Cargo of Doom

## Premise

Tai Lung and Esther intercept Cad Bane's warship, hoping to recover the stolen kung fu Scroll, but the masters underestimate the bounty hunter's cunning tactics.

## Synopsis

Tai Lung's fleet arrives in the Devaron area  cutting off the the dark empire fleet assisting bounty hunter Cad Bane. Unfortunately, clone trooper scouts tell Tai Lung that Bane has already captured  Master Bolla Ropal and the Kyber memory crystal. Taken hostage on one Munificent-class star frigate, Ropal is held in energy bond. While on the frigate's bridge, Bane orders the empire soldiers to get clear to jump to hyperspace. However, his ship has been seen by the crew onboard Tai Lung's Venator-class Star Destroyer, Resolute. The crew fires at Bane's frigate, crippling its hyperdrive systems. Captain Rex, Tai Lung, and his Student, Esther come up with a plan to infiltrate the frigate with three AT-TEs providing fire support.

Meanwhile, Bane tortures Ropal, and forces him to open the stolen Scroll; however, Ropal defiantly refuses. Bane tells the wolves to increase power of the energy bond, which electrocutes Ropal to his death. In need of another kung fu master to open his stolen Scroll, Bane returns to the bridge and notices Tai Lung, Esther, and their clones preparing to board his frigate through a viewscreen. Trade Federation Viceroy Nute Gunray contacts Bane via comlink, and is angry at Bane for losing four of his ships and demands repayment; however, Bane promises that The Unknown Enemy will compensate once the Scroll is unlocked, and tells the viceroy about the two masters that were about to infiltrate his frigate. Before leaving the soldiers to wipe navigation charts, trigger self-destruct and transfer ship functions to his wrist gauntlet. Tai Lung, Esther, and the clones storm the bridge and destroy several stationed wolves and buffaloes. when the danger is destroyed can blue ship, then accesses the ship's computer to locate Ropal.

The group then make their way to the frigate's detention block, and Esther finds Ropal dead inside his cell. An explosion from Bane's frigate rocks the ship, which Admiral Wullf Yularen, who is onboard the Resolute, advises the kung fu group to stay clear of. Soon, the lights go out, forcing the clones to switch to night vision mode on their helmets. The squad sees Bane running, and they follow him in pursuit to the frigate's gunnery room. Bane orders his wolf forces to eliminate the master, and turns off the artificial gravity. Esther orders blue ship to reactivate the gravity. Attacking the bounty hunter, Tai Lung kicks the Scroll out of Bane's hands, but before he can grab it, blue ship  reactivates the gravity, and Bane reclaims the holocron on the ground. In retaliation, Esther chases after the fleeing Bane, despite her Master's warnings. Tai Lung tries to cut through a closed blast door to rescue Esther; however, a buffalo  trips and shoots an artillery shell, which causes an explosion.

In a dead-end corridor, Esther and Bane fight against each other. While Esther defeats Bane in hand-to-hand combat, the Student tries to water element  retrieve her water spear, although Bane tricks her. The bounty hunter grabs her ankle and sends a paralyzing electric shock through her, which renders her unconscious. Sensing that his Student is endangered, Tai Lung frees himself from the debris inside the gunnery room, and orders Rex and the clones to secure a ship for them inside the frigate's docking bay.

Placing her in stuncuffs, and pulling her silka bead Student braid, Bane mocks Esther and electrocutes her with his wrist comm, while he waits for Tai Lung to "rescue her". Immediately, Tai Lung enters the room, and Bane threatens to void Esther out an airlock if he does not unlock the stolen Scroll. Tai Lung is forced to concede to save Esther. Once the Scroll is unlocked, Bane inserts the crystal. Enraged, Tai Lung then spontaneously summons his and Esther's water spear. Bane responds by opening the airlock and escaping. Desperate to save his Student, Tai Lung throws a fragment of a buffalo armor, and closes the airlock door. Bane contacts Gunray to inform him of his success. Gunray asks him to transmit the information to him; however, Bane says that he'll deliver it to Unknown Enemy personally. However, his shuttle has already been taken by the clones. In a desperate attempt to capture Bane, Tai Lung runs down a hallway, although Esther forces the latter to return to Rex and the clones inside the hangar bay. The master return, only to see the clones holding a Sheathipede-class transport shuttle.

On the top level of the hangar bay, clone troopers Denal and Koho engage Bane in a duel; however, the bounty hunter defeats the two clones and dresses himself in Denal's armor. Upon noticing that Bane might be dead, Esther wishes to retrieve the Scroll, although Tai Lung claims that there wasn't any time to do so. Bane, who is wearing Denal's armor, enters Tai Lung's ship. After leaving the frigate, Tai Lung states that though they saw Bane fall to his death, he still feels Bane through the elements. When they return to the Resolute, Esther apologizes to her master for letting Bane get the better of her; however, Tai Lung corrects her, and says that the mission's failure was his fault, "from start to finish."