Hey guys, here's how it's gonna go, I am NOT going to do little intros and outros every chapter because I'm so excited about this story I don't want to spend a shit ton of time on this stuff, so I will only do this when it's important. Read and review, God bless, love ya'll. Contains spoilers from Star Wars the Clone wars, kind of. There is a lot of stuff that isn't in the cartoon but a lot of stuff that is, if you haven't seen Clone wars, head to kiss cartoon then stick a lil ole dot in there and follow it with a com in there, and then just search it and you can watch it. Btw guys I don't really have the patience to go through a bunch of shows and lores and lists to find out which planets got the war and which ones didn't, so I swear the first person that comments on this and says "Oh the war didn't actually go to this planet and this that and the other" is going to get a very angry PM from me you pricks. Also, planet descriptions are based off of a quick google search, so cut me a bit of slack.

Chapter 1

Anakin Skywalker

19:00 hours

Kamino

Approximately one month after the first battle of Geonosis

"Ugh," Ashoka complained "I hate these missions, I'd much rather be on the battlefield."

"Me too," I admitted "But master Ti's transmission said this particular squad had qualities she thinks could fit the 501st."

"Sir," Rex said "With all due respect, I don't understand why I'm here."

"You'll have the final word," I explained "I may be the general, but our soldiers look to you."

Rex gave no further objection as we entered the facility, and were greeted by a Kaminoan and Shaak Ti. Ashoka and I bowed while Rex saluted, and she smiled at us. I saw Ashoka looking around, marveling at how clean everything was. I knew, even on her home world, she wasn't used to things like these. Me on the other hand, well when you travel with master Kenobi as much as I have, these things stop surprising you, sometimes.

"Master Skywalker," Shaak Ti said, bowing "Padawan Tano, and Captain Rex, is it?"

"Yes ma'am," Rex said, saluting "At your service."

"Follow me then," She said, motioning us "It will be another month before this squad has completed their training, but if you are satisfied with them, they will be transferred to the 501st as soon as they're ready for battle."

"What squad?" Rex asked

"Gravity squad." The Kaminoan responded

"And their names?" Rex asked

"FJ-7594, GR-8659, CK-7345, BK-7392, and AD-4739." She replied

"No no no," Rex said "Their names, not their identification numbers."

"I'm afraid I don't follow." She said, confused

"Their names," Shaak Ti said, turning to Rex "The other clones call them Fancy, Gunrack, Clip, Bravo, and Arrow."

"Thank you." Rex said

Even though he was wearing a helmet, I could tell he was glaring at the Kaminoan, who didn't seem to realize what she had done. The clones especially were very touchy about their names, which they used instead of their numbers. It separated them from droids, and despite what everyone else thought, they were men. They may have been cloned from someone, but they were still men, they weren't expendable.

"They're just inside," The Kaminoan said, showing us to a door "I'll leave you with them."

The door opened, and Rex, Shaak Ti, Ashoka, and I stepped inside. Five clones stood inside, dressed in their training armor. They weren't anymore than nineteen, or at least, that's how old they looked. They aged fast, and I knew they would be battle ready in a few weeks. Recently, a new technique had been developed that once these clones had reached a certain age, they would stop aging completely. Clones like Rex would stop aging fast and just age normally once they reached a certain age, but these ones wouldn't. We didn't know what would happen to them, perhaps old age was just their bodies shutting down, no matter how old they looked, but I knew that, eventually, we would find out.

"At ease boys." Rex said, removing his helmet as the five of them suddenly shot to their feet and stood at attention

They nodded and sat back down, casting nervous glances at eachother. I knew that the 501st carried a reputation, but I didn't realize how big it was until that moment. These five clones knew exactly who we were, and what we were doing here. They all looked exactly alike, as they obviously hadn't reached the point of marking themselves different, as most clones did at a certain age. Cutting their hair, tattoos, and such.

"Fancy," Rex said, looking at the report on the desk "You helped the squad pass one of the courses by fixing one of the droids you blasted, and sticking an EMP charge into it, then setting it off once it had walked into the crowd of droids standing between you and your objective, is this correct?

"Yes sir," One of the clones, Fancy, said "I did, sir."

"Gunrack," Rex continued "You have displayed more accuracy with a weapon than any other clone in your generation, and the highest number of confirmed droid kills in your squad, at least, in the training. Correct?"

