R2 Come Home

On Vanqor, Anakin and Mace find themselves ensnared in a deadly trap orchestrated by a group of bounty hunters, leaving R2-D2 with the crucial task of navigating his way back to Coruscant to alert the Jedi.

The Venator-class Star Destroyer, known as the Endurance, has suffered a crash landing on the planet Vanqor. This was the result of sabotage perpetrated by the young Boba Fett in his vengeful pursuit of Jedi Master Mace Windu. With the hope that Admiral Kilian, Commander Ponds, and other crew members might still be alive, Windu and Anakin Skywalker first move the survivors to a Republic medical ship before venturing down to the planet's surface to search for any remaining personnel. Upon approaching the downed vessel, Skywalker observes that, despite its severely damaged state, the bridge area appears to be relatively intact. The two Jedi land their craft behind the wrecked ship, at which point R2-D2 emits a series of beeps indicating his 'bad feeling about this place'. Windu then gently scolds Skywalker for fostering too much individual expression in his droid companion. Windu, Skywalker, R2, and R8-B7 then proceed toward the ship, completely unaware of the gundarks stealthily trailing them.

Once they are inside the wreckage, the Jedi discover a disturbing scene. R2 rounded a corner and stumbled upon the body of a clone trooper lying prone amidst the debris. It was clear that the clone was deceased, but Mace was uncertain as to the cause of death, so he inspected the body, turning the deceased clone over onto his back. Upon seeing the dead trooper's front, the two Jedi then realized that the trooper's demise was not due to the crash itself. Instead, the clone's armor, though soiled, bore a prominent, unmistakable scorch mark on the chest plate, indicative of a fatal blaster shot delivered precisely through the trooper's heart. The clone did not die in the crash. Rather, he had survived, and was killed when he was found and shot by an unknown assassin. The Jedi came to the grim conclusion that they had stumbled upon an execution site. Skywalker also takes note of the corpse of another clone trooper nearby, also felled by a similar blaster wound to the heart. Dazed and already wounded from the crash, the troopers stood little chance and would have been easy victims for the unknown killer. Windu puts forth the theory that the individuals who sought to assassinate him may have descended to the planet in search of his remains, and upon encountering surviving clone troopers, proceeded to eliminate them. The droids are tasked with searching for any remaining survivors, while the Jedi proceed towards the bridge. During their search, R2 and R8 find themselves under attack by a pair of gundarks: R8 is torn to pieces, and R2 is sent crashing across the floor.

Upon reaching the bridge, Windu and Skywalker come across the remains of more clones who had remained in place in an attempt to land the ship, including two navigational officers. Tragically, they arrived too late. The assassin had already reached the bridge before the Jedi and had already murdered every clone present. The blaster wounds on their bodies revealed they were executed in the same manner as the two clones they found earlier, but note there is no sign of the Admiral or Ponds. Windu relays this information to the medical ship in orbit, which subsequently departs for the nearest Republic medical station. Skywalker moves forward after spotting a Mandalorian helmet resting on a piece of rubble. Windu noticed the helmet. Then, he turned his attention to one of the dead clones laying on the ground before him. The clone laid on his back, with one hand outstretched and the other draped over his stomach. This unfortunate trooper had lost his helmet in the crash. The clone's eyes were closed and Mace saw that the assassin had taken the trooper’s life with a shot in his chest plate and through his heart. The fallen clone's visage brought to Windu's mind Jango Fett, the genetic template for the Clone army, whom he had slain at the killed on Geonosis, and then remembers his son, Boba, who watched his father die at Windu's hands. Reacting just in time, Windu uses the Force to pull Skywalker away from the helmet, which then detonates, causing significant damage to the bridge and causing debris to fall upon the gundarks that were approaching R2; one is killed while the other flees.

From a distance, Aurra Sing, Bossk, Boba, and Castas observe the explosion with evident satisfaction. Boba is determined to locate Windu's corpse, but his fellow bounty hunters initially resist, arguing that they already possess sufficient leverage to offer to Count Dooku in the form of their three hostages: Admiral Kilian, Commander Ponds, and a navigation officer. Ultimately, Aurra and Boba prevail, leaving Bossk to oversee the hostages while they proceed towards the downed ship.

R2, now aware of the potential danger facing the Jedi, makes his way to the bridge and discovers Windu unconscious and Skywalker injured, both trapped beneath fallen debris. As the droid attempts to dislodge the rubble, he inadvertently causes the bridge structure to tremble, prompting Skywalker to caution him against further movement. Instead, he directs his droid companion to return to the Jedi starfighters and transmit a distress signal to the Jedi Temple on Coruscant requesting assistance. R2 begins to leave the bridge, but then notices the bounty hunters approaching and resolves to impede their progress. He begins by pushing debris down a tunnel the bounty hunters are coming through, then closes the doors on them. When they come up another tunnel, he pushes yet more debris and boxes at them, before detaching a grenade from a dead clone and dropping that down the tunnel. Discouraged, Aurra declares that they will instead use Slave I to destroy the remains of the ship, thereby ensuring the Jedi's death.

R2 then makes his way towards the Jedi starfighters, only to be confronted by the remaining gundark. Thinking quickly, the droid attaches the gundark, using a cable, to one of the starfighters and activates the fighter's engines, sending it crashing some miles away and killing the gundark. Having witnessed the explosion, and realizing that it came from near the Jedi starfighters, the bounty hunters believe Windu has survived and jam all communications before heading to the location of the starfighters in Slave I. R2 activates the remaining starfighter and pilots it away from Slave I, now shooting at it, and into the atmosphere. Seeing this, Windu states that his astromech was meant to get help, not abandon them, but Anakin returns his faith in R2.

Evading the blaster fire from Slave I, the astromech droid gets into space, but its communication device is destroyed: the only solution now is to use the hyperdrive rings and get to Coruscant. Realizing the droid's plan, Boba fires at the hyperdrive rings but succeeds only in destroying one, allowing R2 to use the other to escape. Aurra states not to worry, as she can draw Windu to her using the hostages, before Slave I makes the jump to hyperspace.

On Coruscant, R2 interrupts a meeting with Plo Koon's droid and replays Anakin's message to several other Jedi. Plo Koon, Ahsoka Tano and Corporal Comet, along with Commander Wolffe, make their way to Vanqor with rescue ships. They help the injured Jedi just as the bridge of the Endurance collapses.

While being loaded onto the rescue ships on stretchers, Mace compliments R2 on his bravery and Anakin jokes that it is more praise than Windu ever gave him.

Upon R2's arrival on Coruscant, Plo Koon's inquiry to Ahsoka about her recognition of R2 suggests that Plo Koon himself does not recognize the droid. This is despite their prior encounter in "Rising Malevolence." However, given that Koon did not collaborate as closely with Anakin as Ahsoka did, it is conceivable that he did not immediately connect the two.