High above the smoldering remains of Rishi Station, General Grievous witnessed the entire sequence of events unfold before his optical sensors—from the armored figure rocketing out of the listening post to the massive explosion that consumed the facility moments later. The sight filled him with a rage that his mechanical body could barely contain.
"What happened?!" Grievous roared, his metallic claws scraping against the command console. "Who destroyed the base?!"
"But General," one of his tactical droids ventured hesitantly, "isn't the destruction of the facility beneficial to our objectives?"
"You fool!" Grievous snarled, striking the droid hard enough to send its head spinning. "Without the all-clear signal, the Republic will investigate! All fleet units, prepare for immediate withdrawal from the Rishi system!"
As if summoned by his words, an entire Republic battle group dropped out of hyperspace directly in front of the Separatist formation. The Republic fleet significantly outnumbered and outgunned Grievous's forces, their Venator-class Star Destroyers already deploying fighter screens and charging their main batteries.
"Republic fleet detected," his sensors officer reported unnecessarily.
"Our operation has been compromised!" Grievous declared with barely controlled fury. "All ships, retreat immediately!"
Down on the planet's surface, Echo and the other clone survivors watched with satisfaction as the entire Separatist fleet fled the system in obvious disarray.
"The Separatists are running with their tails between their legs," Echo observed with evident pleasure.
"Thanks to all of you," Commander Cody said with genuine appreciation. "You've saved not just Kamino, but potentially the entire war effort."
"Especially you, Colonel Rhodes," Captain Rex added, turning to address War Machine directly. "We'll make sure you're reunited with your teammates as promised."
"I appreciate that more than you know, Captain Rex," War Machine replied with sincere gratitude.
"Look up there!" Cutup called out, pointing toward the sky above them.
"LAAT gunship," Rex identified with professional ease.
The Republic assault transport detached from the command ship in orbit and descended slowly toward their position, its side doors already opening to reveal clone troopers ready to assist with the evacuation.
"Come on, gentlemen," Rex said, gesturing toward the aircraft. "Time to get off this rock."
As War Machine was transported aboard the massive Republic warship, his Air Force training couldn't help but analyze everything he was seeing. The scale of the operation, the coordination between multiple ship classes, the seamless integration of atmospheric and space-based assets—it was everything he had ever dreamed military aviation could become.
He was actually in outer space, participating in real interstellar naval operations. For someone who had dedicated his career to military aviation, this was the ultimate expression of everything he had ever wanted to accomplish.
War Machine forced himself to focus on more immediate concerns. Rex and Cody clearly knew about the Avengers and had encountered his three teammates. Whether these people were ultimately allies or enemies remained to be determined, but they were his only lead to finding Steve, Sam, and Scott.
As soon as the LAAT touched down on the hangar deck, two figures approached them—a middle-aged man with an impressive beard and a younger man with distinctive facial scars.
"Cody," the older man said with obvious relief, "I didn't expect a routine inspection mission to become quite so complicated."
"Just another day's work for the Grand Army of the Republic, General Kenobi," Cody replied with a formal salute.
"Who was responsible for destroying the listening post?" the younger man—apparently Anakin Skywalker—asked with curiosity.
"All of us, sir," Captain Rex replied, indicating himself, the Domino Squad survivors, and War Machine.
"And this individual is?" Obi-Wan inquired, studying the armored figure with obvious interest.
War Machine's helmet retracted automatically, revealing his face to the two Jedi.
"You look familiar," Anakin said, his eyes narrowing as he tried to place the face.
"Sir, this is Colonel James Rhodes," Rex explained. "Callsign War Machine. He's a member of the Avengers."
"Ah, the Avengers," Obi-Wan said with sudden recognition. "Yes, you do look familiar. Your captain showed us photographs of your team during his briefing."
"We were given a comprehensive overview of your situation," Anakin added. "Though I suspect we'll learn much more about all of you in the coming days."
