EXT. ORRON III – DUQUESNE HOMESTEAD – COURTYARD – DAY
Finishing up their work for the day, Nemec and Corin return inside.
Not two minutes later, a speeder bike pulls up to the homestead. Cutting power to the engines, Llomon hops off and approaches the front door.
INT. DUQUESNE HOMESTEAD/ENTRANCE HALL – DAY
As the two DuQuesnes argue over who will get to take a shower first – Corin having shot down Nemec’s suggestion they take a shower together – a KNOCK is heard at the door.
NEMEC: Who could this be?
Going to the door, Nemec opens it a crack. Llomon stands there, his bionic blaster cannon hidden out of sight.
NEMEC: Anything I can help you with, mister?
LLOMON: Anakin Skywalker.
NEMEC: I’m afraid he’s not here.
LLOMON: Where is he?
NEMEC: I can’t answer that.
The Trandoshan darts his tongue out, getting a taste of the air.
NEMEC: Do you have a message for him? I’ll get it to him if I can.
LLOMON: That won’t be necessary.
As the Trandoshan turns to leave, Nemec closes and locks the door. Turning around to Corin, her gives her a quizzical look.
CORIN: What was that about?
Nemec shrugs. It’s the last thing he ever does. An orange plasma ball plows through the door, blasting it to splinters, and right through Nemec. His body hurtled forward, Corin is driven to the floor with the bulk atop her. As Llomon steps through the doorway, the muzzle of his blaster cannon steaming, she SCREAMS. Pulling herself out from under Nemec’s corpse, Corin turns to bolt. Llomon discharges another plasma blast, taking her right leg off below the knee.
CORIN: YYYEEEAAAAGGGGHHHH!!!
Moving in on the crippled woman as she tries to crawl away, the Trandoshan plants his foot on her back, holding her in place. Taking aim, he fires a third shot at point-blank range, ending her struggles.
LLOMON: (cont’d) I don’t mind the wait.
EXT. SPACE – TOWNOWI – MONTAGE
The Athan fleet surrounds Townowi, a veritable shell surrounding the crystalline world. Upon Atha Prime’s command, they will finally leave the Townowi system for Geonosis. Upon conquering that world, they will then rendezvous with their forces in the Dark World enclave. Their war machine refueled, they will continue their fight with the Empire until the Empire finally exhausts its resources and the Athan Supremacy stands triumphant.
But that will never happen. Dropping out of hyperspace from all directions – consisting of several thousand Star Destroyers, Star Defenders, Dreadnought-class heavy cruisers, and countless other battleships, cruisers, and escorts – is nearly the entire Imperial Navy. Converging upon the clone ships, they unleash enough firepower to slag a world. The Athans return fire, but they are sorely outnumbered.
The entire battle lasts an hour. Once the guns of the Imperial ships finally fall silence, all that remains of the Athan fleet is a debris field orbiting Townowi.
INT. GEONOSIS – SANDCRAWLER/CONTROL ROOM – DAY
A pair of Raiders drag Darth in, taking him to Shiiid. The Zabrak sits in his customary seat, none to happy.
ELIK SHIIID: I gave you a chance, Darth – an opportunity to become one of us, to put our food in your belly. But you do this to us! Fires! Fires everywhere! The sandcrawler will never run! Never ever never!
Darth sneaks a glance at Chlorian. He is still in the rack. Both his arms are gone now, along with an ear and a leg. If he was dangerously emaciated before, now he looks absolutely skeletal; were it not for the signs of his breathing, no one could be blamed for thinking him dead.
ELIK SHIIID: You look at your father? Your father is the side dish! You will be the main course! (to a Raider) Fire up the grill!
EXT. GEONOSIS – CONDAWN – DAY
A formation of fifteen Imperial attack shuttles pass over the cityscape of Condawn, the shuttle Seraphim at its head. The city, its streets filled with trash, debris, and bones, is empty of anything else.
