Dave Filoni’s Disney Plus sequence Star Wars: The Dangerous Batch adopted a bunch of clone troopers enhanced with specialised genetic mutations as they resist their orders to kill the Jedi and flee the military. At first they attempt to simply lay low and get by doing mercenary work, however The Dangerous Batch winds up getting drawn into the struggle towards the brand new Galactic Empire with the assistance of a mixture of new associates and main characters from Star Wars: The Clones Wars. The present wrapped its three season run in 2024, however it’s getting a brand new story in Star Wars: Sanctuarya novel from Wreck Street and The Getaway creator Lamar Giles that will probably be launched Aug. 5.
“Going into SanctuaryI needed to present my fellow Dangerous Batch followers the sensation of an prolonged bonus episode the place our favourite characters bought thrilling moments that felt recent and acquainted,” Giles instructed Polygon in an electronic mail. “I needed it to really feel like seeing previous associates after a while aside amid an intense journey.”
The novel is about after the occasions of the season 2 episode “Pabu,” the place the Dangerous Batch joins the pirate and treasure hunter Phee on the peaceable island of Pabu. The clones obtain a heat welcome, and agree to assist Pabu recuperate from a tsunami.
On this excerpt from the ebook, Phee and the Dangerous Batch’s laptop knowledgeable Tech – who had a little bit of romantic chemistry on the present – go undercover at a high-roller public sale seeking to “liberate” an artifact they will return to its dwelling planet in return for a reward that may assist Pabu. In fact, issues don’t go in keeping with plan.
Picture: Penguin Random Home
Phee leaned ahead within the pod, each arms on the periphery, as keen as a shockboxing fan at a title bout. She mumbled unintelligible issues Tech couldn’t make out.
“What are you doing?” he requested.
“Simply taking psychological notes. That slick-talking Falleen couple simply received that fertility idol,” Phee stated, considerate. “Gonna add them to my record of future liberations.”
The pods have been comparatively personal, properly out of earshot of the bidders on both aspect of them, so Tech wasn’t involved about Phee’s overtly vocal pirate plans. He was, nevertheless, involved in regards to the Muun whom he nonetheless hadn’t been capable of finding on the public sale home’s most up-to-date visitor record. With an enhanced scan of the darkened chamber, he knew the place the being was—two pods over and three down. The thriller being made a 250,000-credit bid on the idol Phee would steal from its patrons someday within the close to future, however in any other case . . . he was an enigma.
“Subsequent to the dais . . .” the auctioneer introduced, presenting the second lot and its beginning bid. This merchandise led to a heated four-way battle that ended at a whopping 725,000 credit. Once more, the Muun made a single early bid, 400,000 credit, however backed off when the worth climbed.
The joy and competitors grew by the third and fourth tons, some dynastic jewellery and the blood-crusted lightsaber, respectively, with the Muun submitting anenticing bid every time the fervor cooled. Tech’s instinct angled towards concern.
The fifth lot, an summary sculpture, had its bidding get off to a sluggish begin, however it will definitely offered for 500,000 credit, once more with some nudging from the Muun.
5 gadgets up to now. Little similarity between them. Each attracted completely different units of bidders with solely a single fixed within the combine. The improbability was like a flare in Tech’s thoughts.
With a couple of faucets on his keyboard, he stopped looking out the public sale home’s visitor record and turned to its personnel information.
The auctioneer known as the sixth lot to the dais, however Tech didn’t take note of the proceedings, as a result of he knew the sample. As soon as that lot offered, the merchandise they got here for rose on the column. At that second, Tech found who the Muun was.
“This merchandise stems from Carida and was utilized in spiritual ceremonies for hundreds of years earlier than its acquisition. This could be a good-looking piece for the pious”—the auctioneer chuckled at that—“amongst you.”
Tech squeezed Phee’s shoulder and broadcast throughout their comms. “The Muun isn’t a visitor. He’s an public sale home worker recognized as an assurance contractor.”
“A what?” Phee and Hunter requested on the similar time.
“He’s a spiker,” Tech defined. “Right here to artificially drive up bids to the public sale home’s satisfaction. The larger the bid, the larger their fee.”
The auctioneer continued heaping accolades on the Caridan mortar like the salesperson he was. Hunter pressed Tech for extra info. “What’s that imply for us?”
The sullen look on Phee’s face instructed Tech she already knew, however he clarified for the others.
“There will probably be competitors for our merchandise. The Muun will see to it. The credit we’ve siphoned from the opposite attendees might not be sufficient to win.”
“All proper,” Hunter stated, sounding considerably relieved. “If we will’t win it, we exfil and purchase the merchandise from whoever does win. That was all the time our greatest possibility.”
“It was all the time a contingency,” Phee stated, defensive, “however nice. We’ll see if we will salvage Plan A. If not, everybody start exfiltration whereas me and Tech keep till the tip so we received’t arouse suspicions.”
It was settled, then. Tech ready to endure the sheer boredom of the public sale because the auctioneer introduced the opening bid for the merchandise they’d in all probability should steal later.
“We are going to begin the Caridan ceremonial mortar at 100 twenty-five thousand credit.”
It was the opening bid they’d anticipated. And somebody went for it instantly: Phee.
Or relatively, her datapad bid on her behalf. She by no means touched it.
Tech and Phee stiffened of their seats because the pad flashed inexperienced in time with the show on the entrance of their pod, signaling the auctioneer that they have been within the competitors.
“I’ve one twenty-five. Can I get one fifty?”
The Muun did his job and raised the bid to 150. Virtually immediately, Phee’s datapad flashed inexperienced and raised the bid to 175. Nonetheless, neither she nor Tech had touched it.
Tech massaged his temple as if staving off a headache. “Mel, you added an automation routine to the code someday after I reviewed it.” It was not a query.
MEL-222 booped. A drawn out, shameful sound.
Phee pinched her lips into a skinny line, maybe feeling secondhand embarrassment on behalf of her droid.
“Ohhhh, we’ve got a battle right here!” the auctioneer taunted. “Can I get 2 hundred?”
A 3rd bidder leaped in, possible caught within the second, however immediately Phee’s datapad catapulted the bid as much as 250.
“Properly, that was fast,” the auctioneer famous with a raised eyebrow.
Certain was. As fast as that defective code MEL-222 put collectively.
Phee touched her comlink. “Mel, shut it down.”
The droid chortled sheepishly.
“What do you imply you may’t?” Phee stated.
Tech uncovered his forearm laptop, snatched the datapad, and sliced into it.
“What’s occurring?” Hunter requested.
Wrecker stated, “Convor simply shabbed on an AV-15. The proprietor’s going to be mad.”
Tech swiped by screens and typed instructions whereas detailing the abruptly perilous circumstance. “Mel’s code contained a number of subroutines geared to siphon credit from our unsuspecting benefactors and assist us defeat them within the case of some competing bids from recognized attendees. It appears the spiker’s absence from our preliminary intel has uncovered a bug within the code.”
“I’m hesitant to guess,” Tech stated, not being truthful. There was no have to rile Hunter over what was inevitable. Tech knew full properly the place this was going, and regardless of his greatest efforts to purge the droid’s shoddy code from the public sale home’s system, he knew there was solely a 4 p.c probability of abating what got here subsequent.
The Muun raised the bid to 300. Simply 50,000 credit shy of their predetermined restrict.
Tech stated, “Excessive alert, everybody. Issues are about to get frenetic.”