"What do you mean by that?" War Machine asked with some confusion.
"In less than a week, members of your team have voluntarily entered our conflict and provided significant assistance to both Republic forces and civilian populations," Obi-Wan explained with genuine gratitude in his voice.
"Don't let the Generals downplay it, Colonel," Heavy interjected seriously. "Without your intervention, none of us would have survived the battle at Rishi Station."
"We can arrange immediate transport to Coruscant so you can reunite with your teammates," Anakin offered. "It's the least we can do. Your assistance allowed us to arrive in time to prevent Grievous from launching his attack on Kamino."
"Honestly, there's a lot about this situation that I don't understand," War Machine admitted with characteristic directness. "What I need to confirm is that you can actually help me find my teammates."
"Absolutely," Anakin assured him with a warm smile, finding the colonel's straightforward honesty refreshing.
Before departing for Coruscant, the Republic officers held a brief ceremony to honor Fives, Echo, Heavy, and Cutup. Rex had decided to reward their courage by transferring them from their training unit to the elite 501st Legion.
Both Anakin and Obi-Wan participated in the recognition ceremony, praising the troopers' bravery and stating that they would be honored to serve alongside such dedicated soldiers on any battlefield.
After the Jedi departed to prepare for the journey to Coruscant, one of the clones voiced what had been troubling him throughout the ceremony.
"With all due respect, sir," Echo said with obvious sincerity, "we don't deserve this honor. We failed to defend the base as ordered and lost many of our brothers in the process."
"But you showed initiative and were prepared to fight against impossible odds," Cody countered.
"Even with Colonel Rhodes's assistance, the four of you held your ground and demonstrated exactly the kind of courage I need in my troops," Rex said with evident pride. "Domino Squad, welcome to the 501st Legion. As of this moment, you are no longer rookies."
All four clones stood at rigid attention, their backs straight and chests out, rendering perfect salutes to their new commanding officers.
"Sir, yes sir!"
"Why did Anakin and Obi-Wan ask us to meet them here?" Scott asked his two companions as they stood at the entrance to the Jedi Temple.
Steve, Sam, and Scott had been summoned to the Temple's main courtyard, where Masters Yoda and Windu were also waiting with obvious anticipation.
"They said they had a surprise for us," Sam replied with curiosity.
Master Yoda nodded knowingly, his ancient eyes twinkling with what might have been amusement.
Sam, who had been scanning the sky out of habit, suddenly opened his eyes wide as he spotted something approaching through the air.
"Steve!" Sam shouted excitedly, waving at the familiar armored figure flying toward their position.
Steve and Scott both looked up, and their reactions matched Sam's exactly—complete surprise followed by overwhelming joy at this unexpected reunion.
War Machine executed a perfect landing directly in front of his teammates, his helmet retracting to reveal the broad smile on his face.
"It's damn good to see you guys," Rhodey said with obvious happiness.
He exchanged high-fives with Steve, Sam, and Scott before pulling each of them into the kind of embrace that only comes from shared danger and genuine friendship.
Anakin and Obi-Wan emerged from their LAAT gunship and approached the reunited team with satisfied expressions.
Steve nodded gratefully to both Jedi before asking, "How did you find him?"
"Pure chance, really," Obi-Wan explained. "Much like how you encountered Mr. Lang, circumstances simply aligned to bring us together."
Everyone turned to look at War Machine, who was staring at Mace Windu with obvious confusion and recognition. This reaction was completely expected by the other three Avengers, who knew that anyone else from Earth would have the same response to seeing Windu's uncanny resemblance to Nick Fury.
"Rhodey," Sam said, looking at his teammate with obvious emotion, "looks like we're going to be fighting side by side again, brother."
The four Avengers looked at each other and shared a moment of perfect understanding. They were still stranded in an alien galaxy, still separated from half their team, still caught up in a war they barely understood. But they were together again, and that made all the difference.
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