Conspiracy! After repeated setbacks on the planet Anaxes, an elite clone squad is deployed to investigate the Separatists' tactical advantage. This special unit, called the Bad Batch, infiltrates Admiral Trench's Cyber Center to steal a strategic algorithm capable of predicting the Republic's every move. What our heroes found was a live signal from the ARC trooper known as Echo, a clone long believed to be dead.

Meanwhile, elsewhere, a stolen Separatist ship was being steered through space by an eighteen-year-old girl name Mila Madrigal. Surprisingly, she was turning out to be pretty good at steering it despite there being no such things where she and her family were from.

"Okay, so now we know how to operate most of this thing." said Mila, pressing a few buttons to clear the windshield, adjust the lighting, and move forward at a steady speed.

"How are we gonna find Rosella in this muy grande space?" Pedro asked.

"We don't even know where we are." said Camilo.

"I don't know yet." Mila said. "But I do know that we need to find a safe place to land and someone friendly who can help us navigate this strange world."

Just then, Mirabel spotted something.

"What's that?" Mirabel asked.

The family looked outside and saw what looked like a giant ball. Space travel was not something they were used to either, so they'd never even seen evidence of anyone ever traveling off their own planet. This planet, but the look of it, was covered in yellowish clouds, probably of sand, by Mila's guess. But, a strange place was better than no place at all, and after looking at the ship's operations and scanners, she knew they needed to find some place with oxygen, which outer space lacked big time.

"It might be a place we can land." Mila said. "Everyone hold on tight! This could be a bumpy ride."

But, what they would find on that planet would be a lot scarier than any of them could have ever imagined.

"Word is the general staff isn't completely behind this mission." said Hunter, walking with Anakin, Rex, and Sapphire.

"I admit the idea that Echo is still alive is a long shot." said Rex.

"I'm sure the Council will approve the mission." said Anakin. "Just remember the primary goal is to learn how the Separatists are predicting our strategy whether it's Echo behind it or not."

"That's why we've got our secret weapons." said Carmine, stepping in with Gabby and Lamenta by his sides.

"Carmine. Good, you brought the girls." Anakin said. "Hunter, this is my twin Carmine, my niece Lamenta, and my daughter Gabriella."

"Aren't they a little young to fight in battle?" Hunter asked, noting that the girls looked no older than five or six.

"Don't let our cuteness fool you." said Gabby. "A lot of bad guys have fallen that way."

"Well, if you want my opinion," said Hunter, looking at Anakin. "sounds like a trap."

"Luckily, I'm a master of escaping traps." Gabby said. "And Lamenta..."

Lamenta vanished.

"She can literally disappear before anyone traps her." Gabby finished as Lamenta became visible again.

"Well, me and the boys will tag along anyway if only to say 'I told you so.'" said Hunter.

"Just make sure you're ready," said Anakin. "If we get the go-ahead from General Kenobi."

"If you're certain he'll approve the mission, why wait?" said Rex.

"You know Anakin." said Carmine. "He'll go anyway even if the Council says no."

"I've grown a lot since our last mission, Carmine." Anakin said, crossing his arms.

"Well, let's get going." said Rex, eager to go, but Anakin stopped him.

"First, we have that thing to do." said Anakin.

"Uh, what thing?"

"You know." Sapphire said, reminding Rex with a certain look in her eyes.

Rex knew exactly what he meant and told Anakin they didn't have time for that, but Anakin insisted that they did.

"Well, I'll just let you two sort this out." said Hunter. "I'll be waiting on the ship with the rest of the team."

"Hey, girls, let's go make sure Ahsoka and the horses are ready." Carmine said, taking the girls to retrieve Ahsoka, Fiesta, Carousella, and Crescent.

"Come on, Rex. I'm late as it is." Anakin said.

Rex and Sapphire accompanied Anakin to a bunker, where Sapphire entered the room with a brush. Anakin was getting ready to have a holo-call with his wife. Even though their relationship was no secret, the last time he called her, he barely got a moment alone with her. And in a recent text message she sent, she said she had some news for Anakin that she wanted him to be the first to know about.

