The Lost Commanders
It has been a while since Phoenix Cell was ambushed by Darth Vader, which led to the destruction of Phoenix Home. And currently, they were on the move, making sure they won't get ambushed again.
During this time, Serah had a change in her appearance. Her hair now grew out a bit with a black and red dye, and she now wore full under armour, and her actual armour now having a black and white colour scheme.
Both Ender and Kanan entered the bridge of one of the corvettes, meeting up with the rest of the Ghost crew and Ahsoka, who were gathered around the holotable in the centre, talking with Sato via holographic communications.
"The destruction of our command ship has severely limited our ability to fight the Empire in this sector." Sato explained.
"Then, perhaps we don't fight at the moment, Commander." Ender spoke up, standing next to Serah. "Back when I was on my own on Lothal, whenever things got tough or overwhelming, I'd find a place to hide and recuperate."
"You are never shy with your opinions, Ender Brand, but establishing a base is a good idea." Sato replied, understanding what Ender suggested.
"Problem is, none of the potential bases we know of have the tactical advantage we need to protect what's left of our fleet." Hera pointed out as Kanan joined her side.
"Or aid the nearby systems suffering from Imperial oppression." Kanan added, reminding her of part of their goal.
"We can't help others if we can't help ourselves, Kanan." Hera argued. "If only we had more allies."
"I know someone who might be able to help us." Ahsoka spoke up, drawing everyone's attention. "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."
"How do we recruit this leader?" Sato asked as Ahsoka walked past Ender.
"That's the problem. I lost track of him a long time ago, and all my transmissions have gone unanswered." Ahsoka replied.
"Well, we can try and find him, if you want." Ender suggested.
"Well, there is one option I've not yet attempted." Ahsoka smirked.
The crew all entered the Ghost, with Hera getting the ship ready while Ender, Serah, Kanan, Rocket and Chopper joined her in the cockpit.
Ahsoka then entered with the head of a droid in her hands, drawing Kanan's attention, especially, as he recognised it.
"Is that the head of an old tactical droid?" He asked the Togruta as she handed it to Serah.
"These droids were great at finding things, calculating." She replied before scoffing. "Found my master and I a few times when we didn't want to be found."
"And how exactly does this help us find this friend of yours?" Ender questioned, not exactly understanding as Serah examined the head. Even Rocket and Chopper beeped their confusion.
"Well, I heard he was in the Seelos system. You can start there." Ahsoka replied, turning to leave the cockpit.
"Wait, you're not coming with us?" Ender asked in confusion as he stood.
"I have something else to attend to." She replied.
"The Sith Lord." Kanan said knowingly.
"There are questions, questions that need answering." Ahsoka said as she approached the door.
"I just wished you didn't have to do it alone." Ender said.
"You have your own mission, Ender." Ahsoka replied before turning to Kanan. "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 replied.
"Trust him." Ahsoka insisted before the door shut in front of her.
"Why was she taking that tone with you?" Ender asked his master, very perplexed.
"I have no idea." Kanan shrugged before he took the co-pilot seat.
Getting things underway, Hera detached from the corvette and flew off until she had the Ghost enter hyperspace.
But after they exited hyperspace and arrived over the desert planet of Seelos, complications arose.
Some of the consoles in the cockpit were smoking and sparking as alarms went off, both Rocket and Chopper beeping.
"We get all the way to Seelos, and now you tell me the hyperdrive wasn't completely fixed?" Hera snapped at Chopper.
Rocket then beeped at Hera before smacking himself against Chopper angrily.
"How would Chopper think that the hyperdrive is not the most important repair?" Hera growled angrily.
"What's going on?" Kanan asked as he climbed up the ladder to the cockpit.
"Rocket, Chopper and I are staying here. To clean up Chopper's mess." Hera replied. "Take the Phantom. Hopefully, we'll be ready to go by the time you get back."
Kanan shook his head slightly before climbing back down.
He and everyone else got into the Phantom and detached from the Ghost to fly down to the planet.
Upon entering the atmosphere, they found that the planet was covered with flat ground with mountains in the far distance.
Serah had also just finished plugging in the tactical droid's head, which had its eyes and mouth light up.
