle in the mountains as the waves draw near. Crosshair and Emerie look up to see an Imperial ship alighting on the Division's mountain. Emerie shakily says they need to go. Instead, Crosshair shoulders his bag of explosives. Emerie exclaims that dozens of Imperials are waiting up there to kill him. He says he doesn't care.

Grabbing his arm, Emerie shouts that civilians are heading to that mountain, too. Crosshair jerks his arm away. He says he's going to access the records, no matter who stands in his way. Emerie takes another step back. Her appalled stare, so similar to the citizens', brings a new kind of pain to his eyes.

Crosshair notices that Emerie is bruised from the Imperials' attack. Regret momentarily registers in his features. In a cold but quiet tone, he asks why she's doing this. No matter how much she helps the clones, they will never see her as family. She's just a traitor who experimented on them. She's deluding herself if she thinks she'll ever mean anything to them.

Emerie's expression hardens. She says it's fitting that he will share a grave with Imperials. She heads to the ship without looking back.

The ocean seeps into the village as night falls. Crosshair sneaks up to the mountain under the cover of the shadows. The rugged slopes hinder the Imperials trying to force the islanders up the mountain. Crosshair, however, has no problem with the terrain. He starts climbing the side farthest from the civilians. He sets a cluster of explosives before resuming his ascent.

When he's a safe distance away, Crosshair detonates the bombs. The explosion creates an opening near the mountain's base, revealing the expansive rooms carved from its interior. The Imperials inside these rooms rush to deactivate the barrier before the seawater flows in and electrocutes them. The moment the barrier shuts off, Crosshair climbs through the opening.

Outside the mountain, the other Imperials abandon the citizens to investigate the bombing. As water rises around the civilian's legs, Emerie arrives in her ship. She beckons them into her vessel and transports them to a neighboring peak. Once the Pakiakans exit her ship, Emerie turns to survey the Division's mountain. Now that the barrier is down, Imperials are pouring in through the secret entrances.

Imperials converge on Crosshair inside the mountain. He takes them out as easily as he destroyed his foes in Nala Se's prison. The crystal deposits within the mountain's walls prove particularly advantageous. He uses them as reflection mirrors to eliminate multiple enemies at once. As water streams into the opening, he nimbly ascends to the lab's uppermost level. Crosshair looks up at the ceiling, which is supported by stone pillars. Cid's mercenaries drop down from the pillars. Unimpressed, Crosshair opens fire.

Flames burst from Crosshair's weapon, scorching his hand. He staggers back as the mercenaries shut their eyes. Searing lights flash through the room and temporarily blind him. Crosshair relies on sound to fire at his attackers. Despite his overheating weapon, he manages to hit all but two of the mercenaries. Just as his sight returns, a needle pierces his neck.

Crosshair sinks to his knees. He removes the needle before most of its drug enters his veins, but he is still severely weakened. The two surviving mercenaries attach rebreathers to their faces and clench his shoulders. Rampart approaches, also wearing a rebreather. He notes that he has one down and five to go.

Outside, water rushes over the village's firmly secured dwellings.

We return to Crosshair. He eyes the room's computers, but Rampart says he's too late. The moment the Imperials received a distress call from a comlink, they transmitted all the data off-world and deleted the master files. Observing Rampart's civilian clothes, Crosshair asks how many Imperials he had to kill to get in here. His voice gives out as he starts coughing.

Rampart asks how he likes the room's air quality. His men filled the room with a mixture of oxygen and volatile Dorin gas, transforming Crosshair's blaster from an asset to a liability. Leaning in, Rampart says he studied how Crosshair fought on Roto II; he knows all his weaknesses.

Crosshair says Rampart doesn't know everything about him. While the ex-Imperial has been talking, Crosshair has been regaining his strength. He breaks free from the mercenaries, lunges forward, and presses a knife to Rampart's throat. He orders him to reveal all the Division's locations.

Unfortunately, Crosshair is still slightly unsteady. Rampart twists out of his grasp and draws his own blaster. He bashes the gun against Crosshair's temple, knocking him to the ground. As Crosshair struggles to regain his feet, Rampart reveals that he knows the site of every Division lab. But Crosshair will never get the chance to find them. Rampart switches his weapon to stun and prepares to fire.

A blaster shot tears through Rampart's leg as someone cries out. Crosshair looks up to see Emerie. She has infiltrated the room through one of the secret entrances and fired the shot. The Dorin gas compromised her blast and burned her hand, but she continues to fire. She takes out the remaining two mercenaries and yells at Crosshair to get up.

We cut to an aerial of the mountain. Night has fallen and water has completely covered the village. One final swell of waves builds in the sea.

Inside the mountain, Rampart's rebreather bursts as he returns fire. Crosshair and Emerie stand on opposite sides of the room and aim their weapons at Rampart, cornering him. Rampart glances down at his blaster, which is rapidly overheating. He starts to talk about the terms of surrender…but when he's halfway through his sentence, he suddenly fires at the rock pillar closest to Emerie. The superheated blast severs the pillar from its foundations, causing it to topple. Emerie is still fleeing from its path when it collapses on her.

Outside, the waves reach their crescendo. The final breakers rush against the mountain, striking the base with foam.

Rampart escapes while Crosshair runs to Emerie. Using all his strength, he raises the pillar just enough to pull her out from under it. All the color has drained from her face, and she takes agonized, wheezing breaths. She gazes at the room, which is littered with debris and the bodies of the mercenaries. Tears fill her eyes. She whispers that she doesn't want to die in here.

Anguish floods Crosshair's features and threatens to break him down, but he swallows it back. He picks Emerie up as gently as he can and carries her out of the room. He climbs out of the hatch she came through and locates their ship, which Emerie landed near the top of the mountain.

Crosshair pilots the ship to the other side of the planet and lands on a small, uninhabited island. The sun has not yet set here and the waves are gentler. He carries Emerie out to the beach and sits in the sand, allowing her to rest in his arms.

As a pink sunset saturates the sky, Emerie gathers up a handful of sand and watches the rolling waves. She softly recalls a Pakiakan tradition. On a child's twelfth birthday, their father takes them out to sea and helps them catch their first Ikanui fish. Afterward, they celebrate with a feast. When she was little, she used to hope Jango would return for her to take part in this ceremony. She faintly asks if Jango will be happy to see her. Crosshair says it doesn't matter. Others will be. Emerie manages a small nod.

The grains of sand sift through Emerie's fingers as her body goes still. Crosshair remains where he is, holding her. When the sun sets, he carries her body into the ocean. She drifts far out to sea before the waves cover her, leaving Crosshair alone.

Crosshair returns to his vessel as night falls. He stares vacantly at Emerie's jacket, which she left in her chair. His emotions build until he cries out. He takes his grief out on the ship, striking the walls and breaking open compartments until his strength runs out.

As the moons rise, Crosshair's world slowly shifts back into focus. His gaze falls to the vessel's console. He has torn off its cover, revealing its nest of wires. Among those wires is a small, blinking device. Crosshair removes the device, which we now see is Rampart's tracker. His expression darkens as he studies it. He picks up his blaster and starts up the ship. Hatred radiates from Crosshair's features as he pilots his ship into the sky.

END OF EPISODE FOURTEEN

Author's Note: We're nearing the end! I plan to release the last two episodes soon. In the meantime, I encourage you to go back to the ending of S4, E8 (Survivors). I made some changes to the scene where Hunter experienced a sensory overload in the woods. The differences aren't major, but they will help set up his arc for the last two episodes.