INT. SERAPHIM/COCKPIT – DAY
CO-PILOT: No life readings. Continue on.
The shuttle departs, leaving Condawn alone, a monument to its own passing.
EXT. RAIDER CAMP – DAY
The shuttle passes over the Raider camp.
INT. SERAPHIM/COCKPIT – DAY
CO-PILOT: I’m registering serious life-signs here!
EXT. RAIDER CAMP – DAY
With the arrival of the shuttles, many of the Raiders scurry out from under their tents and take off into the open desert.
INT. SERAPHIM/MAIN CABIN – DAY
Obi-Wan is seated with a squad of Imperial troopers. His face, back to its old self, is unreadable.
As the Seraphim touches down, the Jedi and the troopers under his command stand up. The hatch opening, they file out into the desert.
EXT. RAIDER CAMP – DAY
Leaving their shuttles, the troopers spread out, moving deep into the camp. While most of the Raiders continue to run away, some of them choose to stay and fight the Imperials, costing most of them their lives in the process.
IMPERIAL TROOPER #1: Why are they attacking us? Can’t they tell we’re the good guys?
OBI-WAN: I’m afraid they’re too far gone to tell much of anything.
EXT. RAIDER CAMP – SANDCRAWLER – DAY
As the Jedi and his men close in on the sandcrawler, several Raiders guarding the entrance open fire with their blasters. Whipping out his lightsaber, he engages the cyan blade and parries the orange blaster bolts. Raising their blasters, the troopers mow down the crazed Raiders down before they can cause real harm.
The Imperials proceed to enter the derelict land vehicle.
INT. SANDCRAWLER/PRISON AREA – DAY
Obi-Wan and his men enter the compartment housing the few remaining Condawni captives. The sight and smell of the starved creatures within assault them with equal force.
OBI-WAN: (grimaces) Get them checked out then loaded aboard the shuttles.
IMPERIAL TROOPER #2: Yes sir!
The Jedi leaves.
INT. SANDCRAWLER/CONTROL ROOM – DAY
The grill of the barbecue is hot and ready. Darth, strapped into the rack with his dying father, is just about to be lowered onto the red hot coals with Obi-Wan and four troopers burst inside.
ELIK SHIIID: (surprised) WHA!
The troopers gun the Raiders down. Dancing about like a spastic marionette as the green bolts bore through him, Shiiid dies most satisfyingly.
Walking up the rack, Obi-Wan cuts Darth free of his restraints.
OBI-WAN: Are you alright, son?
DARTH: (shocked) Y-yeah.
As Darth steps down from the rack, Obi-Wan leans in close over Chlorian. He rests a hand on the older man’s prominent ribs.
DARTH: (worried) How is he?
OBI-WAN: (shakes his head) It won’t be long now.
Darth steps back up to Chlorian.
DARTH: Chlorian.
Chlorian stirs, sunken eyes cracking open ever so slightly.
CHLORIAN VADER: Daaaahhhhhh …
DARTH: Yes, it’s me. (beat) I need to know – am I your son?
CHLORIAN: (brittle) You … are … my … son.
DARTH: (cries) Darth Vader does sound better than Darth Warka, doesn’t it?
For the first time, for the last time, through a veil of tears, the Vaders share a smile.
EXT. SPACE – GEONOSIS
Leaving the benighted desert of Geonosis, through the debris field, the attack shuttles head out past the cold, dead battlemoon into open space.
INT. SERAPHIM/MAIN CABIN
Darth sits in the shuttle with Obi-Wan and the troopers.
DARTH: (eyes Obi-Wan’s lightsaber) You’re a Jedi Knight, aren’t you?
OBI-WAN: (half-smiles) What makes you think that?
DARTH: Your lasersword. Only Jedis carry that kind of weapon.
OBI-WAN: Perhaps I killed a Jedi and took it from him.
DARTH: I don’t think so. No one can kill a Jedi.
OBI-WAN: (pensive) I wish that were so.