"Time to fire this thing up." She then said, placing it on the console in front of Kanan, who was piloting the Phantom.
It started warbling.
"I think this thing's scanning for a signal." She guessed.
"Out in the middle of a desert where you can get easily lost?" Ender questioned.
"Maybe that was the idea." Zeb considered. "What if this great commander we're looking for doesn't want to be found?"
"Well, if they fought in the Clone Wars, it's possible." Ender replied, since Kanan and Ahsoka told him stories of how brutal and devastating the war was.
The droid head then chimed, like it found something.
"7567. 7567. 7567." It said on repeat.
"It seems to be honing in on something." Serah said as Zeb joined up with everyone, who then noticed something up ahead.
"There. Up ahead." He said, pointing forward, where everyone saw what he did.
As they got closer, they saw that it was a heavily modified AT-TE walker, a vehicle that was used heavily in the Clone Wars.
"Whoa." Ender said in awe, as everyone saw that it had makeshift platforms, as well as railed walkways, balconies, decks and ladders.
"That's quite a work of art." Serah praised.
"Looks like an old Republic tank… used during the Clone Wars." Kanan noted with a grim tone, as he was starting to be suspicious of who was driving it.
They flew around it as it stopped before landing behind it.
Everyone then exited the Phantom and approached the walker.
"Ender, be on guard." Kanan cautioned his padawan, confusing Ender.
Wind chimes tinkled, breaking the natural silence of the desert as everyone looked up at a door, expecting whoever's inside to show themselves.
After a tense moment, the door finally opened, and out came three men, all of whom looked different yet alike.
The one in the middle wore a dirtied chestplate, arm guards and shoulder pads, as well as a military belt and a boot that reached up to his left knee. He was also bald with thick white facial hair.
The one on his left wore a tank top and had stubble, also being bald, wielding a DC-15A blaster rifle.
Then the one on the middle man's right, who also wielded the same rifle, wore more armour compared to the one in the middle, and had short military style white hair with sideburns that connected to a thick moustache and stubble on the chin. He also had a scar that went vertically down his right eye, which was pale.
"It's just a bunch of old geezers." Zeb scoffed, very unimpressed.
"Well armed ones, in fact." Serah said cautiously.
"What do you want?" The man in the middle demanded.
"We're looking for someone." Kanan replied.
"Well, that's too bad, 'cause there's nobody out here." The man told him.
"Does the number 7567 mean anything to you three?" Ender then asked.
"What did you just say?" The man asked, standing up straighter and the other two looking like they were about to fire their rifles.
"I just said 7567." Ender said, worried that he might've provoked them.
"I haven't heard those digits in…." The man muttered in remembrance. "Well, that's my birth number."
"Birth number?" Ender repeated, not knowing what he meant.
"They're clones." Kanan frowned angrily before he got in front of everyone, his lightsaber ignited.
"Kanan, what the hell are you doing?" Ender questioned his master's sanity.
"Jedi. They've come for revenge." The clone with the scar said frantically as he fired his rifle, the shots being deflected by Kanan with ease.
"Drop the blaster, old man." Zeb snarled as he and Serah aimed their blasters at the three clones.
"Don't try it, boyo! I'll gun you down." The one in the tank top snapped back, looking a little mad.
"Stand down, troopers. Now!" The one in the middle ordered, lowering the rifle, doing the same with the clone with the scar. "That's an order, soldier."
"But he's a Jedi. A Jedi!" The clone said as he tried aiming his rifle.
"I know, I know. But they weren't the ones that betrayed us. Remember? Wolffe, Remember?" The middle clone told him, which managed to calm Wolffe down, though he still eyed Kanan with weariness.
"Kanan, if Ahsoka said to trust them, then we should trust her judgement." Ender frowned at Kanan, who kept his lightsaber ignited.
"Sorry about the, um, weapons malfunction." The middle clone said before chuckling awkwardly. "My friend here is just a little defensive. See, we haven't seen a Jedi since, uh…." Kanan raised an eyebrow at him. "...well, it's been a while."
Ender lowered Serah's blasters and placed a hand on Kanan's arm, which made him deactivate his lightsaber, as he stepped forward.
