"...The Hunter always wins." 

"You really think a few lethal blows from a blaster can kill the Hunter?" 

"You show great promise,"

"But in the end..."

"...the Hunter always wins."

For the past three years the General has been waiting patiently for this scientific break through. 

Three years of patience and now they are finally ready to bring back the war machine of the Confederacy from the dead. 

The General can only imagine the reward he will be given from Count Duku. Maybe even the Dark Lord himself will personally promote him. 

The General's thoughts were cut short when the Hunter stepped into the lab. 

"Are we ready to begin?" the General asked, 

"We are." the figure replied, "We have a vast collection of Jedi ready to be tested to the last man."

"Then let's begin." 

The dark, cold, infected air soon lifted.

The many Jedi in the room lying unconscious soon slip back into consciousness as clean air fills their lungs. 

The first to shift on the ground is Ora Tay. He felt weak. He called to the Force, like a child to their father. He felt a rush of energy flow through his veins as the Force responded. 

The Kel Dor Jedi rose to his feat. His eyes behind the protective mask widened at seeing the many other Jedi in the same room.

Slowly, other Jedi began to awaken. 

"Where are we, Master Ora?" One of Ora's companions, Naluiq Sov mused,

"I don't like any of this," the Knight continued, "I sense a dark presence here. I fear for everyone amongst us." 

"Do be afraid, my old friend," Ora replied, 

"Stay alert. Be ready for anything." 

"The last thing I remember was being attacked by a tall figure in red armor." a Nautolan Jedi recalled, 

"As do I," another Jedi replied, "I think everybody here has very similar stories. We need to get everyone else up." 

The four Jedi began waking the others.

Before the others could wake him, Zen Utaru rose from his cold slumber. 

His head still hurt after being knocked unconscious by the Hunter. 

Slowly standing, Zen was surprised to see so many Jedi all of the sudden. 

For a moment he thought he was back in the Jedi Temple on Corascant and that everything that happened on Bondo III, the undead feeding on his friends, and all the destruction was just a bad dream. 

But it wasn't a dream. Zen knew because he saw him lurking in the corner. The dark, bloody man hiding in the shadows was evidence enough that Zen was still on Bondo III. 

"Spar?..." Zen offered. It had been three years since he'd seen his old friend from the Clone Wars. Now he finds him all of the sudden with the same story he had: that they were found and defeated by a man calling himself the Hunter. 

"I remember a situation very similar to this," Spar replied, "except we were in a cave and I had almost lost my mind completely." 

Helping his friend to his feet, Zen smiled, "I remember. I also remember leaving that cave on Jakku. And you were with me." 

"It's good to see you, Zen." Spar answered, "Where do you think we are? What are we doing here?"

"I don't know, Spar. Everything that's happened is so explainable. It bothers me that we still have no idea how the pests took over Bondo III." 

"I have learned to get used to insanity. I've dealt with it since the beginning of the Clone War. Bondo III's situation is just another thing I have to live through." 

"I don't just wanna get us out of this," Zen stated looking concerned for his friend, "I wanna stop this." 

"An entire world infected, Zen," Spar reminded, "how do we know this epidemic didn't infect other planets? We saw the shuttles leaving by the thousands just in our area of the planet..." 

"...I don't think Bondo III;" Spar continued, "the center of the galaxy's apocalypse can be saved." 

Zen smiled faintly. His heart wanted to follow his fleshly desires and agree with Spar. But he knew as soon as he did, it wouldn't be long before he walks the line between the realms of sanity and the insane.

"You know," Zen stated, "my Master once told me about how difficult it was to take me to the Temple as a child," 

"You can guess why it was hard: because I'm Cato Nemoidian. The Trade Federation wouldn't have one of their own grubs joining the ranks of the Jedi..." 

"But my master was stubborn. He was convinced that if I didn't become a Jedi, I would grow up to be a wielder of the dark side. For a Jedi, he was always dramatic."  

"After two months of custody battles and political arguments," Zen continued, "my parents and the Trade Federation agreed to have me trained as a Jedi..." 

"After that, a new law was enacted: the 34th Amendment of the Galactic Constitution. We all know it as the right for any species and gender to be capable of joining the ranks of the Jedi as long as they meet the minichlorian standards,"

"A week after I was taken to the Temple, it appeared on the news that they were killed; assassinated." 

"I was too young to remember my parents," Zen mused, "but after learning of what happened, I was determined to be as strong as my master did. I vowed to put an end to all evil, as my master helped put an end to galactic racism."

 "I can't put an end to all evil, Spar. But as a guardian of peace and justice I can certainly help keep it at bay. We Jedi here in this room need to band together and unite under a single purpose: to survive this." 

"Fellow brothers and sisters!" Zen called out to everyone in the room, "Gather around so we can discuss the situation!"

"What is there to discuss?" a Knight questioned, "We are all here because of a man called "The Hunter" defeated us and captured us for a reason we do not know." 

"There is more, young one," Ora Tay spoke from the corner of the room,  

"Tell us, Master." Zen offered, 

"My colleagues and I are from a community of survivors called Pandem. We were captured after a mission to reroute power to our location was challenged by the Hunter."

"I heard of your message," Zen spoke, "My friends and I were headed towards your community before I...lost my way." 

"I too was in search of the community," a familiar Iktochi Jedi added, "before I was found by the Hunter. This being is of great skill with a sword and I was little match for him."

"He attacked my fellow Jedi using a Cortosis blade," Tendo Nin stated, "We were no match after he deactivated our weapons." 

"He was strong," Zara stated, "but I also remember him mentioning that we were 'worthy'. What could that mean?"

"Worthy of what? I wonder..." another Jedi asked, "I don't suppose each of us are worthy for a special prize." 

"I sense it is a prize of sorts," a Kel Dor female Jedi thought, "but not a prize for us Jedi to enjoy." 

"Whatever it is, I don't wanna find out," the same human Jedi responded, "we need to find a way out now!"

"The Force will provide an opportunity. For now I do not see any form of escape in this small, compact room." Ora Tay replied firmly. 

"Is there any more information we can gather?" Tendo Nin asked,

"Do any of you know of the Contingency Order 66?" Spar asked. 

"No, do inform us, Jedi." Ora questioned, 

"I know what it is!" a Jedi interrupted, "It's an order for the clones to turn on the Jedi! I was betrayed by my own men while the undead outbreak went on. Perhaps this is what it's all about!" 

Suddenly the whole group began to murmur and wonder to each other. Spar and Zen could feel the tensions rising in the room. 

"My Commander betrayed me," Spar mused, "Perhaps the Hunter is a clone himself." 

"Enough with the 'perhaps this' or 'perhaps that'!" Zen cried out, 

"Look at us, my brothers, some of us are losing it in the chaos of all of this..."

"There's a lot we don't know. But we do know this..."

"We are Jedi. We are protectors of peace and justice. We are also survivors." 

"If we work together then we can get out of this!"

"We don't know what the future holds, we don't know where we are, and we don't know where we're gonna be. It's just like what Master Yoda taught each of us as younglings:..." 

"Stop living in the future and live in the now. Let the Force guide your every step." 

"But Zen, you have to wonder, what if nothing happens and we just rot in this cell?" Spar asked, 

Zen wondered to himself. What if nothing does happen? What if the Jedi simply rot in this room. It didn't matter what was going to happen. What only happened was what was happening now. But these Jedi needed a response. They needed a face to turn to. They needed a leader, and if it has to be Zen, who failed his friends... then this second chance will have to be an improvement for the safety of the Jedi.   

"Then Spar," Zen replied, "If we are to rot in this cell..."

"Then we will rot together; united."