"Yes sir." Gunrack said

"Clip," Rex said, consulting the list again "You're the fastest in the squad, you have yet to be hit by a droid during a training session, it was you that recovered the marker after Fancy detonated the EMP. Correct?"

"Yes sir." Clip said

"Bravo," Rex continued, clearly impressed with this squad's achievements "You have displayed an extreme ability to adapt in the face of any circumstance, one of the most pronounced being when a malfunction in your weapons caused them to have no effect on the training droids. You led your squad around the droids, capturing the cannons behind them, where Fancy rewired them to fire on their own troops."

"Yes sir." Bravo said

"And, last but not least, Arrow," Rex said "After being separated from your squad during your advance up the course, you flanked the droids, giving your squad covering fire so that they could move up and reconnect, refusing to leave a single man behind at the cost of victory."

"Yes sir." Arrow said

"Well," I said, stepping forward "It appears you weren't exaggerating when you said they had qualities that would do well in the 501st. We could use soldiers like them."

"Wait a minute," Gunrack said "Is he saying what I think he's saying?"

"Gentleman," Rex said "If the three of us are all agreed on it, when you pass your final test, you'll be transferred into the 501st."

"Haha," Gunrack said, punching Fancy on the arm "You said we'd get stuck on some outpost in the outer rim."

"That's where most troopers will start," Fancy shrugged "Didn't really think we'd be any different."

"Well, I'm for it," Rex said, turning to me "Sir?"

"I'm impressed," I admitted "We're in need of men like you five, with skills like you have. I'm for it too, Ashoka?"

"Me?" Ashoka asked, shocked

"You may be a padawan," I told her "But you hold a position of command, you get a say."

"I mean, it sounds impressive," Ashoka said "But training against an actual battle? Say they get killed, then we're without their skills."

"With all due respect commander," Bravo spoke up "We're sort of made to go out, fight, and get killed."

"I'm for it." Ashoka said hesitantly, as though she couldn't really believe she had a say

"Welcome to the 501st gentlemen." Rex said, turning back to the cadets

This was met with a cheer from the clone cadets, who shoved and pushed eachother, having just secured their spots in one of the most feared clone legions in the entire Republic.

FJ-7594: Fancy

Two months later

Falleen

I gripped my DC-15A blaster rifle tight, feeling the ship rock hard. General Skywalker stood next to me, his face set. Commander Tano stood to my back, looking about as nervous as I felt. I saw Bravo and Arrow standing on the other end of the ship, their helmets covering their faces. Gunrack was standing just in front of me, Clip beside him. I didn't know all the clones around me yet, but I knew a general feel of who was who. I felt a jolt as the ship touched down on the ground, and I got ready to move.

"Alright shinies," Rex laughed, clapping me on the back "It's icy where we just landed, don't slip, don't get killed."

The door opened and Skywalker and Tano ignited their lightsabers, waving to the clones to follow them. We bolted out into the open, where we had no cover. The drop ships started taking off as soon as the clones were off, a few were blown up.

"Move! Move!" Skywalker yelled, blocking a blaster bolt "We're in the open, get to cover!"

I looked up into the blizzard that was raging around us, seeing red bolts flying at us. The clone next to me took one to the head and dropped, dead. I rushed forward and fired back, using Commander Tano as cover. She blocked bolts while I fired back, but I still couldn't see anything.

"I can't even see the droids!" Gunrack yelled, coming up next to me "How are we supposed to hit them?"

"Shoot at them until they stop shooting back!" Another clone yelled from behind him

"That always works!" Ashoka laughed, blocking another bolt

I fired another burst of shots, ducking down to avoid one that would've hit my head. I had no idea where Clip, Bravo, or Arrow were, but I knew they were probably alright. There were a few dead clones lying around me, and more were dropping. I saw Rex sticking close to Skywalker, taking shots whenever he saw one. We were slowly advancing, and the droids were slowly coming into view.

"Move up!" Skywalker yelled "Keep your heads low!"