While Rex kept watch to make sure no one interrupted them, Anakin and Sapphire entered the bunker. Sapphire stood at the far end of the room and groomed herself with the brush, while he placed a small device on the floor and up appeared a hologram of Padme.

"You're late again." said Padme.

Anakin smiled when he saw his wife's beautiful face again for the first time in days.

"Padme, I'm so sorry." said Anakin. "We didn't anticipate the Outer Rim Sieges would last this long."

"That would be why they call it a siege, Anakin." Padme chuckled.

"I know, I just thought that I-"

"You thought you could bring a swift end to the conflict single-handedly."

"Yeah. I guess I still have a lot to learn about my powers too. Even with them, I'm not a master spell caster."

Padme chuckled and said, "Anakin, what you're doing is important. The Republic needs you on the front lines just as they need my voice in the Senate."

"I know. But our kids need us too. And now even they're scattered with the girls here and Dad watching Boba... I worry what will happen to them if the war doesn't end soon. I just want what's best for our family."

"And you do a wonderful job, Ani. You're a wonderful father and husband." Padme said.

Suddenly, Anakin heard banging on the door, which was Rex signaling him that Obi-Wan was coming.

"What is it?" Padme asked as her husband looked behind him.

"Obi-Wan is coming." sighed Anakin.

"No, that's not it. There's something else." said Padme. She didn't need the Force to know her husband had something else on his mind.

"It's Rex. I'm worried he's letting his personal feelings drive him too much on this mission."

"I wonder where he learned that." Padme smirked.

Anakin scoffed.

Outside the door...

"Rex, where's Anakin?" Obi-Wan asked as he and Peppermint arrived.

"We need to speak with him about the mission." said Peppermint.

Rex stood tall and said, "Well, General, he's, um..."

"Well, he's inside your barracks, isn't he?" Obi-Wan said.

"Yes." Rex said.

"What's going on here?" Obi-Wan crossed his arms.

"Nothing, sir. I was just waiting for the General... uh, General."

Peppermint and Obi-Wan looked at each other for a moment, thinking the same thing.

"You'll have to do better than that, Captain." said Obi-Wan.

Peppermint spotted Crescent walking by, and she quickly used her magic to pluck a feather from one of his wings.

"Don't make me use this, Rex." Peppermint teased.

"You wouldn't dare." Rex said. "General?"

"I'm curious to see where this goes." Obi-Wan smiled.

"You've known Rex a long time." said Padme. "When you throw caution to the wind and take chances, where is he?"

"Right beside me." Anakin smiled.

"Then maybe that's where you should be for him, Ani. Trust his instincts like he trusts yours."

"I'm just trying to look out for him."

"I know you are. I love you, Ani."

Padme held up her hand.

Anakin sighed and said, "I love you too."

Anakin held his hand to the hologram of his wife's. He could almost feel her right then and there.

"You had something you wanted to tell me, Angel?" Anakin asked, pleading with his eyes to hear the news.

The way Anakin looked at Padme, she could tell Gabby inherited her 'puppy eyes' from him.

Padme smiled as she held her other hand to her stomach.

"I just found out something wonderful, Ani." Padme smiled. "You're going to be a father again."

Anakin was frozen for a moment. He looked at his wife's stomach and then her face.

"You mean...?"

Padme nodded.

Peppermint started tickling Rex under his arm with the feather, making Rex laugh like crazy, begging her to stop.

"Come on, you can tell us what Anakin's doing in there." Peppermint said.

"He's grooming Sapphire!" Rex laughed.

"We all know that isn't true, Rex." Obi-Wan said.

Suddenly, a bunch of zinnias, sunflowers, and palm trees started growing all over the place. People either jumped out of the way, or got caught underneath the taller plants and were stuck in trees or tangled in tall sunflower stems.

Peppermint, in surprise, stopped tickling as she spotted all the plants.

"Clearly, Anakin is excited about something." Obi-Wan said.

Ever since Anakin got his magical powers, Obi-Wan and everyone else made observations about what emotions grew what plants. Colorful, fun plants grew obviously when Anakin was happy or excited, more delicate, mostly blue plants grew when he was sad, spiky plants grew when he was angry or stressed, and poisonous plants grew when he was frightened.

