News of the Rebel Alliance's
victory over Endor and the death of Emperor Palpatine spread like
fire across the galaxy, sparking widespread celebrations and fracturing a once indestructible,
unified Empire as ambitious Imperials began carving out its remains for themselves.
Despite the historic battle occurring on its very surface, the forest moon of Endor soon returned
to its native inhabitants following the Rebels' withdrawal, who
believed it no longer served a strategic purpose for either side and that
all combatants had been accounted for. Unknown to the Rebels however, there was not only
an entire Imperial unit that still remained on the moon following their withdrawal, but also
one of their own had been left behind as well. 13 months after the battle, a lone scout trooper
speeding down the forest had his bike’s battery finally give out. As he inspected his former ride,
a rebel hiding in the trees ambushed the trooper with his blaster rifle. Acting quickly,
the scout grabbed the rifle and pushed off his attacker, only
to realize the weapon’s power pack was as dead as his bike’s.
The two immediately jumped into a brawl, lasting for 45 minutes before both men got tired and
called a truce. As they recovered, they discussed the outcome of the battle, both believing their
side had won and dismissing each other’s confidence in their
respective side’s battle plans. Eventually, the rebel began to leave only to get
attacked by the scout trooper, who believed he was escaping his custody, only for both
to fall into a trap laid by the Ewoks. Luckily for the Rebel, this was the same Ewok
tribe that had come across the original strike team from over a year ago, with them
treating him as a guest as a result, while the scout trooper
was taken as a prisoner. After the rebel convinced the Ewoks to let go
of him, the scout trooper began to open up, revealing how his unit was given orders to
standby on the far side of the moon and that they remained stationed regardless of never
receiving any communications since. He also revealed to be a clone like the rest of
his men, making him perhaps one of the very last clones produced by the Empire prior to their
complete shutdown following Kamino’s rebellion. It’s also possible his unit was the one Palpatine
was referring to as being among his finest legion guarding the shield generator, seeing
as they were all clones, but because the commanding Officer in charge of the Imperial
ground forces on Endor was killed so early in the battle, they likely never received
his order to move in as a result. Nonetheless, the clone finally abandoned his
post after the rest of his men succumbed to the wilderness of the moon, coming to question his
own programming of being bred solely for war and for choosing duty over
the lives of his own brothers. The rebel on the other hand revealed himself to
have been part of the original Alliance strike team but was separated from the main group after
their initial skirmish between Imperial bike troopers.
Despite both coming to the moon as soldiers, the paths they took afterwards were in complete
contrast. While the clone and his men remained as soldiers until the very end, committing to
their training to the point of still eating their rations even after they
had long gone stale, the rebel was able to adjust to his new life in peace,
becoming a carefree hunter and enjoying the gifts the lush forest moon provided him, including
potent Ewok kush he couldn’t get enough of once he got a taste of it.
The two men eventually got the Ewoks to lead them to the shield generator, with them finally
witnessing that the Empire had indeed lost the battle. While distressed with this fact, the clone
was more concerned over them being stranded on the moon, desperately searching for
anything that could be used to contact the greater galaxy.
They soon came across a semi-operational AT-ST walker. As the clone began activating the
walker, a Gorax from the wilderness stormed the Ewoks that had escorted them. Although the
clone was ready to abandon them, not wishing to risk using up the remaining power of the
walker, the rebel purposely drew the creature’s attention to their position, forcing the clone to
fire the walker’s blasters at it charged them, killing the beast and saving
the Ewoks as a result. This set the Clone off, who couldn’t
believe a trained soldier would act so recklessly, dismissing
the rebel’s idealism of protecting the Ewoks who had helped them.
The argument was cut short however, when they picked up a nearby Imperial signal. Believing it
was an outpost, the clone made haste, convincing the rebel he would be treated well under his
protection. But his hope was shattered once more, as the signal was instead coming from a
crashed Star Destroyer. On top of that, the ship had received orders
for a systemwide evacuation, showing the Clone that his brother’s sacrifices were for nothing
in the end and that they were abandoned just like the equipment around them.
As the rebel worked to get the communications online, the Clone reflected on his recent
experiences, becoming indifferent upon learning his new friend had successfully contacted a
trade transport to pick them up. The clone no longer felt he had a place in the
galaxy, at least for someone who only understood war like he did. Instead, he decided to remain
on Endor, perhaps wishing to find himself and reconnect to the life around him like his rebel
friend had, to maybe one day return to the wider galaxy not as a soldier but as something more.
And it seems he ultimately did, with the comic ending with the clone finally relaxing and smoking
that Ewok kush upon the AT-ST walker, likely making peace with his past and looking
ahead for a new purpose in his life.
