Young Caleb Dume has not yet been to war…But now, the Jedi Temple is under attack! Can a Padawan really make a difference?
As Kanan Jarrus recuperates inside a bacta tank, the Spectres wait inside the medcenter room. When Sabine Wren asks how long their friend needs to remain inside the tank, the 2-1B-series medical droid responds that it will take a few weeks for Kanan to regain consciousness but that removing him risks his survival. Just then, the Spectres hear an announcement ordering them to come out with their limbs raised up or face certain death.
At the Jedi Temple, Jedi Master Depa Billaba saves Caleb Dume from an explosive wave unleashed by the mini-drone explosives. As the two come to terms with the attack on the Jedi Temple, the masked Separatist infiltrator Rackham Sear watches through the air ducts. He drops more mini-drone explosives, causing more explosions through the Jedi Temple.
In a flashback scene, Rackham Sear justifies his planned attack on the Jedi Temple on the grounds that the Jedi have sided against liberty and justice. General Kleeve observes that Rackham is plotting a strike against the heart of the Galactic Republic while studying a holographic map of the Jedi Temple. Rackham explains that he hired the bounty hunter Cad Bane to make the specs and that Bane reported that the Jedi have barely upgrade their security.
General Kleeve is concerned that this is a suicide mission but Captain Rackham responds that he is willing to die. Kleeve explains that his plan is to topple the Temple Spire in order to show the Republic and the Separatists that the Jedi are not invincible. Meanwhile, Sammo Quid and Tai Uzuma watch over younglings while an older Jedi and Jedi Temple Guards slice through the mini-drone explosives with their lightsabers.
The Jedi tells one of the Temple Guards to watch over the younglings and Padawns for more mini-drone explosives. The Jedi tells Masters Obi-Wan Kenobi and Mace Windu that the younglings are save. When Kenobi asks about the source of the attacks, he replies that they don't know. Sammo Quid asks where is Dume but Tai Uzuma replies that she does not know but thinks he is hiding.
Meanwhile, Caleb asks Master Billaba if she wants them to hide here. Billaba responds that she wants them to stay here until they have more information. Billaba believes that she could be a liability out there since she is not fully healed. Caleb quickly works out that the attacker is based on the attack floor but is hurling down explosives in order to keep most of the Jedi Knights and Masters preoccupied. Despite his Master's warnings, Caleb rushes up the air ducts to pursue the intruder on the roof.
Caleb encounters Rackham Sear. He tells the "kid" that he is on the wrong side because the Jedi are the "bad guys" fighting against freedom and self determination. Rackham is unwilling to kill initiates and gives Caleb the chance to run. However, Caleb refuses to run and charges at Rackham, who hurls several mini-drone explosives at him. Caleb dodges the explosives but Rackham tells him that all he did was delay the explosives by a few seconds.
However, Master Billaba retorts that Caleb bought her enough time and tells him to back away from the boy. Rackham attempts to use Caleb as a hostage but Caleb manages to tell Billaba about Rackham's plan topple the Jedi Spire and that he has not set the timer. Rackham attempts to set the timer with a drone explosive but Billaba uses the Force to prevent the liquids inside the explosives from exploding.
Rackham attempts to rush for the bomb but Caleb uses the Force to pull it away from the tower. The bomb explodes harmlessly in the air. Master Billaba offers Rackham mercy but he identifies himself as Rackham Sear of Quarzite, a Captain of the Confederacy of Independent Systems. Rejecting the mercy of "tyrants", he hurls blades at Master Billaba and Caleb but Billaba deflects them with the Force.
Rackham then jumps to his death over the roof. Before falling, he unleashes several mini-drone explosives, causing an explosion below. Billaba and Caleb survive the explosion. Billaba confides that she is in desperate need of a Padawan to continue her journey. Caleb volunteers but Billaba thinks that he is too young. Still, she relents since the Republic needs him. Just then, Masters Kenobi and Windu arrive to provide aid.
Following the defeat of Rackham, Tai and Sammo are shocked and jealous that Billaba has picked Caleb as her new Padawan. A jealous Sammo tells Caleb that he is not safe with her while Tai taunts him that he is not ready to be a Padawan. Reflecting on his friends' jealousy, Master Billaba says that this is a lesson that none of them are perfect.
Over the next three weeks, Caleb travels with Master Billaba to get a kyber crystal for a new lightsaber. They travel aboard a Venator-class Star Destroyer on a mission to the planet Kardoa to rendezvous with Depa Billaba's second battalion, which is led by Clone Commander Grey and Clone Captain Styles, whom Caleb thinks will make "great friends."
- UPC 759606081585; November 18, 2015; Marvel Comics
- Star Wars: Kanan Vol. 2 — First Blood
- Star Wars: Kanan Omnibus
- Star Wars: Kanan Modern Era Epic Collection: The Last Padawan