Rex decided to open the door, but Anakin bumped right into him, a huge smile on his face.

"Rex, it's wonderful! Where's Gabby?" Anakin asked, hugging his captain.

"Uh, probably with Commander Jinn still." Rex said awkwardly.

"Anakin." said Obi-Wan. "About the mission. Is that what you're excited about?"

"No, something much better than a mission." Anakin said. "But what about it?"

"About this mission, the Council thinks-"

"That it's a good idea? I agree." Anakin said, walking backwards before running off to find Gabby. "Let's get moving, Rex."

"No, wait. That's not-"

"No time. Gotta find my daughter."

The second Anakin found his family, he picked Gabby up excitedly, tossing her up and down and spinning her around.

"It's the most amazing news in the history of great news!" Anakin said quickly.

"You sound like Gabby when she got Count Crescendo for the Festival of Light." Carousella said.

Gabby laughed as her father bounced her around like he did when she was much smaller.

"What is it, Daddy?" Gabby asked.

"Well, Princess..." Anakin smiled. "Your mother gave me some amazing news that affects the whole family."

"How?"

Anakin's smile only seemed to grow as he couldn't hold it in anymore.

"Gabby, you're gonna be a big sister."

Gabby's eyes went wide. So did Carmine and Lamenta's.

"Wait," said Carmine. "You mean Padme's...?"

"That's right." smiled Anakin.

"A baby?!" Gabby exclaimed happily. "Mommy's having a baby?! This is the greatest day ever!"

Anakin chuckled and said, "There'll be plenty of time to celebrate after this mission. So, we gotta focus on finding out how the Separatists keep finding out our tactics. We're not just stopping the war for us anymore, but for the new baby as well."

"With the power we got together, we'll make the galaxy safe for my new brother or sister before they're born." Gabby said confidently.

The Skywalkers and Jinns, Ahsoka, and the horses all boarded the Bad Batch's ship.

Wrecker started showing off his brute strength by lifting a rectangular droid over and over again.

"You know, my grandpa can lift a lot." Gabby said. "He could lift a mountain if he wanted to."

"I wonder who would win in an arm-wrestling match. Grandpa or Wrecker." Lamenta added.

"Easy, I would." Wrecker said.

Anakin was looking at Crosshair's weapon while the horses were laying down, saving their energy for the mission.

"So, how many missions has your team been on, Sergeant?" Anakin asked Hunter.

"Honestly, sir, I've lost count." said Hunter. "All the action sort of blurs together."

Anakin chuckled and said, "Like all the adventures my little princess and I have taken."

"I know you work with Cody sometimes," said Rex. "But who do you guys report to?"

Ahsoka stroked her chin. "I've been wondering the same thing."

"Hmmm, good question." said Hunter, crossing his arms. "Can't say I've got an answer."

"Yeah!" said Wrecker, taking a bite of a Nuna leg.

Suddenly, the ship rumbled.

"We are approaching Skako Minor." said Tech. "It looks to be a difficult landing."

"Everyone hold on to something!" Carmine said.

The grownups all got themselves strapped in, while the kids relied on the horses for protection.

The ship soon entered Skako Minor's atmosphere. It was filled with stormy clouds of yellowish brown. Then all of a sudden, a flying creature started following them. Thankfully, though, the ship was landed safely. But outside, it was incredibly stormy. It looked an awful lot like the sandstorms Anakin used to see on Tatooine.

"Is this anything like the Tatooine sandstorms you told me about?" Carmine asked his brother.

"Yup. Rex, what do we know about this place?" Anakin asked his captain.

"On this part of Skako, there's a race of locals, the Poletecs." Rex said.

"All we know is they're very primitive." Ahsoka finished.

"Primitive like cave people? Or like dinosaurs?" Lamenta asked.

"Hard to say." shrugged the Togruta. "Never seen them myself."

"'Primitive' is being kind." said Tech. "My intel says the Poletecs worship flying reptiles."

"Like dragons?" Gabby asked. "We should've invited Dracona on this mission."

Suddenly, a flying reptile landed on the windshield of the ship and screeched at the same time the little girls screamed.

"Oh! What the heck was that?" said Wrecker, looking out the window.