"My name's Ender." He introduced himself. "The paranoid Jedi is Kanan." That earned him a glare from his master. "And those two are Zeb and Serah." The two put their blasters away. "And I'm willing to guess that you have a name that isn't 7567?"
"You are correct. My name is Rex. Captain, 501st Clone Battalion." The middle clone introduced himself, standing straight and proper. "Meet Commanders Gregor…" He pointed to the clone on his left. "...and Wolffe." He pointed to the clone on his right.
"We were sent to find you by Ahsoka Tano." Ender told him.
"Ahsoka Tano." Rex said, knowing her very well. "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."
With everything settled, the clones led the Ghost crew into the walker, leading them to a room full of consoles and monitors.
"Hey, you're a big one, aren't you?" Gregor said, eyeing up Zeb.
"Bigger than you." Zeb snarled right in his face.
As Ender entered, he noticed three helmets to his right. He leaned in to examine them, especially the one that had a wolf painted on it. And as he examined it, Wolffe noticed the symbol on the back of Ender's vest.
"Nice to meet a fellow wolf." He said, grabbing Ender's attention.
"Huh?" Ender muttered in confusion before realising what he meant. "Oh, that's a Loth-wolf. They're native to my homeworld. In fact…" He held his necklace. "...my mom once told me that this tooth belonged to a Loth-wolf that helped my ancestor survive on Lothal when he crash landed long ago."
"Hmm, quite the lineage." Wolffe noted as Serah and Kanan entered, the former taking her helmet off.
"How is Commander Tano?" Rex asked as he sat down.
"In need of help. In fact, all of us are." Ender replied. "We're trying to fight back against the Empire, but at the moment, we're outmatched, outnumbered and have recently taken a beating. Ahsoka believes that you can help us."
"Well, I'm not sure I'm much help to anyone these days." Rex replied back, groaning as he leaned back. "Didn't you hear? The Emperor said the clone army has outserved its purpose and retired us. Now we spend our days just telling stories and slinging for joopas."
"This was a wasted trip." Kanan groaned. "You heard the clone, he's not interested."
"But do you not like the Empire?" Ender questioned Rex as Kanan turned to leave.
"Well, the Empire certainly isn't the Republic, but you can't do anything about that." Rex replied.
"So you're refusing the fight, is that it?" Ender accused.
"Yes, son. My days as a soldier are over." Rex nodded back.
"Well, if you won't fight, then perhaps you can help us in a different way. We're trying to look for a base, and Ahsoka said you have knowledge of the Outer Rim." Ender brought up.
Rex glanced over at Gregor, who nodded before glancing over at Wolffe, who shook his head.
"Well, my memory isn't what it once was, but, um, there are a few spots I never bothered to report to the Empire." Rex revealed as he stood up and placed a hand on Ender's shoulder, leading him and the others to the door. "Look, why don't you just wait outside and I'll put together a list of coordinates."
Everyone left the room and joined up with Kanan outside by the railing.
After a short while, looking out on the horizon and feeling the breeze brush their hair and faces, Gregor joined up with them.
"You know, I was thinking, since we're providing you with a list of bases, um, there's something you can do to help us." He told everyone.
"No, thanks." Kanan grumbled.
"Uh, yeah, we can help." Ender said, starting to get very annoyed by how irritable and immature Kanan was acting. "What do you want us to do?"
"Out there, deep below, roam the joopa." Gregor said, pointing out at the vast desert. "Elusive big game." He then chuckled. "When we're lucky enough to sling one in, it'll feed us for the whole year."
"Alright. What do you need, exactly?" Serah asked the clone.
"Him." Gregor pointed at Zeb.
"Huh? What?" The Lasat questioned, expressing everyone else's confusion.
With a plan now in motion, the walker kept moving, now with the Phantom placed on top of the vehicle, where Kanan was working on and maintaining his lightsaber hilt.
Ender opened the back of the shuttle and glared at Kanan with folded arms.
"What the hell's up with you? What have these clones done to warrant you being hostile towards them?" He demanded an explanation as he walked up to Kanan.
