“Zero Friends Again”

Escape
After fleeing down the trapdoor, the children Wim, Fern, Neel, and KB slide down a tunnel that splits into several tubes at the base of a snow mountain. The children exit out of the tubes. Neel notices that KB is not moving and alerts Wim and Fern. Fern explains that sometimes her cybernetic augmentations break down, preventing her from moving. Wim and Neel help Fern turn KB onto her side so they can reset her occipital link at the back of her skull.

An unexpected reunion
Meanwhile, Jod Na Nawood exits a manhole covered with jewels and necklaces. He encounters the hotel director and several guests. Unaware that they have been taken captive by the pirates, he asks them to refuel his ship. However, Jod finds himself being held at gunpoint by Gunter, who orders that he be taken prisoner. Jod attempts to bribe the pirates with the promise of treasure below Skull Ridge Mountain, but Gunt counters that he would be taken to Captain Brutus. A grinning Pokkit stands nearby.

Jod attempts to convince his former pirate crew that he can lead them to more treasure on At Attin, but they ignore him. Shorty later, SM-33 exits through the manhole but is stunned by the pirates, who mistake him for a threat. As Jod is led away, Pokkit taunts him about his capture and kisses him mockingly while the pirates spot several New Republic X-wing starfighters, which begin strafing the pirates. The pirates flee with Jod and SM-33 aboard two transports.

Splitting up
Below, the children watch the X-wings pursuing the pirate ships, shooting one down. Neel says that Jod told him the X-wings are “bad,” but Wim says they are “good.” While the X-wings pursue the damaged transport, the children attempt to wave to them, but the pilots do not spot them. While the other children are initially despondent, KB reassures them that she has memorized the hyperspace coordinates to At Attin. Fern thinks they can use the coordinates to reach their ship, Onyx Cinder, which lies atop a cliff. However, KB thinks this is impossible and walks away.

Fern speaks with KB in private. Fern believes climbing up the hill is the only way to reach their ship, but KB thinks they should consider other options. Before Fern can respond, KB criticizes her friend for not listening to her. Their conversation is interrupted by the boys, who alert them to the arrival of several trash crabs. Fern is suspicious of the crabs, but Wim thinks they are friendly and intelligent. Neel and Fern don’t trust the crabs, and the latter thinks they should return to the ship. However, Wim disagree,s and a shouting match breaks out between him and Fern.

Neel defuses the situation by saying they need to work together to get back to the Onyx Cinder. Wim believes the crabs can lead them to someone who can help them return to their ship. KB decides to follow Wim. Fern is angry that her friend is siding with Wim and says they are splitting up. KB agrees. Fern calls for Neel, who decides to follow her, reasoning that splitting into pairs makes the best sense. He promises to pick up Wim and KB once they have reached the ship. Wim counters that they will beat them to the Onyx Cinder first. The two pairs walk in opposite directions.

Escaping execution
Meanwhile, the surviving pirate starship reaches a space station. Brutus pronounces Captain “Silvo” guilty and sentences him to death by airlock. While the other pirates cheer, a female pirate reminds them of the “Right of Last Appeal” in the Pirate’s Code. Brutus snarls in rage but an alien pirate reminds them that the Right of Last Appeal must be upheld per the rules of equal time.

After Brutus sets a plasma hourglass, Jod gives a speech offering to sate the pirates’ hunger for treasure. He also speaks to the Quarren pirate Glerb and the human woman Koma, promising them wealth and power. He claims he can lead them to Tak Rennod’s treasure on At Attin, which produces an infinite supply of Old Republic credits. Before the hourglass runs out, Jod offers to lead them to abundant treasure while throwing shade at Brutus’ leadership. Brutus reluctantly spares Jod’s life but warns his former captain that if his information turns out to be false, he will be thrown out of the airlock.

Operating on KB
Back on Lanupa, two starships carrying barges full of waste release their cargo onto the snowy and rocky landscape below. While walking with KB, Fern asks if she chose to follow him because she believed the trash crabs could help or if she was angry with her friend Fern. Wim notices a tiny baby trash crab wiggling out of the eye socket of a discarded droid. He turns and finds KB crouching on the ground. KB explains that she cannot move because her augments are corroded. She tells Wim to gather some droid components to repair her augments. Wim rushes to gather parts from the discarded junk.