"It's one of those reptiles." Tech answered.

"I want that thing off my ship." said Hunter.

The Batchers were about to go out, but Rex warned them not to. But they went anyway as the reptile was jumping up and down on the ship.

Everyone rushed out of the ship and got ready to fight. The three oldest Jedi ignited their lightsabers.

"Hey! Get off of there!" Wrecker shouted.

"What he said!" Lamenta said.

"Don't make me come up there and blast you off." Carousella threatened with her horn.

"Hey, calm down, all of you." Anakin said. "We need to talk to them."

"Why?" Hunter asked.

"The General's right." said Rex.

However, that was when two more flying reptiles flew in.

"Look out, Rex!" Anakin exclaimed, pushing Rex out of the way of the creatures. However, the other two were just a distraction, as the one on top of the ship swooped and took Anakin, who dropped his lightsaber.

"Master!/Daddy!/Anakin!" Ahsoka, Gabby, and Carmine exclaimed.

Rex picked up Anakin's lightsaber while Sapphire flew up to try and rescue her rider.

"I'm coming, Anakin!" Sapphire shouted. She tried to catch up to the creature, but the winds were really strong and she had some trouble steering herself.

"Let's use our wings!" Gabby said, about to make her butterfly wings appear.

"No, Gabby!" Carmine said. "You're not trained to fly in weather like this on your own."

Luckily, Tech had a thermal reading point-two-five east, elevation 175.

"We have to save my daddy!" Gabby said.

"Relax, Princess." said Crosshair. "I got this."

Crosshair then aimed his blaster, but not with blaster bolts, but a rope instead, which Hunter grabbed.

"What are you doing?" asked Rex.

"Going for a ride." Hunter smirked behind his helmet. And he was pulled along on the creature that held Anakin. The girls, meanwhile, took their flying horses to follow, but kept a safe distance so the creatures and Poletecs wouldn't spot them. They flew and flew until they reached what looked like a mountain range, and they spotted a clearing with what looked like small volcanoes. And there was a tribe of Poletecs.

The creature that captured Anakin held him down so tightly, he couldn't move enough to use his powers.

However... the girls quickly noticed Anakin wasn't the Poletecs' only victim.

"Someone help us!" Mirabel screamed, squirming underneath another reptile's foot.

"I don't wanna be comida para monstruo!" Pedro cried.

Camilo, Mila, and Bruno were all caught under a reptile's foot. Chika tried to chew the rope she was tied to like a leash, but was finding it very difficult.

Tech, we're with the General." said Hunter into his comm. "Hone in on my signal."

"Daddy's not the only one they have captive." Gabby said into hers.

"They've captured five other people," said Ahsoka. "And a dog, by the looks of it."

Anakin wiggled and squirmed underneath the beast's foot. One of the Poletecs spoke to Anakin, but he didn't understand a word they were saying.

"Okay, I think we're gonna have a slight communication problem here." said Anakin.

Anakin looked to see an older man he'd never seen before trying to talk to the Poletecs in another language. He recognized that language. Fiesta spoke it all the time. Unfortunately, it didn't look like the Poletecs understood him.

"Hey! Do you understand me?" Anakin called over.

"Yes, I do." said Bruno, seeing the younger man.

"Do you know why they've captured us?"

"No, I don't. My family and I are as in the dark on why they've done this as you are."

"I'm gonna take a guess, you can't communicate with these Poletecs either, huh?"

"Is that what these things are?"

"Yup. And I'm guessing you haven't seen them before."

"Not where I come from."

The Poletec spoke again. Neither Bruno nor Anakin understood him, but he seemed agitated about something.

The rest of the crew soon arrived in the ship, and they met Hunter and the girls.

"That creature still has Uncle Anakin." Lamenta said, sounding worried.

"Who are those other guys with the Poletecs?" Rex asked, noticing the five other humans and the dog.

"No clue. But I do know they were captured like Daddy." Gabby said.

"Whoever they are, they need help." Ahsoka said.

Rex took a closer look at the scene. He confirmed Anakin was unharmed, but also saw that there was a little boy who was about Gabby and Lamenta's age in there.

