Star Wars: The Clone Wars Episode 2.10 The Deserter

"It is the quest for honor that makes one honorable."

Newsreel:

Fugitive! Though the Republic has Won many decisive battles against the Separatist army in the Outer Rim, the Jedi have failed to capture the elusive General Grievous. After specifically targeting members of the Jedi Council, a trap was set. But following a fierce confrontation, the droid general managed to escape to the surface of the planet Saleucami. Now, the chase is on as General Kenobi leads a squadron of clone troopers and closes in on his desperate target....

ACT I

General Grievous and a squad of battle droids emerge from a downed escape pod with a destroyed transmitter in the Saleucami wilderness. Grievous spots Kenobi's Jedi transport landing on the horizon. The general must hurry to find an escape pod with a working transmitter to get off-world. Only one other pod is known to have survived. Grievous rides through the underbrush atop a reek, leading his weary troops. They have also appropriated some eopies as pack animals. The battle droids badly need a recharge.

Kenobi and Captain Rex begin deploying biker scouts and AT-TE tanks to search for Grievous. Obi-Wan finds the wreckage of the crashed landing ship. He then assigns teams to split up to search for the escape pods: Rex will take a speeder bike team with Jesse, Hardcase and Kix to scour the wetlands, while Obi-Wan, Commander Cody and Crys will continue the search along the dry territory. Crys and Cody find a downed escape pod. Kenobi pulls out the shattered battle droid from within to inspect it on the go.

Rex's biker team speeds through the wetlands. They are targeted by a commando droid sniper team. Rex takes a shot to the chest and is knocked off his bike. The rest of the squad destroys the commandos. Rex is badly wounded, though.

Crys and Cody crack into their captive battle droid's memory banks. They determine that the doomed escape pod fired its maneuvering thrusters before it impacted, in order to avoid a midair collision with another pod. At Kenobi's order, Cody begins calculating the landing point for the second pod.

Kix, the squad's medic, does a cursory examination of Rex. He'll need to remove his armor to get a clearer picture, but the squad feels too vulnerable in the open field here. Jesse spots domesticated eopies nearby, and posits that they are on a farmland. The clones decide to look for the homestead on this farm. Jesse makes a makeshift litter to carry Rex along his BARC speeder.

As the Saleucami sun sets, they clones find the farm house. They are met by Suu, a pink Twi'lek female who points a blaster rifle at them. Jesse explains they are not looking for trouble -- only for a place to tend to their fallen officer. Suu agrees to let them stay in the barn. Suu's children, a five-year old girl named Shaeeah and a four-year-old boy named Jek, look on with curiosity.

Kix dresses Rex's chest wound with a bacta bandage. Rex awakens to find his arm useless due to nerve damage. Kix nonetheless declares Rex very lucky: a few inches to the left, the commando's shot would have pierced his heart. Rex wants to get moving, but Kix countermands his order using his authority as medic. Rex needs to stay put in order to heal.

Suu comes with some food for the clones. Her impulsive daughter, Shaeea, sneaks a peek at the clones, and blurts that Rex resembles her father. Suu explains that her husband is away, delivering the farm's first harvest, and she leaves the clones be. Recognizing that he must stay put, Rex orders the squad to resume the search for Grievous without him. He puts Jesse in command.

Night falls. The light of Saleucami's moons light the wilderness. Kenobi's armored column finds an escape pod and there is no sign of Grievous. Kenobi figures the general must have headed west to another pod. He radios Rex to rendezvous at the western pod, but reaches Jesse instead, who gives him a quick update on Rex's condition.

Meanwhile, Grievous and his droids continue to plod forward, and are a kilometer away from the last escape pod.

Back at the homestead, Rex tries to sleep but he's awakened by a nosey eopie. The farmer returns home, and visits Rex with much caution, carrying a staff in case his "guest" is unruly. Rex instinctively grabs his sidearm, but the farmer disarms him. The farmer steps into the moonlight, and both Rex and the farmer are surprised by what they see: the farmer is a clone trooper.

ACT II

The clone introduces himself as Cut Lawquane. Rex realizes what he is looking at: a deserter. Rex has no patience for those who would abandon their duty, and he makes his contempt known. Cut explains himself, saying he made a choice not to kill for a living, and that his duty is now to his adopted family. Just then, Suu and the children enter the barn and invite Rex to dinner.

Over a succulent meal of roast nuna, Cut and Rex continue to debate their positions. Cut underscores that despite their identical genetic heritage, Rex and Cut are individuals. Rex insists he is making an individual choice to serve the Republic, for he feels the war is crucial to the preservation of civilization. Though Cut may disagree with him, he allows Rex to voice his opinion, for he believes everyone is entitled to their beliefs.

In the wetlands, as the Republic forces close in, Grievous finds the escape pod. He orders the battle droid aboard to send a distress signal to the remains of his orbital fleet, and dispatch a shuttle to rescue him.

After dinner, Rex and Cut continue their conversation in private over a game of dejarik holochess. Cut explains the days he left the army. Shortly after the Battle of Geonosis, Cut's troop transport was flanked by Separatist gunships that blasted them out of the air. The droids continued to fire, killing the wounded one by one. Cut knew that in order to survive, he would need to flee.

His reflection is cut short as Shaeeah and Jek run in, asking for permission to go out and play since their chores are finished. Cut allows them, as long as they stay near the house. Rex admires the children, and Cut vows that he will do whatever he can to keep them safe.

At the transmitting escape pod, the battle droids prepare for combat. One fires a missile that hobbles Obi-Wan's approaching AT-TE.

Jek and Shaeeah play hide-and-seek in the fields, and the boy spots a downed escape pod. The two children peer inside. Shaeeah accidentally flips a switch that powers up the interior, and 20 commando droids suddenly spring to life.

ACT III

The terrified kids run back to the farmhouse, warning the adults of what they saw. Cut checks the fields with his macrobinoculars, and spots the commando droids approaching. He tells Suu to take the children upstairs while he arms himself to protect the house. Rex volunteers to help, but Cut sees he is injured. Cut asks Rex to go upstairs and serve as a last line of defense for his family, while he takes point.

Cut shuts off the lights in the house, barricades the door, and takes up position. The droids cut through a back entrance, but Cut blasts them. Others try through the windows.

Back in the wetlands, Grievous is relieved to see a Separatist shuttle emerge from the skies. The remaining AT-TE tries to blast it, but its cannon overheats. Obi-Wan leaps into the fray and crosses lightsabers with Grievous.

Back at the farmhouse, the commandos try to infiltrate the house via the cellar. Blaster fire collapses some crossbeams atop Cut, pinning him under debris. He calls to Rex to be ready. Rex blasts several droids while Cut digs himself out, taking out droids with his bare hands. Exhausted, the two clones destroy the last of the commandos. The farm house is safe.

Grievous orders the shuttle to abort its landing attempts -- the zone is too hot for an extraction. The general improvises, firing a cable at the passing shuttle. It latches on, and the shuttle flies away, leaving his troops and the Republic forces behind. Kenobi is crestfallen. Grievous has escaped once again.

The next morning, Rex loads up his gear on an eopie and prepares to leave. Suu asks if he will report his husband's whereabouts. Though it is Rex's duty to do so, he suggests perhaps that his injuries may prevent him from disclosing a fully accurate report. Cut thanks him for his discretion. Rex still brands Cut a deserter, but he does not call him a coward.