“The truth about yourself is the hardest to accept.“

THE UNKNOWN
Battle for Ringo Vinda! Republic forces are
locked in heated combat with the droid armada on
a massive space station that encircles an entire
planet. Anakin Skywalker valiantly leads his
men against the onslaught, which has lasted several
rotations with neither side gaining any ground. Aided
by the twin sister Jedi Masters Tiplee and Tiplar, the
Republic now mounts a desperate offensive to break the
deadlock….

On a mission to retake the ring space station in Ringo Vinda’s orbit, Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker and twin Jedi Masters Tiplar and Tiplee lead several clone trooper detachments against the occupying droid force under Admiral Trench; among them are Clone Captain Rex, ARC trooper Fives, and clone trooper Tup. However, Tup has been lately plagued by strange mental disorders which leave him temporarily confused. When the Jedi and clone forces fight into the station’s command center, Tup suddenly goes into some trance, constantly muttering, “Good soldiers follow orders.” Upon seeing Tiplar while in one of those blackouts, Tup unexpectedly sneaks up on her and kills her with a blaster shot to her head. This unexpected attack disrupts the battle’s schedule and the composure of the Republic troops, forcing them to retreat.

Tup is checked for medical disorders, but strangely, no clues to his bizarre condition, which makes him alternate between trances and precise moments where he has no memories of his blackouts, are found. Suspecting a Separatist plot behind this irrationality, Anakin brings Tup back to Kamino for a more thorough check. Tiplee speculates that the breakdown may have resulted from a rumored anti-clone virus developed by the Separatists. Trench contacts Count Dooku, who has also witnessed the clone’s strange disorder. Dooku initially believes that the clone just betrayed the Jedi, but when Trench explains the clone appeared to be under some form of trance, Dooku becomes alarmed. He then contacts his Sith Master, Darth Sidious, concluding that Tup’s behavior might prematurely reveal their actual plans for the war, and the two Sith decide to abduct the clone before the Republic can examine him.

The Republic prepares a Rho-class transport shuttle to bring Tup to Kamino, with Fives promising to have a drink with him once he returns. As the transport leaves the space station and prepares to jump to hyperspace, one of the pilots finds contact ahead. A HMP droid gunship with five B2 super rocket troopers ambush the convoy. The rocket troopers disable the escorting fighters while the gunship fires a discord missile, and the resulting buzz droids kill both pilots, but one of them sends a distress signal before he is killed. The clones guarding Tup soon realize they are under attack and grab their blasters to defend Tup. While one of the medical officers manages to take down two super battle droids, all the clones are eventually killed. The remaining droids then free Tup from the medical table and place him into a container before departing to Separatist space.

Upon investigating the shuttle’s wreck, Skywalker, Rex, and Fives swiftly notice Tup is missing and conclude that his strange disorder is of great interest to the Separatists. Following the signal from Tup’s communicator, they sneak their way to the ring station’s main hangar just as Tup is brought aboard a shuttle but find it too heavily guarded to fight their way to the ship. Just before the shuttle leaves the hangar, however, Fives gets the bright idea to use grappling lines to catch a ride on the shuttle just as it leaves the hangar; the three thereupon board the ship, disable the droid crew, and return to their lines to prepare another transport to Kamino. Fives persuades Rex to allow him to accompany the transport, and the two depart with their stricken comrade for Kamino.