Story Summary: This is the first chapter of what will hopefully be several parts detailing the events surrounding Jedi Master Quinlan Vos during and after Order 66. This is the first Star Wars fanfic I've ever gone through and written, so feedback is always appreciated :-)
Disclaimer: As far as Star Wars goes, I don't own any of the characters or names, I just like them a lot. I'm not making any money off of this story, I'm just putting my thoughts on paper.
Chapter One
The dense and leafy forests of Kashyyyk covered more than ninety percent of the planet, and were home to thousands upon thousands of rare and exotic plant and animal life-forms. Above the tree line, the sun shone brightly upon the green wroshyr tree-tops, and the huge lakes glittered magnificently, reflecting skyward a pure and untouched air of beauty that could be found nowhere else.
Here and there among the forests, a wroshyr tree would jut thirty, forty, even fifty feet above the rest. These natural wonders were where one could find the capital cities of the Wookiees. A proud race of broad shouldered ape-like humanoids, the Wookiees were an intelligent race that lived at one with their surroundings, and taking time to trade with groups of passing smugglers and merchants. For thousands of years, they had lived in peace without any daunting perils that clouded their future, but as of late a new danger had arisen, a danger that now lurked all around them.
Shortly after the death of the Wookiee prince Rikummee at the hands of the droids of the Confederacy of Independent Systems, the Wookiees had allied themselves with the Republic, bringing down the full weight of their new enemy upon them. The droid ships had emerged from orbit, dropping down weapons of mass destruction along with what seemed like an endless supply of battle droids, but the Wookiees, aided by the Republic, had met the threat head on. The main bulk of the CIS's military forces had waged war at the coastal city of Kachirho, but many other squadrons of the deadly CIS droids were sent to other Wookiee cities, in an attempt to create a planet-wide siege, which might have worked, had it not been for the Republic's greatest weapons.
The dense forest canopy was more than enough to provide shelter and shade for the creatures that dwelled in the six lower levels of Kashyyyk's forests, but shelter and shade were not enough to protect them from their new enemy.
A small katarn skittered across the forest floor, drawing unwanted attention, and meeting a hail of automated blaster fire which practically incinerated the tiny creature. A robotic 'whir' sounded as thirty battle droids swivelled their heads to gaze blankly in the same direction, and away from the small pile of smoking ashes on the forest floor. "Target destroyed," the squad commander (discernable by the yellow markings on his head and abdomen) voiced monotonously to no-one in particular, "wait for further orders."
"Sir," a scout droid (this one with red markings) said as it marched towards the first, "Republic forces sighted fifty meters to the north."
"Status," the command droid blared.
"Neutral," the scout replied.
"Move forces to-," the squad leader began, but was cut short by a quiet 'snap-hiss'. Several feet behind him, a three foot emerald green blade of light materialized out of the shadows, and metal sizzled as it carved a diagonal line through the commanding droid, severing it in two.
The droid's death sent a frequency to the command ship in orbit above the planet, and immediately a new droid was placed in squad command. From amidst the mass of thirty battle droids, a single robotic voice stated simply "Open fire."
All at once, every battle droid raised their rifles in unison and opened fire, but as quickly as it had appeared, the green shimmer of the blade had been extinguished, the blaster fire meeting nothing but tree bark and thin air. The front line of droids took a knee and independently began to scan the surrounding area for their attacker. A second 'snap hiss' corresponded with a high and long horizontal slash that left three droids in the back of the formation headless, their necks issuing a spray of golden sparks.
Swivelling his head back and forth in a confused manner, the commanding officer's logic program left him with no option but to bleat in a high pitched voice "Fire at will!"
All at once the small forest clearing was full of blaster fire. Below the storm of red bolts, the ground was occasionally splashed with an eerie green light as droids legs and torsos parted company with their owners. In their mechanical frenzy, several droids were blown apart by their own squad mates in failed attempts at hitting the mystery force that seemed to be all around them. A third, and then a fourth droid was given command as his predecessors fell, and finally managed to squeal "Cease fire," only to find that he was one of three battle droids still standing.