"We're going in." said Rex. "but remember what the General said. There's a little kid at stake, and I don't mean the princesses. 'No casualties, disarm only.'"

"We're on it." said Hunter. "Wrecker, Crosshair, rockslide!"

Wrecker pushed a big rock with all his might, and it rolled right toward the tribe. The Poletecs began running out of the way, and the clones blasted the Poletecs' weapons out of their hands, while the alicorns used their magic, and Crescent and Sapphire grabbed any weapons they could with their mouths and swooped at the creatures that were holding Anakin and the Madrigals down.

Crosshair shot the creatures in one of each of their legs, shocking them, and making them release their prisoners. Anakin rolled out of the way of the rock, and Carmine arrived to help.

"Girls, get the other prisoners out of here!" Carmine exclaimed, helping his brother up.

Ahsoka and Fiesta got Chika untied from the rope, and the dog ran right to Mila the second she was free.

"Follow me!" Ahsoka told the Madrigals.

"Trust us, we'll get you to safety!" Gabby said, arriving on Carousella. She offered her hand to Mirabel, who got on with her and Pedro. Bruno went with Ahsoka, Camilo with Lamenta, and Sapphire took Mila and Chika onto her back, and they quickly rushed the Madrigals to safety. But Mila slipped, luckily landing in Anakin's arms.

Mila got a look at Anakin's naturally charming look and was smitten by him.

"Hola. I'm Milagro. And you are...?"

"Married and have kids." said Anakin.

"Oh."

But then, the Poletecs all stopped fighting, and one, who seemed to be the leader, said something to Hunter as he pointed a blaster at the former.

"Tech, translate what he said." said Hunter.

Tech activated his devices and got a translation of what the Poletec said.

"He says he does not want our war on his planet." said Tech. "That is why he took our leader."

"We didn't bring the war here." said Anakin. "It was Wat Tambor and the Separatists."

Tech translated what Anakin said to the Poletec.

Even though that language was entirely foreign to Mila, she couldn't help finding it rather attractive that Tech spoke it so fluently and was handy with some advanced looking devices.

"Tell him we apologize for what's happened." Rex told Tech. "But tell him the enemy is holding one of our men prisoner in Purkoll. As soon as we rescue him, we'll leave his planet for good."

"Tell him we don't mean him any harm either." said Bruno. "We got lost and didn't mean to invade their home. We will leave as soon as we find a way out of here."

Tech translated everything.

The chief Poletec then spoke to his tribe.

"The chief says he will provide us with scouts and lead us to Tambor's city." Tech explained. "From there, we're on our own."

"Any help is better than no help." said Anakin.

"What about our... new friends?" Gabby asked, motioning to the new people they rescued.

"Oh, that's right. We don't even know each other's names."

"Si. And thank you for rescuing us...?" Bruno started.

"Skywalker. Anakin Skywalker." Anakin said, shaking Bruno's hand. "That's my daughter Gabriella."

"But you can call me Gabby." said Gabby, then motioned to her alicorn. "This is Carousella and her brother Crescent."

"Hey." Crescent greeted.

"Talking... horses." Mila said, astonished.

"And this is Ahsoka Tano." said Anakin, motioning to the Togruta. "And her horse Fiesta."

"What are you, exactly?" Camilo asked.

"I'm a Togruta. You don't see them where you're from?"

"No. Only humans in our world."

Anakin then introduced his brother and niece, as well as the clones.

"And you are...?" Carmine said.

"Bruno Madrigal. These are my children, Milagro and Pedro." said Bruno, motioning to each child. "And my niece and nephew Mirabel and Camilo."

"You can call me Mila." Mila said. Chika barked. "And this is my dog, Chika."

This looked a little tricky.

"Hmm. You should probably stick with us for now." said Anakin. "We're on an important rescue mission."

"So are we." said Mila. "Maybe the one we're looking for is at the same place yours is."

"Well, then. Follow us. But stay close. Crazy things have a way of finding us."

"Ha. We live in a magical Casita. We're used to it." said Mirabel.

"And 'casita' means...?" Gabby asked.

"It means 'home,' or 'house.'" Fiesta translated.

"Correcto. That's right." Mirabel smiled.

It was a pretty large group of people, but they made it work.

