For a while, there was comfortable silence as the clones and three teenagers ate quietly.
Except for one clone.
The trooper with "5" tattooed on his temple glanced over and noticed one of his brothers staring intently at his datapad, looking like his head might explode from whatever he was processing.
"Okay, seriously, Echo," Fives groaned loudly. "What the hell are you looking at on that datapad? You look like the vein in your forehead's about to burst."
His Domino Squad teammate looked up from his device. "Huh? What?"
"You've been studying that thing like you're trying to solve the mysteries of the universe," Fives said. "What's eating at you?"
"Heh, well—"
"Don't try to deflect," Dogma interjected. "With Commander Tano here, she can basically order you to spill."
"I'll absolutely do that," Ahsoka said with a mischievous grin.
Echo sighed but gave his commander and brothers an amused look.
"Come on, Echo," Hardcase urged. "Speak up. You haven't said a word since you pulled out that datapad. At least Kix was talking—you've been silent as the grave."
CT-1409 looked down at what he'd been studying and rubbed his chin, frowning thoughtfully.
"Well, I've been analyzing the Coruscant attack for hours now," Echo admitted, holding up his datapad. Those nearby could make out what he was pointing to—a detailed map of the galaxy's Inner Rim. "There's something that's been bothering me ever since the assault began."
"What's the mystery?" Hardcase asked sarcastically. "A psychotic droid attacked the Republic capital right under our noses."
"No, no, you don't understand," Echo said, looking frustrated but more with himself than anyone else. "I've gone over this attack repeatedly, and there are too many variables that don't add up."
"Like what exactly?" Ahsoka asked, now genuinely curious.
"Everything about it is wrong," Echo said, raising his arms emphatically. "This entire attack makes absolutely no tactical sense. How could it happen so suddenly?"
"It was a surprise attack, Echo," Hardcase pointed out. "The emphasis is on 'surprise,' you know."
However, Echo shook his head firmly. "Think about it. This is Coruscant we're talking about. Every hyperspace lane and route around the system is heavily monitored. The Deep Core consists almost entirely of Republic loyalist worlds. How did he slip past all our defenses?"
"Well, Ultron is an AI," Peter pointed out. "He doesn't think like a regular droid—not even like the tactical droids we face. He thinks dozens of moves ahead of everyone else."
"That's still not sufficient explanation," Echo insisted. "Advanced intelligence is one thing, but... wait, let me show you."
Echo jumped down from his bunk, moved to the center of the barracks, and placed his datapad on the floor.
Pressing the central activation button, the clones and three teenagers watched a holographic projection of the Coruscant system materialize before them.
"Look at this," Echo said, pointing to several curved trajectories. "These are all the known hyperspace routes in and out of the Coruscant system."
Most nodded along as Echo continued his explanation.
"I've reviewed this attack footage dozens of times now. Look here." Echo magnified the projection significantly, showing where Ultron's attack fleet had emerged from hyperspace. "Right there—do you see it?"
The clones, two Jedi, and one Avenger leaned forward, focusing intently on what Echo was indicating.
After a moment, Barriss was the first to grasp what Echo was demonstrating.
"Those ships aren't using any known hyperspace routes," Barriss exclaimed in shock.
"Wait, what?" Ahsoka said with surprise. "How is that possible? Coruscant has been the galactic center for thousands of years. How can there be unknown hyperspace lanes?"
"Ultron discovered them," Peter said grimly.
"How does a droid find secret hyperspace routes?" Fives asked.
"Ultron isn't just a droid, remember?" Peter sighed.
"What's the difference?" Hardcase asked. "Can't he be destroyed like other droids?"
Peter shook his head. "The droids here are typically programmed for one specific function or set of functions, right?"
His statement was confirmed by nods from most of the clones present.
"AI isn't like that," Peter explained. "I guess... the best way I can describe it is that AI is like a digital copy of a living mind. Ultron was created using three key components—mainly from the people who made him: Mr. Stark, Dr. Banner, and this powerful artifact the Avengers recovered. He's truly sentient and independent."
"A thinking being," Jesse murmured.
"Yeah, essentially," Peter confirmed. "But being an AI means he's not limited like the droids here. He can think and evolve far beyond his original programming."
"What was that original programming?" Ahsoka asked hesitantly.
Peter rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably.
"Well, from what I've heard from the others, he was designed as a peacekeeping program to assist the Avengers."
"Peacekeeping, huh?" Hardcase said dryly. "Looks like he completely botched his primary directive."
"That's the thing—he's still following a twisted version of it," Peter said. "And apparently nothing's changed."
"So what's his ultimate goal?" Ahsoka pressed.
"Well... if what just happened is any indication of his opening statement," Peter glanced at the holographic display showing Ultron's strike force, "same as before."
"Which would be?" Kix leaned forward, though hesitantly.
"Extinction," Peter said bluntly. "Ultron wanted to eliminate all human life on Earth, or force humanity to 'evolve.' Either he's planning the same thing here, or he's completely lost his mind and wants universal annihilation."
"Great, so this Ultron guy is just another version of Grievous—he just wants to kill everything," Hardcase said coldly.
"Given reports of him attacking Separatists on their home worlds, I don't think even Grievous is that unhinged," Echo pointed out grimly. "We're dealing with an entirely new faction in this war."
"Figuring out how to defeat him should be our top priority," Barriss declared with firm conviction. "He attacked innocent civilians, and many of our Jedi and clone brothers died in his assaults. If we allow him to continue unchecked, it will only lead to more senseless deaths."
The clones all nodded or voiced their agreement with the Mirialan Padawan's statement.
"So how do we stop him?" Ahsoka asked with a frown, turning toward her Earth friend. "Peter, since you and the Avengers have fought this guy before, do you know how to defeat him?"
Peter rubbed the back of his head. "Well, honestly, I never actually fought him directly. The only ones who really engaged him were Cap, Rhodes, Pietro, Natasha, Wanda, and Vision. And Vision was the only one who could actually beat him."
"He's still missing, right?" Fives asked, and Peter simply nodded confirmation.
"So how are we supposed to defeat him?"
Peter hung his head. "I... I honestly don't know."
"Then what can we do?" Ahsoka asked with obvious frustration.
Peter remained silent for several seconds until his fists clenched and he adopted a determined expression.
"If we can't actually destroy him permanently, that's okay," Peter said. "What matters is that we stop him and disrupt his plans. That's all we can do until we find a way to defeat him for good."
Rather than gaining confidence, the group's expressions became increasingly grim.
This battle they were heading toward... there was an ominous sense of foreboding as they made their way to Jabiim.