"You don't understand. They're dangerous." Kanan replied. "They could -"
"Do what? Rex, especially, doesn't seem bad, at all. Ahsoka said to trust him, and since you're not, then you're not trusting her!" Ender cut him off heatedly.
"You weren't there. You were too young to even remember." Kanan snapped back at him.
"What are you even talking about?" Ender questioned with narrowed eyes.
"I don't feel like discussing it." Kanan shut him down, making Ender scoff.
"I can't believe it. You told me to not hang onto the past, and yet, you're doing just that. How hypocritical of you." He spat before he turned to walk away, which made Kanan sigh, realising his padawan was right.
"It was at the end, the end of the war." He said, making Ender stop and looking over his shoulder at him, hearing clear pain in his voice. "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, and then came for me. Later, they said they had chips in their heads that made them do it. Said they had no choice."
"I didn't betray my Jedi." Rex said, revealing his presence to the pair. "Wolffe, Gregor and I all removed our control chips." He pointed at a scar on the side of his head. "We all have a choice." He then left them.
"You may not trust Rex, but I do. Though, I don't know if that's good enough for you." Ender told Kanan before he exited the Phantom, Kanan glancing back at him. He then closed his eyes as he sighed, unaware that something shot down from space and crash landed in the distance.
Ender climbed down a ladder and joined up with Serah on a railed walkway at the front of the walker, where they could see Zeb ahead of them, attached to an electric reel, which connected to the main cannon.
"If we're lucky, we'll catch Big Bongo today!" Gregor called out to Zeb at the balcony at the very front.
"Let's get this over with. I'm getting hungry." Zeb bemoaned.
"Keep on going forward. Just a little more." Gregor told him, getting visibly excited. "We're coming up on a hot spot!"
"Your hot spot looks like everywhere else on this desolate rock." Zeb turned to him, exasperated.
But then an explosion went off far ahead of them.
"Is that your Big Bongo?" Serah asked Gregor.
"Alright. Full stop." Rex told Wolffe from the cannon, the scarred clone making the walker come to a halt from the pilot's seat, making Kanan step out of the Phantom and join up with everyone.
"Alright, just a little bit more." Gregor told Zeb, chuckling as the Lasat took some steps forward. "Little more."
"Oh, really?" Zeb grumbled as he continued walking.
"You know, we really appreciate this." Gregor said, turning to Ender. "I mean, we, we should do well today, with your friend here."
"Well, Zeb has quite a punch." Ender replied.
"Oh, oh." Gregor muttered before he laughed maniacally, his eyes crossing. "I'm sure, I'm sure, but, really, I mean, joopa supposedly love Lasats."
"Love them? What does that mean?" Serah asked, fearing what the answer would be.
"Well, they say they love the smell or I guess they love the taste as well." Gregor explained as Ender looked at the reel that Zeb was connected to. "And maybe it's about the texture, you know…."
"Hold on! Zeb isn't the hunter, he's the bait! Are you nuts?" Ender snapped at Gregor.
"Oh, hunter, bait, it's all the same." The clone shrugged off with a chuckle.
"No, it's not!" Kanan snapped.
The ground then rumbled and shook as some explosions went off, showing that the joopa was approaching.
"Zeb, you better get back here right now!" Kanan called out.
"Zeb, move!" Serah cried out as explosions formed, each one getting closer to him.
"Zeb, you're just bait! Get out of there!" Ender cried. "It's gonna eat you!"
"Oh, karabast." Zeb gulped, as he stood his ground.
"Zeb, run!" Kanan urged. "What are you doing?"
"Just run!" Serah cried.
The ground underneath Zeb caved in and a tentacle wrapped around him.
"ZEB!" Ender roared in horror just before the Lasat screamed as he was pulled underground.
The electric reel was then pulled as the joopa tried getting away
"Whoo-hoo! This could be him!" Gregor cheered. "Our Big Bongo!"
Wolffe moved the walker forward to keep up with the joopa.
"Hey, I bet you know a thing or two about mechanics." Rex said to Serah from the cannon he mounted.
"A well placed bet." Serah replied as she joined up with him.
"Keep an eye on this regulator." Rex instructed, pointing at a couple of wires that were connected to a small piece of machinery. "The line can overheat and shut down. No line, no joopa, no Zeb."