The Madrigals all rode the horses while the Jedi and clones walked as they followed a couple of Poletec scouts who guided them to a high point where they pointed out the way to Tambor's city.

"Hope nobody's scared of heights." said Anakin.

Pedro gulped, and Carmine gasped when he accidentally looked down and saw how high they were. The Batchers looked at Wrecker.

"Well, I'm not scared of nothing." said Wrecker.

"But Pedro's scared of everything." Camilo said.

"I am not!"

"Are too." Camilo shapeshifted into Little Pedro and imitated him being scared.

"Camilo Felix Madrigal, you stop that before I telepath you down the mountain!" Mila said angrily.

The others, however, were a bit startled.

"You're Enchanteds too?" Gabby said.

"Enchanteds?" Mirabel raised a brow.

"That's what we call magical creatures here."

"Everyone in our family has magic, but we can talk about that later." Bruno said.

"I just..." said Wrecker. "When I'm up real high, I got a problem with gravity."

"Si, what he said." Pedro said, trying to defend himself.

"Carmine seems to have the same problem." said Anakin, noticing his brother's knees were shaking and his teeth were chattering.

"Speaking of problems," said Tech, looking at his wrist device. "I am no longer picking up Echo's signal."

Mila took a look, finding this technology fascinating.

"I... I don't understand." said Rex. "You said it was coming from this city."

"I can only speculate, but it is possible there's a latency issue with the frequency."

"Hmm. I don't know about the technology of this world," said Mila. "but I do know some inventions don't always work right, even when you do get their construction done accurately."

"It's most likely caused by all these atmospheric disturbances."

"Or... maybe they sent the signal to lure us into a trap. And maybe your friend's actually dead."

"What signals?" Camilo said confused.

"You don't have wireless signals where you're from?" said Lamenta, surprised.

"You can operate things without wires here?" Mila said, her eyes going wide. That answered the question.

"I can't be the only one thinking of the death theory." said Hunter, crossing his arms.

"Look, every mission could be a trap." said Rex, pointing at Hunter. "This one is no different. I'm telling you that signal is being sent by Echo himself! He's alive!"

"I think you're letting your personal feelings get in the way." said Crosshair. "because you left him for dead at the Citadel."

"I had no choice. You hear me?"

"Oh, I don't blame you. I would've left him for dead too."

Mirabel made a disgruntled face.

"Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning." Mirabel said.

"Besides, he's just another reg." Crosshair finished.

Rex then punched Crosshair, and then Wrecker grabbed Rex and picked him up.

"Hey! Why don't you pick on someone not your size?" said the strongest Batcher.

"What about my daughter?" Bruno said. "Rosella might be there."

Rex then approached Hunter directly.

"You'll be a whole lot smaller when I'm through with you." growled Rex.

Meanwhile, Mila was with Tech as he did his calculating.

"So... you're the smart one on this team, huh?" said Mila.

"Most would put it that way." Tech said. "I was programmed to be this way."

"Programmed?"

"I'm one of many clones who were genetically modified to serve specific purposes. Meaning we were born through scientific experiments rather than a male and female... you know."

"Oh."

Somehow, that didn't faze Mila's fascination.

"Are there more as intelligent as you?"

"Intelligent as soldiers should be, yes. However, I was granted a higher IQ."

"You know, I was born with a high IQ." Mila said. "I actually graduated school two years early, and I literally have the highest IQ in my entire village. You like inventing? I do it all the time."

Meanwhile, Anakin had to break up the fight between the clones. He instructed Hunter to take his men to scout for a tower entrance.

"Girls, fly the horses up and help search the tower." Anakin instructed. "Carmine, watch our guests. I want to talk with my Captain alone."

The others left the General and clone Captain alone.

"Rex, I hate to say it, but..." Anakin placed a comforting hand on Rex's shoulder. "You have to prepare yourself for the possibility that Echo is dead and this is all a Separatist trick."

"Sir, I have watched so m any of my brothers fall during this war," said Rex, removing his helmet. "and I try not to hang on to any one of them. But that changed when I heard the Separatist transmission. It was no algorithm. That was Echo's voice. I know it. What would you think if you were in the same situation with Carmine?"

