The escape pod's hatch hissed open with a gust of hot, mineral-laced air. Coral spires stretched to the skies, jagged as ancient fangs. The landscape of Rugosa was harsh, uninviting, and utterly alien. The sun shimmered high above, casting long blue shadows over the desert rock.
Jason stepped out first, squinting against the light, hand hovering over his saber hilt.
"Beautiful in an 'I-hope-this-place-doesn't-kill-me' kind of way," he muttered.
Behind him, Yoda emerged slowly, his small form wrapped in patience and peace. The three clone troopers—Thire, Jek, and Rys—swept out next, rifles raised and scanning. Jason gave them a once-over.
"Alright, boys. Standard formation. Stay close to the little green general—he's more dangerous than he looks."
"Copy that," said Thire, voice crisp through his helmet.
Yoda paused a few steps from the pod, gazing toward the horizon with eyes half-lidded, as if listening to the planet itself. He drew his communicator and activated it. A moment later, a flickering holotransmission shimmered to life—King Katuunko hovering above the red dust like a ghostly monarch.
"Master Yoda," the Toydarian king said, brows high with curiosity. "Your... dramatic entrance has not gone unnoticed."
Jason stood just out of frame, arms crossed, smirking to himself.
Yoda bowed slightly. "Arrived, I have. Face the challenge Count Dooku proposes, I will. Prove the strength of the Republic, we shall."
Katuunko's wings buzzed faintly. "Dooku has deployed his droid army to stop you. He says if you can reach me unharmed, he will concede the Republic's strength."
Yoda's ears twitched. "Concede, he will not. But learn, you shall. Jedi power not in numbers lies—but in the Force."
The hologram flickered and vanished.
Jason exhaled. "Well, that went smoothly. Now we just have to survive a jungle full of battle droids."
Yoda began walking, gimer stick tapping against the stone. "Worry about survival, do not. Trust in the Force. Trust in each other."
Jason fell into step beside him. "Trust is easy. It's the being shot at part I'm not thrilled about."
Behind them, the clones shared a brief, silent chuckle.
They hadn't walked far when the first contact came.
Blaster bolts shrieked through the air, searing orange streaks slicing across the canyon path. Jason's lightsaber snapped to life in an instant—its purple blade blazing in contrast to the desolate terrain.
"Ambush!" Thire shouted, diving for cover.
"Rys! Flank left! Jek, with me!" Jason barked without hesitation, slashing two bolts out of the air as they rained down from an overhanging ridge.
Yoda simply stood still, letting the Force guide him. His eyes drifted closed, and with a small wave of his hand, boulders nearby shifted. The landscape itself became his ally—stones rising like shields to block the incoming fire.
Jason somersaulted forward, blade flashing, deflecting bolts with swift Soresu rotations. He didn't overextend. Not this time. Obi-Wan's voice whispered in the back of his mind: defend, then move.
He slid into a low crouch, redirected a bolt into a droid's optical sensor, and leapt back behind a coral outcropping beside Jek.
"You alright, Thire?" Jek asked.
Thire smirked. "You kidding? This is fun. Reminds me of training on Kamino. Except, you know, not simulated."
Overhead, the droids pressed in—standard B1 battle droids. Clumsy. Predictable.
"Blast them! Blast them all!"
Jason rolled his eyes. "Creative as ever."
He surged forward, purple blade carving clean arcs through two advancing droids, sparks bursting as limbs flew. A third reached for a detonator—but before it could trigger, a small rock smashed into its head, guided by a nudge of the Force.
Jason turned. Yoda lowered his hand and gave the faintest smile.
Jason nodded. "Thanks for the save, Master Yoda."
"Work together, we must. Fear not numbers—fear ignorance, hmm?"
Jason chuckled. "I don't fear numbers. I just really, really hate getting shot."
After the skirmish, they paused to regroup in the shade of a towering coral wall. The clones were tired but unshaken—true professionals. Jason sat against a warm stone, wiping sweat from his brow. He glanced at Yoda, who still hadn't shown a single sign of fatigue.
"You ever get tired?" Jason asked.
Yoda tapped his staff thoughtfully. "Tired, my body may become. But not my spirit. The Force, it flows through us. Stronger than flesh, stronger than doubt."
Jason leaned back, eyes flicking toward the sky. "You think Dooku's watching this?"
Yoda's eyes narrowed slightly. "Pride blinds him. Fear of failure, he hides with taunts."
Jason nodded. "Still. This whole 'prove yourself' thing? Feels like a game. And I don't like being a piece on someone else's board."
Yoda smiled softly. "The game, only real if you believe it so. Walk your own path, Jason Shan. Not Dooku's. Not mine. Yours."
Jason sat quietly for a moment, taking that in.
"…I'm starting to think you're not just a little green wizard with a stick."
Yoda chuckled.
A moment later, Thire approached. "Scouts report another droid unit ahead. We can't go around them."
Jason stood, igniting his blade once more. "Then we go through them."