"Alright." Serah nodded before reaching the piece of machinery.
"And us?" Ender asked about himself and Kanan.
"You got the best job of all!" Gregor replied, joining their side with a couple of poles. "When the line swings around, you'll charge it with the electro-poles." He handed one of them to Ender. "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."
Ender nodded as he activated the pole, surging with electrical energy.
"Here's one for you, General." Gregor then said as he held the other pole to Kanan.
"Don't call me that." Kanan snapped. "I was never a general."
"Uh, my mistake. Sorry, Commander." Gregor said, still holding out the pole to him.
"No, it's not -" Kanan groaned as he took the pole and joined Ender at the balcony while the joopa went to the left of the walker, making the cannon turn left, as well before it continued straight on.
"Hit it! Now!" Rex told the Jedi pair, who hit the reel with their poles, sending a bolt of energy at the joopa, which reacted by speeding up and making the reel longer.
"That's it! That's it! Ooh! He didn't like that!" Gregor whooped. "Hit him again!"
Ender and Kanan hit the reel again, making the joopa increase in speed, causing the reel to move higher above the pair.
"He's a runnin'!" Rex noted before the joopa made a left turn. "Hit that line! Bring him up!"
Ender jumped onto the railing and Kanan held him to keep him from falling as he tried reaching the reel with his pole, but he kept barely missing, partly from the walker's movement.
The charge of the reel then started warbling, making Serah climb up onto the modified cannon, noticing the cause of the warbling.
"We're losing the regulator!" She informed Rex.
"Full stop, Wolffe! Dig in!" Rex ordered. "This is where we finish the battle!"
Wolffe pulled one of the controls, making the walker stop, though with the joopa still trying to escape, it made the walker drag on the desert floor, stumbling and shaking slightly, enough so that Ender would've fallen off if Kanan hadn't grabbed him by the belt.
Eventually, the joopa couldn't move any further.
Ender tried reaching for the reel, but now he isn't close enough to it with his pole.
"Kanan, you need to lift me up!" He told his master.
Kanan crouched, allowing Ender to step onto his shoulders, then he stood up, giving his padawan more reach.
"Serah!" Ender then called out, hoping she could sort out the cannon quickly.
"I know, I'm working on it!" She replied frantically, using her wrench on the cannon.
Wolffe pulled the controls back with as much force as possible, fighting against the joopa, causing the walker to cave in the ground, slightly and for jets of steam to unleash from its underside as the front leaned towards the ground.
"Got it!" Serah told Ender, having just fixed the cannon, the reel now working properly.
Kanan stumbled slightly, making him look down at his feet to make sure he wouldn't trip, where he noticed the pole he used, giving him an idea.
"Ender?" He said, drawing Ender's attention before kicking the pole up, which was then caught by Ender.
With the reel now right in front of him, he struck it with both poles.
This sent a surge so powerful that the joopa made the ground above it rise before it moved towards the walker and burst out of the ground.
While Gregor was in eager awe, Ender and Kanan were in shock, as the joopa was a large worm-like creature with a crown of many red eyes and a jaw that opened up in seven parts, which then roared at them.
"Go!" Kanan barked, snapping out of his shock, launching Ender off his shoulders, who back flipped and landed behind him.
"It is Big Bongo!" Gregor shook with delight.
Rex aimed the cannon right at the joopa's face as it roared at him before he fired a shot right into its mouth, causing it to roar one last time before it reared its head back, snapping the reel apart and then fall to the walker's right, now limp and lifeless.
The Jedi pair made their way down the railing to look down at the large creature, seeing black smoke gush out of its mouth, Serah standing above them, all three worried for Zeb.
Much to their relief, they heard muffled coughing from inside the joopa and Zeb opened its mouth as he crawled out, covered in saliva.
"What a smell." He groaned in disgust.
"Oh, thank goodness!" Ender cheered.
"Quite the catch, old-timers." Serah smirked at Rex, who saluted back in response.
"Yeah! Way to go!" Gregor laughed as he climbed down the ladder at the rear of the walker before running up to the joopa, holding a hand out to help pull Zeb out. "Now that, that was impressive." He grabbed him and pulled him out, wrapping one of Zeb's arms around his shoulders.