That struck Anakin. He might not have grown up with his brother, but he still loved him like they had known each other their whole lives.

"I hope you're right." said Anakin. "And if there's a chance this missing Madrigal child is there too, we have to help her family too. But if, for some reason, you're wrong about Echo..."

"Then I'll deal with it." said Rex.

The rescue teams had to rush through another sandstorm to get to their next destination.

"We're in business, General." said Hunter. "Tech regained Echo's signal. It's coming from this tower. How's it going, Tech?"

Mila, meanwhile, looked at Tech as though she were looking at a handsome prince as he worked with the complicated technology.

"He's so smart." Mila sighed.

"Mila..." Mirabel said teasingly. "Are you...?"

Mila blushed and denied anything.

"Sorry it took so long." said Tech.

"Crosshair, check it out." said Hunter.

Crosshair checked the inside. "Yeah, it's a lift." he said.

"Well, we already knew that."

"So it's like my uplift invention." Mila said. "It works with a simple rope and pulley system done by hand on a steady platform. The one I built even has a giant slide for getting down."

"That sounds like fun." Gabby said.

"Wait, wait, wait. A lift?" said Wrecker. "How far up are we going?"

"Don't worry, Wrecker. I'll hold your hand." Hunter teased.

"Hey! Cut it out, Sarge." Wrecker bumped his sergeant with his shoulder. "Just give me some droids to crush."

"I wouldn't mind if you held my hand." Mila said, fluttering her eyes at Tech, but then she caught herself in what she was doing.

"How does this thing work without anyone pulling it?" Bruno asked. "Is this thing magical?"

"No. Just modern technology." said Anakin.

"Wow. This world operates in a whole different time period." Mila said.

As the lift went up, Anakin reminded the others that this was a stealth mission."

"No blasting, no blowing things up." said Anakin. "Nobody knows we're here. Only turn invisible when necessary, Lamenta."

"Okay, Uncle." said Lamenta.

And when the door opened again, there were droids, which Wrecker, of course, rushed in to wreck, and the rest of the Batchers started shooting.

"So much for stealth." Rex said sarcastically.

"What are they, ten?" Mila said.

"Thirteen, actually."

"Those are the oldest thirteen-year-olds I've ever seen." Camilo said.

"Clones are genetically engineered to age twice as fast as normal humans." Anakin explained.

"Would it be weird if I still found one of them... cute?" Mila said, looking dreamily at one Batcher in particular.

Camilo then shifted to look like Tech and made kissy sounds at his cousin.

"Camilo!" Mila scolded. Camilo shifted back and laughed.

Luckily, the Batchers already took out all the droids, so it was safe for Mila to chase after her cousin.

"Get back here, Camilo, you little sneak!" Mila exclaimed angrily.

"Are they always like this?" Anakin asked.

"Si." Bruno sighed and nodded.

"I know the feeling." said Anakin. "And my wife just told me we're gonna have another one running around our home soon."

"Oh, congratulations." said Bruno.

Anakin re-focused on the mission and looked at Wrecker. So did everyone else.

"Uh... sorry. I just got excited." said Wrecker.

"You got anything, Tech?" Mila asked, approaching the clone in question.

"Besides Mila's interest?" Camilo teased.

"Camilo, that's enough!" Mirabel said.

Tech checked his device and confirmed he still had a lock on Echo's signal.

Hunter got his blaster ready and said, "All right, men. Let's hunt some droids."

"Now you're talking! Yeah!" said Wrecker.

"Bruno, I think it might be best if you and your family stay here." Anakin said. "Carmine, Ahsoka, can you stay here and watch over them?"

"Yes, Master." Ahsoka said.

"Sure, Bro." Carmine smiled.

Anakin, the clones, Sapphire, the princesses and their horses all went up to the next floor while the Madrigals stayed downstairs. Except for Mila. She came along with Chika, wanting to find out what she could learn from all this advanced technology.

"Where exactly is Echo's signal coming from?" Anakin asked.

"Strange. I just lost the signal." said Tech.

"What? How can that be?" Rex asked. "There's no 'atmospheric disturbances' up here."

Tech pressed a few things on his tablet.