Another bolt shot out and struck the clone behind me, putting him to the ground. I dodged another bullet, keeping my head low as instructed. Our armor restricted a bit of movement, and I had heard they were working on a new type of armor that allowed us to move better, but until they developed it, we were stuck in these. Solid white, sleek, clean, with a stupid fin like thing sticking out of the top, it made us stick out like sore thumbs. Although, the white did make it a bit hard for the droids to see us in the snow, but I doubted it helped since we were very openly firing at them.

"Outpost just ahead!" A clone yelled "If we can take it over, we'll be able to establish a foothold."

I ran across the opening between the Commander and the General and took cover behind Skywalker, where I was able to get a better shot at the droids. At this angle, I was able to see them, which meant I could hit them.

"Obi-Wan!" Skywalker yelled into his com link "Are you busy?"

"Not particularly." Came a response

"I could use an airstrike!" Skywalker said back

"Copy that," A voice sighed "I'll have Oddball hit your position."

"Tell him hit the blue smoke!" Skywalker yelled

I fired at the droids again, taking down another one. I saw super battle droids marching behind them, their wrist blasters leveled at us. The clone in front of my took a shot to the chest as they opened fire, and we were forced to scatter.

"Fall back!" Skywalker yelled "Get back! Rex, pop blue smoke!"

"Yes sir!" Rex called back, dropping a canister at his feet

We turned away and ran back the way we came, about a hundred yards or so. Skywalker began yelling for us to hold, so we turned around and returned fire at the droids. I saw Republic ARC-170 starfighters flying overhead, and then a massive ball of flames rocked the droid position, obliterating the ones in our path.

"Forward!" Skywalker yelled "Drive them back! We have our opening!"

"Move it shiny!" Rex yelled, grabbing my shoulder

I threw myself back into action, running behind Rex, firing at droids. It wasn't long before we reached where the airstrike had hit, the ground was still scorched, and bits of droids were scattered everywhere. I also saw bits of clones, the ones who had been killed and the airstrike had hit their bodies.

"Keep moving Fancy!" A clone yelled "Come on now, don't get killed on us!"

"Arrow?" I asked

"No, it's Clip!" He yelled back

"I can't tell!" I yelled back "All of our armor looks the same!"

"Well, make sure it isn't set apart from everybody else's by a blaster mark!" He yelled back "Move!"

I kept moving, firing at droids as we went. This time, we tore right through the battle droids, they never stood a chance. They were still in disarray from the airstrike and we overtook them no problem, but it was getting control from the inside that proved to be a problem.

"Droidekas!" Ashoka yelled, pointing

Four of them rolled out from behind a communication tower, letting their shields come up as they stopped moving. We scattered, trying to find cover as they began firing. Any clone standing up front got mowed down, but most of everybody made it to cover.

"Roll an EMP grenade under their shields!" Rex called, tossing me one "Nice and slow boys!"

I peeked a little bit out of the cover and rolled mine, sending it as slow as I possibly could. A few of them bounced off, but enough made it through the shields. They went off, shocking the droids. The driodekas straightened up, their shields disappearing, and then fell over.

"Blast em!" Rex yelled

We opened fire on them while they were down, making sure they were permanently disabled. The fire died down very gradually, and eventually stopped completely. I glanced around at the havoc around me, dead clones, droids, blaster burns everywhere, melted snow all around where the airstrike had hit.

"Still alive?" Rex asked, clapping me on the back "Nice shooting shiny, you did good."

"Thank you sir," I said, saluting "Have you seen Gunrack? Or any of the others?"

"Arrow's wounded," Rex said "The others are fine."

I nodded and went to find them, looking around at all the clones. They all looked the same in their armor, but once they took their helmets off, it was easier to tell who was who. I saw Arrow leaned against a wall, a medic checking on his stomach. He had an arrow tattooed on the left corner of his forehead, and he had shaved his head entirely bald, different, but simple. I saw Gunrack, Bravo, and Clip standing off to the side of him, making sure he was alright. I made my way to them, taking off my helmet as I walked.

"Well, we're all still in one piece," Bravo said as I approached "That's a start."

"Yeah, now let's see if we can make it through the rest of this war." Clip laughed

"Alright boys!" Skywalker yelled, standing on a pile of crates "Listen up, now that we've captured this outpost and secured a foothold, General Kenobi can land his soldiers and back us up, now, we can push on!"

"We'll take the planet in no time!" Rex said, standing beside him "I need all you boys to stay sharp, this entire planet is crawling with clankers! Keep your wits about you, and your guns loaded!"