"Impressive? You almost got my friend eaten!" Kanan scolded the clone.
"Yeah." Zeb snarled, pushing Gregor away as he stood up properly. "Ugh. I was inside that thing's mouth!"
"Oh. Head to toe. But look at you." Gregor replied, unfazed from Zeb's anger, turning him to face the joopa. "You brought in our biggest catch ever."
"I… I did?" Zeb said in disbelief, given how huge it was. He even started changing his mind about the whole ordeal, turning to look up at Kanan. "Actually, it wasn't so bad, Kanan. I… I knew I had the beast from the beginning."
Ender gave the Lasat a look that said 'as if' while Kanan rolled his eyes and folded his arms in frustration.
"And you are a natural." Rex told Ender as he joined his side.
"Thanks." Ender said, appreciating the compliment from a Clone Wars veteran.
"We held up our end of the deal, Captain." Kanan turned to Rex. "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 replied, looking down at the joopa, where Serah and Wolffe joined Zeb and Gregor, the latter cheering with delight.
"It's gonna be delicious." He said excitedly.
"That thing tried to eat me." Zeb told Kanan. "Only fair I get to see how it tastes." A drop of saliva dropped from his facial hair.
"Well, even I have to admit I'm curious about how it tastes." Ender confessed.
However, all of them were completely unaware that something was watching them before its attention was focused on the Phantom.
That something being an Imperial probe droid.
Later in the day, as the sun was setting, they loaded the joopa onto the walker.
The only one that wasn't out and about was Kanan, who was in the Phantom, talking with Hera via hologram, who was still working on repairs onboard the Ghost.
"Clones, huh?" Hera said after Kanan explained everything that happened. "Ahsoka's always full of surprises."
"Well, don't get your hopes up." Kanan replied. "The great leader's not coming back with us."
"And you don't want him to." Hera called him out knowingly, making Kanan close his eyes as if he were ashamed. "I understand your fears, but I also remember when the Jedi and clones fought side by side. They saved billions of lives, including my own."
"I know." Kanan sighed as he leaned back on the pilot's seat, stroking his forehead for a moment.
"Then maybe that's a start." Hera suggested. "I gotta get back to these repairs if we're ever gonna get out of this system. Signal when you're en route."
Hera cut off the call and Kanan then exited the Phantom to join up with the others, unaware that the probe droid appeared behind him and entered the shuttle, doing some dirty work.
At the rear of the walker, Ender and Serah leaned on the railing, looking out at the vast desert surrounding them before Rex joined up with them as he exited from inside the walker.
"I've assembled a list of potential bases and clearance codes and a few protocols the Imperials still use. Should be of some use." He informed the pair.
"Thanks." Ender replied.
"They're in our main computer." Rex then said, pointing to the door to the communications room. "You're gonna need -"
"Data tapes." Serah finished for him. "I'll handle it."
She then entered the walker, leaving Ender with Rex.
"You were brave today, young man." The clone praised Ender as he joined his side at the railing. "You jumped right in there to help. A great Jedi once told me that the best leaders lead by example." As he talked to Ender, Kanan climbed down a ladder nearby, "You do that well."
"Thanks. I've also learned from Kanan." Ender replied, glancing over at Kanan, who faced away from the pair.
"Mmm. You know, I don't think he likes me." Rex replied grimly, though with understanding. "Or ever will." He chuckled. "Can't say I blame him. The war left its scars on all of us."
"Are you sure you won't join us?" Ender questioned as he and Rex looked out at the desert.
"You know, I've outserved my purpose for that kind of fighting, I'm afraid. After the war, I questioned the point of the whole thing." Rex replied sadly. "All those men died, and for what?"
"What they thought was right, I guess." Ender replied grimly, as that was always the case in any war, that both sides believe in what they're fighting for, and that their cause was right.
Kanan overheard and sighed, starting to feel conflicted.
With Serah, she reached the communications room and pressed some buttons to start the transfer. However, she noticed a datapad that had the Imperial insignia on it. And upon reading what was on the datapad, she was fuming.