"Well, I have a new theory." he said. "I'm surprised I did not consider it earlier. The signal is only traceable during data transmissions."

"So, until Echo signals you again, you can't pick it up." said Mila.

"Exactly. You are very smart." Tech praised.

Mila fluttered her eyelashes. "It's my natural gift."

Wrecker laughed and punched Tech's shoulder. "Who's your new girlfriend, Tech?"

Mila just blushed like crazy and looked away.

"Okay, we're splitting up." Anakin declared. "Search every door. If someone finds Echo, contact the others. We go in together, just in case there's trouble."

Gabby pulled out a wrist comm and gave it to Mila.

"Here, Mila. This is a wrist comm. Just press the button to signal any of us if you spot Echo." Gabby said.

"Entendido. Understood." said Mila.

And the group split up to look for Echo. Anakin just found more droids, which he quickly attacked with some carnivorous plants.

Tech soon traced the signal again, and it was coming from a nearby door.

Hunter knocked on the door.

"Tech, open this door." he said.

Suddenly, a screen started to activated, and a face came up.

"You clones are so predictable." said Wat Tambor.

"Wat Tambor." said Rex with disgust in his voice.

"Your algorithm predicted nearly every move you made to infiltrate Purkoll."

"There is no algorithm. We know you're holding a prisoner of war here."

"Prisoner? I don't know what you mean, Captain."

"I am leaving here with my friend."

"Your friend is dead. His mind is ours."

"Liar!"

Lamenta's eyes glowed white.

"He's lying!" Lamenta said.

Suddenly, Mila screamed as she saw more droids entering the scene.

"Execute them." said Tambor.

The droids prepared to do so, but the Batchers began blasting them. Anakin used the Force to push some down and used his lightsaber to slice them, Mila used her telekinesis, and Gabby trapped them with plants. But just as they thought they'd taken out all the droids, more came in from the hallways.

"Tech, open that door for Rex!" Anakin said. "Girls, see if you can help."

"Yes, Daddy." Gabby said, and she and her cousin ran in to help. Mila came too in case she could be of assistance.

"I hope you find what you're looking for, Captain." Hunter told Rex before the latter rushed off to find his friend.

Tech managed to get the door open, and he, Rex, Mila, Chika, the princesses and their horses rushed in to look for Echo.

The group entered what seemed to be a computer room, and there was a capsule of some kind.

"I don't like the look of this." said Rex.

Tech started to press some buttons and switches, and he confirmed he was picking up a life form in there.

"It seems to be a stasis chamber." said Tech.

"You mean, as in he's frozen?" Mila hypothesized.

"More like a deep sleep, but you're partially right. I think I can get it open."

"I can break it open, no problem." said Lamenta.

"That might not be wise, Lamenta." said Mila. "It might cause damage to Echo, assuming he's in there."

"She's right. Leave this to the professionals for now."

Tech pressed a few more buttons, then the door opened, and out popped out Echo.

The girls all let out a scream when they saw Echo's condition. He looked awful. He was hooked up to a bunch of wires and machinery.

"Echo." Rex gasped. "Tech. We gotta get him out of here. Figure out how to unplug him from- from this mess."

Rex carefully carried Echo down. Half of Echo's body was metal now, and he looked very pale too.

Rex removed his helmet and looked at Echo.

"What have they done to you?" said Rex.

Gabby was about to give Echo a kiss, but Rex stopped her.

"Before you kiss him, we best see if we can unplug him." he said.

"We- We have to get to the shuttle to escape the Citadel." Echo breathed. "No! I'll go first."

"Echo. Echo, it's Rex. I'm here." Rex soothes his brother as calmly as he could.

Echo finally seemed to come to after a while.

"Rex? You, you came back for me." Echo said.

"Yes. Yes I did." said Rex.

"We all did." said Gabby. "With a few new friends."

"Princess Gabriella?" Echo gasped. He noticed she seemed a little bigger than when he last saw her. "What happened? Where am I? How long has it been?"

"It's okay, Echo. You're safe now." Rex reassured.

"Don't worry, Echo. A little healing spell, and I'll have you feeling like your old self in no time." Gabby promised.

"Just sit tight, trooper. You're going home."