"There he is!" Ashoka yelled, pointing to the sky

I looked up and saw more Republic gunships coming in, moving down to land. They touched just outside the base and the doors opened, clones spilling out of them. General Kenobi stepped out of one, followed by a clone with an orange shoulder pad, Commander Cody. He and Rex were legends back on Kamino, everybody knew who they were.

"Well," Kenobi said, coming inside the base "Well done Anakin, I must say, I had my doubts."

"Can't you ever just be completely confident in me?" Skywalker asked him "Just once?"

"I have total confidence in your abilities," He said "It's your methods I don't trust."

"My methods are fine," Skywalker laughed, jumping down "All due to your teachings."

"Yes well, we'll have to debate that another time," Kenobi said, drawing his lightsaber "I'm willing to bet this base didn't go down quietly, and I sense Dooku."

"Very well," Skywalker said, turning to the rest of us "Alright boys! Suit up, and let's move out!"

Padawan Malakai Wolshor

Coruscant: Jedi temple

"Malakai," Aradella said, snapping her fingers "Are you there?"

"Yeah," I said, bringing myself back to reality "Just lost in thought."

"You do that way too much," She laughed "Come on, Master Yoda wants to see us."

"I'd rather not go anywhere." I grumbled, getting up

We had been sitting in our favorite spot, an old balcony overlooking the city below us. It wasn't a very commonly used corridor, so we often came here together, just to get away. We had come more often since the war had started, and it was well needed. Peaceful and quiet, everything the temple wasn't these days. I had turned thirteen a few weeks ago, and still had yet to be on the battlefield, but knowing master Kento, it wouldn't be long.

"Well we have to," She said, tugging at the sleeve of my robe "Come on."

"I'm coming." I said, walking after her

Aradella and I were different in so many ways, from the color of our lightsabers and our robes, to the way we chose to solve problems. We were both humans, from Tatooine, from the same village, known eachother almost our whole lives.. We had both been found by master Yoda when we were about ten, and stay together throughout our training. Although we had been viewed as too old for the training, we were allowed to pass, and we weren't the only ones in our class. It was often that I wondered how we could be such good friends with so many differences between us. I wore a black cloak, with a black tunic and jedi robes, and she wore a brown cloak, with a tan tunic and robes. I preferred to use my lightsaber to solve my problems, Aradella used the force in ways I hadn't seen anybody else in our class use it.

"Come on slow poke," She teased, grabbing my lightsaber from my belt and running off "You'll get this back if you can catch me!"

"No fair!" I called after her, taking off

She rounded the corner and dodged a frightened looking padawan, glancing over her shoulder to make sure I was still following her. I knew she would be heading to find master Yoda, so I just followed her, knowing I'd get my lightsaber back weather I caught her or not, just like I always did.

"You're getting slower!" She taunted, jumping clean over a group of Jedi "Come on!"

"I'm trying!" I laughed, going around them

I had almost caught her when she rounded the corner and skidded to a halt, trying to stand respectfully at the same time. Instead, she ended up running right into Master Windu, almost knocking him over. I stopped just short of them, avoiding the collision. Aradella, however, tumbled to the floor, my lightsaber sliding from her hand.

"What are you doing?" Master Windu demanded, helping her up

"We were on our way to see master Yoda," I said, using the force to pull my lightsaber to me "We were in a hurry, master."

"I can see that," He said "Any particular reason you had his lightsaber, Padawan Aradella?"

"Motivation, Master," She said "He didn't seem very eager to come along, so I told him if he caught me I'd give it back, it usually works."

"You two," He sighed, shaking his head "Some of the oddest methods I've ever seen, regardless, run along, and hurry."

"Yes Master." We both said, bowing

We hurried away from him, heading off towards the library. I glanced back to make sure he was out of earshot before Aradella and I burst out laughing, unable to hold it in any longer.

"Nice use of the force back there." I laughed

"I can't believe I had to run into master Windu of all people," Aradella giggled "He scares me sometimes."

"He is pretty intimidating." I agreed

We rounded another corner, and spotted Master Yoda, standing with my master, waiting for us. Master Kento Marek, one of the most skilled warriors I had ever had the privilege to meet. He nodded at us as we drew closer, and Aradella and I exchanged worried looks, knowing exactly what this was about.