Just as Wolffe joined up with Ender and Kanan, Serah showed up with the datapad.
"It would seem that at least one of you clones sold us out to the Empire!" She snapped, glaring at Rex and Wolffe.
"What?!" Ender gasped in shock.
"You're mistaken." Rex opposed what Serah revealed. "We would never do that."
"Yeah? Then how do you explain this binary transmission to the Empire?" Serah retorted, showing him the datapad. "And there's messages from Ahsoka on here, which you haven't answered!"
"What? I never got any messages from Commander Tano." Rex said in utter shock, taking the datapad from her, seeing that she was actually right.
Ender managed to catch Wolffe's expression, seeing how grim and conflicted he was, doing a poor job of hiding it, before he turned his back to everyone.
"I knew it! I told you, they can't be trusted!" Kanan insisted to Ender, joining his side.
"Just shut up, Kanan!" Ender snapped at him before turning his attention back to Wolffe. "Why don't you come clean to all of us, you mutt!"
"Wolffe, what did you do?" Rex demanded an explanation, turning to his fellow clone.
"I… I contacted the Empire. If they found out that we were helping Jedi, they'd wipe us out." Wolffe explained himself.
"Serah, go warn Hera. Tell her to scan for incoming ships." Kanan ordered, making Serah head for the Phantom.
"I wanted to protect you guys, protect our squad." Wolffe continued, now facing Rex.
"The war is over. We are free men." Rex reminded him, placing his hands on Wolffe's shoulders. "We can't live under the fear of the Empire for the rest of our lives, Wolffe. That's not freedom."
"You're right." Wolffe admitted in shame as Ender and Kanan gave him scolding glares. "They're not our enemy. I'm sorry."
Serah reached the Phantom, stopping as she saw the probe droid, which was now trashing the control panel.
"HEY!" She yelled, getting its attention to make it stop.
It turned to her, instantly firing shots, which she dodged.
"KANAN! PROBE DROID!" She then yelled out at the top of her lungs, getting everyone's attention.
Kanan jumped up onto the landing platform, landing behind Serah, who faced the droid. Kanan turned his body to avoid a shot from it before it flew around the Phantom. Kanan went after it, dodging another shot, though it hit the back of the Phantom, causing an explosion that knocked Kanan onto his chest.
The probe droid, meanwhile, lowered to the desert ground, facing Zeb and Gregor, who noticed its presence.
"Oh, my. Look out!" Gregor gasped.
"Probes! I hate probes!" Zeb groaned before the two dived out of the way of the probe's blaster fire.
It then flew off to get away from the walker while Kanan landed on the ground with his blaster out, firing some shots to try and destroy it before it could make contact with any Imperials, but he kept missing.
Rex and Wolffe watched as the droid flew off.
"Hey, Rex." Ender called out, grabbing his and Wolfe's attention to see him with a blaster rifle. "Time to make it right."
He threw the rifle at Rex, who caught it and aimed it at the probe droid, lining up his shot until he pulled the trigger and took down the droid with one shot as it exploded.
"Nicely done." Ender smirked.
"I agree." Serah smirked as well.
"Whoo-hoo-hoo. Rex got him." Gregor chuckled.
"Heh-heh. Probe deserved it." Zeb grinned.
Kanan turned and looked up at Rex, the two sharing a look at each other before Kanan holstered his blaster and turned to walk to the probe droid.
After the sun had set over the horizon, Ender, Kanan, Zeb, Serah and Rex gathered around the probe droid, which had black smoke spewing out of it.
"How long has it been watching us?" Ender asked Kanan.
"Long enough." Kanan replied before turning to Serah. "How's the Phantom?"
"The engine took a direct hit. So, until I fix it, we won't be leaving this planet." Serah explained.
"Wait. You mean we're stranded?" Zeb questioned, not liking the sound of that.
"Yep. And the Empire's on its way." Rex pointed out, dampening everyone's mood even more.
They now have no choice but to prepare for whenever the Empire does show up, making them all look up at the night sky with that grim thought in mind.
I had to have Ender call Kanan out for how he's basically clinging to the past, considering that Kanan called Ender out during the two parter with Tseebo.
