Mission accomplished! Colonel Gascon and his droid squad steal an encryption module needed to crack a Separatist code and stop an impending attack on the Republic. After surviving The Void and escaping the hostile planet of Abafar, our heroes finally appear to be headed in the right direction.

Colonel Gascon beams with triumph as the Republic shuttle leaves Abafar behind and approaches the waiting landing bay of the orbiting Jedi cruiser. His arduous mission is at last over, and he looks forward to handing over the encryption module to the cruiser's commanding officer. But WAC-47 has an uneasy feeling. There's something not right with this cruiser. Gascon will not allow the droid's doubts to tarnish his moment to shine.

The shuttle sets down in a barren hangar bay -- there are no other ships or crew visible on deck, and the blast doors are sealed. Confused, Gascon leads D-Squad as he barges onto the bridge. There Gascon makes the shocking discovery that the ship's crew consists of holograms.

The ship then leaps into hyperspace. Moving further into the bridge, D-Squad sees that battle droids -- led by a super tactical droid -- are in command of this ship.

D-Squad scurries for cover, chased by battle droid guards. The Republic droids duck into the hangar control room, where they find a Separatist detonator rigged to tons and tons of Rhydonium ore that fills the launch bays. The entire Jedi cruiser has been turned into a massive bomb!

At first, Gascon has had enough. Thwarting Separatist piracy and defusing apocalyptic-level explosives is beyond the duty he's signed up for -- but with the Jedi cruiser in hyperspace he can't evacuate ship.

As D-Squad returns to their shuttle, R2-D2 detects someone shadowing their movements -- the astromech finds BNI-393, a servant droid known as "Bunny," lurking in the shadows. Bunny is a surviving member of the Republic droid crew who wants to escape the doomed vessel with D-Squad.

In the cruiser's bridge, the super tactical droid in command of this Separatist plot dispatches a buzz droid to seek out the intruders.

In the hangar bay, Bunny leads D-Squad to their shuttle -- it's where the rest of the survivors are hiding. It's a sorry lot: a plunk droid, a gonk droid, a mouse droid, and a Treadwell droid.

From what little pieces of information Bunny can provide, Gascon begins to surmise the Separatist plot: They are en route to the Carida system, site of space station Valor, which is hosting the Republic strategy conference. Most of the Republic fleet and its key commanders will be at the station by the time the explosives-laden cruiser emerges from lightspeed.

As Gascon resolves to stop the Separatists, D-Squad spots a buzz droid spying their discussion. The tiny saboteur skitters off to alert the Separatist command. R2-D2 leads the chase to intercept the buzz droid, leading D-Squad into a gunnery deck that is crawling with dozens of buzz droids. D-Squad is outnumbered and surrounded!

D-Squad fights back against the sharp-pronged pests. M5-BZ sacrifices himself to defeat the swarming menace. As the rest of D-Squad magnetizes themselves to the deck floor, Beezee opens the airlock. The buzz droids are blown out into the chaos of hyperspace, with Beezee tumbling into the void with them.

The threat is averted, but at a cost. R2-D2 seals the air lock, and D-Squad pauses for a few words of respect and remembrance for M5-BZ said by Colonel Gascon.

In the Jedi cruiser bridge, the super tactical droid takes the lack of updates from the buzz droids as an indication that they have failed. He tasks the droids under his command to capture these intruders at all costs.

Gascon and D-Squad have come up with a plan. R2-D2 will return to the hangar control station to rewire the explosives to detonate early. Then the squad and the survivor droids will evacuate aboard the shuttle. As R2-D2 heads off, the rest of the droids are attacked by a patrol of battle droids.

The cruiser emerges from hyperspace and begins to vector towards space station Valor, which floats amid a fleet of docked Republic cruisers. The super tactical droid orders the ship to accelerate to ramming speed while he personally oversees the activation of the detonator.

Aboard space station Valor, Anakin Skywalker squirms with boredom, frustrated at having to attend a strategy conference. Obi-Wan chides him for his impatience. The session can begin soon with the arrival of the last cruiser, but Anakin senses something odd about the late vessel -- it's moving way too fast.

D-Squad scrambles towards their escape shuttle. Gascon and U9-C4 distract the battle droids by zipping around on the astromech's booster rockets, and the battle droids hold their fire for fear of accidentally hitting the Rhydonium canisters.

R2-D2 arrives at the hangar control station just as the super tactical droid initiates the detonation sequence. The taller droid grapples with R2-D2, who jukes and bobs on his rockets. Gascon tries to delay the shuttle launch to buy R2-D2 more time.

Aboard the station, Admiral Tarkin gives voice to Anakin's suspicions -- the late cruiser has not slowed its pace, and Z9, Tarkin's astromech droid, cannot make contact with anyone aboard.

Though Gascon does not want to leave R2-D2 behind, WAC-47 powers up the shuttle and departs the hangar bay. R2-D2 outmaneuvers the super tactical droid and speeds up the detonator. The cruiser erupts in a rapid chain of enormous explosions. The cruiser is reduced to shreds of twisted metal that pelts the space station.

From the blast emerges the shuttle, and Colonel Gascon hurriedly reports on mission status. He informs Anakin of R2-D2's sacrifice. Anakin orders an immediate salvage operation. Republic space tugs scour the wreckage, eventually finding a battered R2 unit.

R2-D2 is repaired and reunited with Anakin and D-Squad. Gascon declares Artoo the greatest, most courageous droid he has ever met. He is proud to serve alongside D-Squad -- which is good news, since WAC-47 confirms they have been made a permanent unit in the Republic war against the Separatists.