"Masters." We greeted them, bowing

"Ahh, Malakai," Kento said "I've been looking for you."

"I was under the impression this meeting had been called by master Yoda." I said, raising my eyebrows

"Well, it was him who called you," Kento laughed "Because I called him."

"Yes, called we did," Yoda said "An assignment for you and your master, I have."

"An assignment?" I asked

"Yes," Kento said "I have volunteered to lead the assault on Kashyyyk, and I want you to accompany me."

"Me?" I asked "Why me? Of all the other more experienced Jedi to come with, why me?"

"A promising warrior you are," Yoda said "Yet, experience you lack."

"Well, a war is a great place to get some." I shrugged

"Malakai!" Aradella exclaimed "You're really considering this?"

"It sounds like I don't have much of a choice." I said

"You'll be fine," Kento assured me "Come and meet me in hanger five when you're ready, and we'll depart."

And with that, he and master Yoda turned and walked away, leaving us standing alone. Aradella looked angry and scared all in the same expression, and I knew why. When this war had started, I had promised her I would be safe if I ever got called to go out. She knew me better than I knew myself, I would do every stupid thing you could possibly do in a war, and I might just live to tell about it, but I also might not.

"Aradella," I said "I'm going to be fine, I'll come back."

"And what if you don't?" She demanded

"I will," I said "Don't think about if I don't, because it only jinxes me."

"This isn't a training session," She said "Malakai, this is real life."

"I know," I told her "I promise, I'll come back."

She pulled me into a hug and held me tight, something that was very rare between the two of us. Signs of affection, especially among Jedi, was frowned upon. I hugged her back, knowing that this may very well be the last time I saw her.

"Be safe," She whispered to me "Or at least try to."

"Do or do not," I said, imitating Master Yoda's voice "There is no try."

This made her laugh and I gave her a reassuring smile before turning away and heading off to the hanger, trying to prepare myself for war, or at least, as much as you can when you're a thirteen year old boy about to be pushed into a war you really didn't want any part of.

MM-6293: Mermaid

Kashyyyk orbit

15:00 hours

"Watch your back kid." Iron called over the com

"Who knew droids held grudges." Commander Malakai's voice responded

I laughed and adjusted our course to help him, knowing he would need it. He was trying to keep the panic out of his voice, but he had attracted the attention of the droid army in a very stupid way, taking out one of their frigates by landing a direct hit on the command bridge with about four dozen rockets, very unorthodox, very much overkill, yet very effective.

"Try and stay calm," Marek's voice responded "We'll get those droids off you."

"With all due respect, Master," Malakai said "It looks like you're a bit preoccupied."

I looked over at General Kento's ship and saw that the commander was right, he was very preoccupied. Droid swarms were blasting at his ship, and only his Jedi reflexes kept him alive. I locked onto one of the droids behind Malakai and blasted at it, scoring a direct hit and knocking him out of the sky.

"We've got two more coming on our tail," Iron said "And counting."

"Shoot them down." I said, locking onto another

IX-5349, or Iron, was my tail gunner, my best friend, and my brother. We had been together since the very beginning, and had served together in every major battle of every planet's orbit that this war had touched thus far. Master Kento had saved our lives during the battle of Geonosis when our ship was shot down just above orbit and crashed right in the middle of the battle, a very bad place to be.

"Alright kid," I said, knocking the last droid off of his tail "You're clear."

"Thanks, Mermaid." Malakai said, pulling away

I veered away and rejoined the battle, dodging a set of rockets that came directly for us. Iron was blasting like crazy behind me, and I knew we must've picked up a lot of droids. I began evasive maneuvers, trying to lose them, but to no avail. The scanners still indicated they were hot on our tail, and not going anywhere anytime soon.

"Commander," I said over the com "I scratched your back, think you can scratch mine?"

"No problem." Malakai's response came

I glanced upward, spotting his starfighter veer back towards us, blasting at my tail. One by one, the droid ships on my scanner began disappearing, until they were gone entirely. I let out a sigh of relief, realizing how lucky we had been, any longer and they would've shot us down.

"Thanks," I said "Good shooting sir."

"Don't mention it," Malakai said "Master, it looks like the droids are in retreat."