The three remaining droids automatically formed into a triangular formation, faces scanning the shadows around them, when out of the darkness stormed a brigade of clone troops. Before the battle droids could make a move, blue energy bolts ripped them to pieces, finishing them with ease. Dozens of clone troopers swept into the clearing, taking up positions around the edges, and allowing room for what followed. The rear installment of the squadron turned out to be two massive wheeled A6 Juggernauts, the heavy assault vehicles of the Grand Army. Each tank was mounted with everything from small to large laser cannons, concussion grenade launchers and missiles, and each housed over one hundred clone troopers. The clone commander (designated by yellow markings on his helmet and shoulder-plating) strode forward into the clearing, issuing orders out to his men.
"Stryfe, Barrel, check the perimeter and make sure we haven't got any more Seps' hiding in the bushes," he said pointing to two green armored scouts, referring to them by their nicknames (the only thing that really discerned one clone trooper from another). "Slice!" he yelled up to the clone handling the heavy turret on one of the Juggernauts, "see if you can't locate the General."
"Yes sir!" Slice shouted down, moving to adjust the polarized lenses in his helmet, but before he could do anything a darkened figure vaulted over the tank and landed lightly on the observation platform behind Slice, causing him to turn around in mild surprise. "General!" he said with a sharp salute.
"At ease trooper," Quinlan Vos said in his deep, throaty voice as he clipped his lightsaber into his belt.
"General Vos, nice work with those droids," Commander Faie yelled up as he marched to the base of the Juggernaut, "just remember to leave some for the men next time, they get antsy when they can't shoot anything."
Vos smiled slightly. "I'll keep that in mind Faie, but for now we need to worry about re-fueling these tanks. Let's move up to the command center at Rwookrrorro and wait there until we hear something."
"Yes sir, we'll move out shortly," Faie said with a salute as he turned and began his walk to inspect the edge of the clearing. As he passed the second Juggernaut, his helmet comlink beeped, signalling an encoded frequency. Raising his wrist and pushing a series of buttons, a five inch tall holo-image of a sickly looking Supreme Chancellor Palpatine appeared before him.
"Commander," Palpatine said in a very odd voice, "The time has come. Activate Order 66."
With little hesitation, Faie inclined his head. "It will be done," he said calmly, flicking the holo-recorder off. Turning to the gunman of the Juggernaut beside him, Commander Faie issued the order.
Quinlan felt it before he saw anything. He sensed a ripple in the Force, and it was nearby. 'More droids?' he thought as he began to scan the edges of the clearing, fingers idly grazing his lightsaber handle.
Brow furrowed, Vos suddenly felt a screaming urge within him, telling him to jump. Acting on instinct, he pushed off of the tank, leaping into the air. Having gone no more than five feet through the air, two missiles tore through the hull of the Juggernaut below him, engulfing it in a ball of flame. An involuntary gasp escaped Vos' lips, causing him to breathe in ash and flame. Body shuddering in pain, the blast threw him beyond the treeline and ring of stunned clone troopers. Slamming into a wroshyr tree some twenty five feet later, Vos felt a dull crack as his right arm broke in several places. As his body hit the ground with a dull 'thud', the battered Jedi tapped desperately into the Force, but abandoned the attempt as darkness overtook him.
Surveying the large fire that had until recently been a fully functional Republic tank, Commander Faie made his decision: Jedi or no, it wasn't possible to survive an explosion of that intensity. Turning to his troops, he took command of the situation. "Alright boys, saddle up and head for the nearest Wook' city. We'll stay put there until we receive further orders."
Faie watched with a certain amount of satisfaction as the shocked clones in his unit slowly re-formed up around the remaining Juggernaut and began to make the final preparations before moving out. Taking on good look back at the smouldering tank skeleton, the only thing on Clone Commander Faie's mind was whether or not the budget would cover another tank.