Later, Wim shows KB the droid components he has salvaged from the scrap heaps. As KB struggles to unwind a servo, she tells him to unwind the lighter wires. When Wim asks if she has done this before, KB says she has not done this operation outdoors before. When Wim asks why she did not tell Fern about her problems, KB replies that Fern sometimes doesn’t live in the “real world.” KB explains that since her accident, Fern always assumed that she could do everything she could.

When Wim remarks that it is good that Fern does not treat her differently despite her disability, KB replies that she is different. She asks Wim to pull out the resonator housing at the back of her head and remove the micro-fuse. While Wim operates on her augment, KB confides that she is not as physically strong as Fern thinks she is. When Wim asks why she doesn’t raise the issue with her friend, KB replies that Fern is impatient and she fears losing friends. Wim invites KB to be friends with him and Neel.

Wim places the damaged micro-fuse in the sand while he melts the wires of the resonator housing. Under KB’s instructions, he pours the molten metal into the mold left by the micro-fuse into the sand, which hardens instantly. He then places the newly-forged micro-fuse replacement into the resonator housing and inserts it back into her head. After a moment, KB’s head goes limp. Wim panics, but the lights blink in KB’s orbs. KB rises to her feet and explains that she survived a near-system shutdown. KB thanks Wim for saving her life. KB follows the trash crabs, with Wim following after her.

Rescue and reunion
Meanwhile, Fern and Neel climb an old metallic hull. Neel, who is shorter than Fern, struggles to keep up. Fern sees a discarded piece of rope caught on a bolt. She uses the rope as a harness to pull Neel, allowing him to catch up with her. The two see three hovering trash scouts levitating the Onyx Cinder with cables. Fern reassures Neel that they will get out of this together and tells him to follow her. The Onyx Cinder descends the peak as a fourth trash scout attaches itself to the starship. Fern and Neel jump onto one of the trash scouts, which they take over.

Elsewhere, KB and Wim follow the trash crabs past frozen boulders. The smaller trash crabs lead the children to a giant trash crab, which wants to eat them. The smaller crabs surround them, preventing them from escaping. Wim desperately uses his walkie-talkie to call Neel and Fern for help. They see the trash scouts dragging the Onyx Cinder. Fern sees Wim and KB and brings their ship lower. This allows the other two to climb aboard the Onyx Cinder’s hull.

The enraged giant trash crab hurls a boulder at one of the trash scouts, knocking the scout droids and the Onyx Cinder off balance. The children land on the snow and hug each other. Wim thanks Neel and Fern for saving them, complimenting their piloting skills. Fern apologizes to KB for not listening, while KB apologizes for keeping things from Fern. The two friends hug. They then hear an enormous scrapper barge approaching the downed Onyx Cinder, which has landed in the rubbish dump below the slope.

Escaping with the Onyx Cinder
Before the scrapper barge can devour their ship, the children race down the slope and enter the Onyx Cinder’s cockpit. KB starts up the starship and begins flipping the switch. However, the scrapper has latched onto the ship. KB exits the cockpit to start the engines and tasks Neel flying the ship. As the scrapper’s claw grabs the ship’s hull, Wim heads to the bubble turret and opens fire on the hulking vessel’s claws. However, the claws are heavily shielded. Neel manages to fire up the engine while Fern raises the yoke. KB fires up the engines, allowing the ship to accelerate.

With the engines overheating, Fern comes up with the idea of using the emergency hull demolition sequencer to tear off the ship’s hull. Neel and KB remind them that SM-33 warned them never to touch it. Fern activates the emergency hull demolition sequencer as the scrapper barge devours the Onyx Cinder. This causes the ship to break out of its thicker armored hull, revealing a sleeker design. KB puts out an engine fire with her jacket while Fern and Neel grin in the cockpit. Wim shouts with jubilation in the rear bubble turret.