"That means planet surface is about to open up," Iron said "That's two hours, Mermaid you owe me two credits."

"Dammit," I laughed "I thought they'd put up more of a fight."

"Well, the planet surface will have plenty of droids," Kento said "Prepare the men, it's time to land."

Malakai

Kashyyyk surface

"Landing is gonna be rough." Captain Gregor laughed

"You can say that again," I said, gripping the railing tight as the ship rocked again "This is definitely my least favorite part."

"I love it," Gregor laughed "What if we get shot down? What if we make it? The odds are exciting!"

"And you," Another clone said as the ship touched down "Are certifiably insane!"

The doors opened and I ignited my lightsaber, jumping out ahead of the clones and taking point. I blocked a blaster bolt and looked around at where we had landed, wondering if there was a chance we could end this quickly. We had touched down on a beach, and the droids were barricaded behind a giant wall, blasting at us from above and pouring out onto the beach. Clones began rushing forward, taking cover inside holes that had been blasted on the beach. I tossed my cloak off to give myself better movement, and then rushed forward with the troops. I could see my master's lightsaber across the beach, two more blades behind him, a blue and green one.

"They want this planet so badly they threw four Jedi at it?" I asked Gregor as we jumped into one of the holes

"Four?" He asked, following my gaze "Oh, two lightsabers. Nah kid, that's General Secura."

I blocked another bolt and sent it back at the droids, who were advancing down the beach and beginning to overrun the clone positions. It was taking every fiber of my being not to duck down in the hole and scream, I was a symbol to the clones around me, I may only be a padawan, but I was still a Jedi, I needed to lead by example, so I did what Master Kento was doing.

"Let's go!" I yelled to the clones behind me "Move up!"

I jumped out of the hole and moved up, followed by the clones. Gregor was yelling and laughing with every droid he shot down, and I realized that the clone from the ship had been right, he was crazy. Of course, this was my first battle, maybe you just got like this after you fought for so long.

"Kid, you're crazy!" Gregor yelled to me, blasting another droid "Running right into the fight like this! I love it!"

"Just following my master's example!" I yelled back, nodding over to Kento

Aayla Secura was now beginning to come into view as she fought her way closer to us, attempting to reach my position. Clones all around us were getting shot down, and I was amazed that I wasn't dead yet, but I knew focusing on that too long would get me killed, so I shook off the amazement and forced all of my focus into the battle. Aayla had finally made her way to me and she gave me a reassuring smile before turning away and resuming the fight.

"Hold right here!" She called to the clones "We're going to need a foothold!"

"Somebody call an airstrike on that wall!" Gregor yelled

"Mermaid!" I yelled into my com "I need an airstrike!"

"Where at sir?" Came his response

"Where do you think?" I asked back, deflecting another bolt

"Ahhh, copy that," He responded "I see it, alright boys, hit that wall!"

A squadron of ARC-170's flew over our position and hit the wall hard, effectively blowing it to pieces. I felt the massive heat wave rush over me, and I was forced to look away until it had died down. When I looked back, the wall that the droids had been hiding behind was nothing more than piles of scorched rubble, and the droids and tanks behind it were now firing directly into the clones, who were furiously returning fire.

"Keep moving!" Aayla yelled, waving the men forward

I ignited my lightsaber once more and rush forward with the clones, blocking blaster fire as I went. Gregor stood next to me, firing as fast as his weapon would go, taking down a droid with every shot. Eight TX-130's brought up our rear, blasting the droid tanks. I blocked another bolt and slashed a droid down, using the force to push back a squad of droidekas as they were rolling up.

"Look out kid!" Gregor yelled, pushing me out of the way as a rocket whizzed by me

I hadn't even seen it, and if Gregor hadn't pushed me out of the way I would've been blown to bits. I didn't have time to dwell on how close I had just come to death, because the droids made one, final, desperate move. Every droid that had been behind the wall, every droid hiding in the trees, every single one of them rushed out at us, firing furiously. The clone behind me took a blaster bolt to the chest, and the one right next to me caught it in the head.

"Here they come boys!" Gregor yelled, firing back "Hold your ground!"

I deflected a bolt and sent it back at the droids, and then another. Blaster bolts were flying all around me, and I could barely move fast enough to deflect them. The droids were bearing down on us fast, and all clones and tanks were firing as fast as they could, but at least two clones went down for every droid that went down.

"Move!" A clone said, dragging another out of the way "We-"

He never finished, because a blaster flew out of nowhere and struck him clean in the neck. He slumped to the ground and I cut down a battle droid that had gotten close to us, actually, I cut down several. What was left of the droids had finally reached us, but they were badly outnumbered by this point. The clones immediately fired, punched, kicked, and bashed at anything metal.

"Get off me!" Gregor yelled, flipping a droid onto the ground and firing into it's head

Not all the clones fared so well, some went down under the sheer power of the droids. Although they weren't smart, when it came to brute strength, they definitely had the advantage. I sliced down two more droids and kicked one back, Aayla force pushed an entire squad of droids backwards, right into a canister of explosives. I slashed down a super battle droid and deflected a bolt back into another droid, while Gregor used me for cover.

"We've taken the front!" Gregor yelled to the men behind him "We've got a foothold boys, we've got a foothold!"

A cheer rose up and I realized that Gregor was right, the clones were finishing off the last pockets of droids attempting to retreat, but we had total control of this landing zone. I turned off my lightsaber and let the clones go to work, they didn't need me anymore.

"Glad to see you're still in one piece," Master Kento's voice sounded from behind me "I'll admit, I was worried about you."

"I can handle myself," I told him "Or at least, in this instance."

"It's good to see you, Kento," Aayla said, approaching us "And I don't believe we've met."

"This is my padawan," Kento said, grinning proudly "Malakai Wolshor."

"Pleased to meet you," She said, smiling at me "You've trained him well old friend, you've demonstrated skills as a warrior beyond most other padawans I've seen."

"Thank you, Master." I told her

"Oh you can cut with the formalities," Kento laughed "Trust me, it's gone out the window with a few of the Jedi, and Aayla here is one of them."

"Finally," I sighed "I thought I was going to have to be like that for the entire battle."

Kento and Aayla laughed, and I cracked a smile. The clones were setting up communications and more troops were landing on the beach, securing the spot we had just fought so hard to take. I knew we had to take the planet, and I didn't think the Separatists would give in easy. The two masters walked away from me, discussing strategy and what they needed to do to take the rest of the planet, leaving me standing on my own. I headed off in the other direction, intending to recover my cloak. I was disappointed to only find a few pieces of it back where I had thrown it off.

"Hey, kid!" Gregor called from behind me "Come on over here!"

I headed to wear Gregor and four other clones were seated down inside a crater that had been blown on the beach. Even though I technically outranked the clones, I felt so low standing next to them. Most of them were already battle hardened soldiers, and I was just a kid, barely thirteen.

"You did good today," Gregor said, tossing me one of the rations they were passing around "Keep that up, this planet will be in Republic hands in no time."

"Still a long way to go," I sighed, taking a bite of the rations "Hopefully, the droids won't put up much of a fight, but I sense a presence, a very dark one."

"Uh huh," One of the clones said "And exactly how attuned is that Jedi sense of yours?"

"For the most part," I admitted "I'm not good with the force except for combat, as to sensing and bonding, never been very good at it, so I could just be paranoid."

"Well, it's better to stay on our guard just in case." Gregor said

I nodded and fell silent, while the clones talked and laughed. I started thinking to back home, something I did very often. I wondered what Faren was doing, or Dad. Dad was probably drinking, doing his scrap and harvest trading in between, and Faren was probably scrapping and fixing pod racers, just how we used to when we were together. Faren wasn't force sensitive like I was, I had to leave him behind when I had gone to the Jedi temple. He was a year younger than me, and I hated leaving him with our father like that.

"Hey," One of the clones said "What about you, Commander?"

"What about me what?" I asked, jarring back into reality

"What will you do when the war is over?" Gregor asked me "It'll end someday, we've all got to go somewhere once it's done with."

"I don't really know," I admitted "I haven't exactly thought much about it."

What would I do? I mean, I would stay at the temple and be a Jedi, but what would I do? What would the clones do once they'd outlived their purpose? Would they simply be put down after fighting for the Republic? What would the Jedi do? After the war, we would go back to being peacekeepers, but exactly how big would the job be after the galaxy had just gone through a war? So many questions that needed answers, and I might not even live to get them.