When you think of an army, you think of soldiers. You aren't wrong to think that. But when you think of an army, you think of men, fighting for their country. Not this time. Here, in my time, our soldiers were considered non-men. Flesh Droids. Replaceable objects. The very thought of those terms made my blood boil. These soldiers weren't any of these things. They were men! Men that would fight for their Republic, would fight in a war that didn't make sense to them. They would fight, and even though they were men, they are like any other man. They are vulnerable.
The gunship landed on the wet, hard metal landing platform on Kamino. Rain pounded the roof and floor, thunking off of the clone's armor. A Jedi youngling, recently turned padawan, stepped from the gunship, along with a red armored clone escort. Her eyes drifted from the stormy, rainy skies to the clone troopers that stood around her. But, nothing could change how she felt. She felt happy.
Suddenly, she felt a gentle shove come from her back. She turned, and saw her clone escort, ready to get moving. "Come on, General Ti would like to see you." he stated.
"Coming!" I responded, pulling my wet cloak even more towards me. Yes, I was the Jedi padawan, and this was my new home. At least, for a few months. Then I would have to go back to the temple. Back and forth, back and forth. This never stopped. But, who was I to complain? I had a Master, and that's all I needed.
I followed the clone inside, the doors closing shut immediately. Inside was pure white, no dirt or anything anywhere. Me and the clone escort walked on, around corners and down hallways. I began to wonder how he never got lost in here.
"But Master! We can't do this! It's wrong!" My master sent me a disapproving glare, telling me to hush. I stepped back, meekly. But inside my blood was boiling. How dare they even suggest the idea!
"As I was saying, Master Jedi, I think we should terminate this batch. Some of the DNA has been spread to thin in some of them, and is just tangled in the rest. It would be a waste to keep supplying them with life support systems and growth formula. Growth formula which we need for other clones." She emphasized the word 'need' very specificity. "Ever since the death of Jango Fett, we've had to stretch his DNA, you know that. We need every once of it we can get."
"Master, wait! If we do this, we'll be committing murder! Every life is important, that's what you've taught me! We can't just give up on these clones! They'll be useful for something, I just know it. Please, just give them a chance." My eyes begged her to comply with my plea, and she sighed, turning to the Kaminoin.
"I'm sorry Doctor, but my padawan is right. All life is important, from the greatest of beings to the smallest. We will continue with the procedure."
"Of course, Master Jedi." The doctor bowed respectfully to her, and then made her exit. I let out a sigh of relief and turned to my Master.
"Thank you Master! Thank you!"
"Hush padawan!" I immediately remembered to not yell, for she didn't like it, and shut up. "I agree with you, on a great many things. We are so alike, and yet so different my young apprentice. But, I do agree with the doctor in a few ways as well. Jango Fett's DNA has been stretched thin, and we need every ounce of it. Make it count Akelia."
"I will Master, I promise."
"I know you will." With that, she gave me her warm smile and turned to leave. A smile formed on my face, and I turned to the mutation tanks. Several clones floated within, some at different stages. Only one of the five was where he was supposed to be, and that's what worried both me, the doctor, and my master. This was very unusual.
"Come on guys, you can pull through. I know you can." My hand reached up and touched the glass of one of the tanks. "I know you can."
I stood on the railed deck, watching a process I watched pretty much daily. But this time, I held my breath. This was the 'bad batch' as I heard several other clones and doctors say. I didn't like it, not one bit. But what could I do about it? All I could do was hope they proved them wrong.
Slowly, but surely, the first clone form came out of the tank. One of the doctors checked him, and then turned up to me, giving me the thumbs down. The clone had died about yesterday. I rested my head on the rail, trying to grasp the feeling. I wasn't old enough to be in war, since it had just gotten started. But I knew what death was like. And nothing can prepare you for it either.
Clone after clone, the doctor's gave me the thumbs down. They had died withing the span of two days of each other, and with each thumbs down, my breathing for more and more heavy. By the time of the last clone checking, I felt like I was suffocating. The last clone came out, and this time, it was moving. The doctor looked up and gave me the thumbs up, but I didn't need it. I already knew the truth. One of them had lived! I knew it wasn't all for nothing!
Suddenly, I heard a gasp. Looking down, I saw one of the female doctors looking at the clone very carefully. The clone child opened his eyes, and revealed they were blank white. The clone was blind. She saw my expression, but it wasn't what she expected. She expected disappointed, and perhaps a bit mad. But no, my expression was happy.
Running down from the deck, I came down to the lab area. One of the clone doctors looked at me, and gave me a weak smile. "You were right Sir. One of them did survive." I nodded, a smile forming again. He stood aside, and allowed me into the lab. Immediately, I walked inside.
"Padawan Jedi, this is a disappointment. A clone cannot function without his eyesight! We must…"
"Terminate him?" I asked, giving her a curious look. She only nodded. My face changed, giving her a glare. And not a nice one.
"Don't. You. Dare. Every clone is worth something, and we did not go through all this trouble, just to end up terminating them all! If he survived the tank, he will survive training. We have other methods of working around problems doctor. And I know a couple ways. But we are not, I repeat, we are not going to destroy him!"
All she could do was nod nervously, and turn back to her work. I nodded in satisfaction to myself, and then turned my attention to the blind clone. He was of average size, everything about his was normal from the tests, but his eyesight. Another clone doctor, a cadet in training actually, looked up at me.
"Uh, Sir? How can he complete training if he can't see?" I knew the clone, and he cared for his brothers very much. I smiled, and kneeled down.
"Well Kix, ever heard of echo location?"
Time passed. A lot of time. 5 years to be exact. And now, I was at the age of 18. The gunship I was on swung into the clone docking bay on Kamino, it's doors opening. Step by step I walked out, covering my eyes to the brightly lighted hangar. A smile came to my face as I recognized the whole place.
"Commander Taske, Sir!" Came several shouts, all as one. I turned to see a long line of clones, several lines of them actually. The head ARC trooper, one I didn't know, stood in front, his red clad armor shining. "Here are the newest graduates. They graduated today Sir, and are ready to be shipped out."
"Thank you Commander," I responded. He nodded, and took his place to the side. My squad, Hook, Dino, Check, Bomber, Duck, Bunker, and Slyde stood behind me, their armor wet. They took in the new clones, shinnies as they called them, and stood close to me. My Captain, Hook, leaned in close to whisper something in my ear.
"I suggest we run them through a training course Sir. If we want to choose a new shiny for our squad Sir, I recommend we test to find out who's the best." I smiled, shaking my head.
"Oh Hook, it's not about who's the best. It's about who wants to be the best." He looked at me, very confused. I just shook my head and turned to the large group of clones. "Alright, listen up! Everyone of you has been gathered here, because my squad needs one more trooper. I have decided to pick one of you shinnies to be allowed into the squad. It will be tough, that's for sure, but if you want it badly enough, you will succeed."
Hook stepped up. "We are going to run a hard test, to see who's the best. Commander Taske will be judging you based on how well you do. If she decides she likes you and wants you in the squad, she will take you in. The rest of you will then be shipped out to other duties. We clear?"
"Sir, yes Sir!" They all responded. He nodded, and gave ediese.
"Commander, are you sure this is a good idea? Couldn't we just ask General Skywalker for a transfer from one of the clones in his battalion?" Bomber asked. Him, nor pretty much any of the others were eager on getting a new addition to the squad.
"I'm sure Bomber. Just have faith in me. We always pull through."
"Yeah, injured," came the smart remark. The other guys laughed, all except Mr. bossy Check.
"Hey! Be respectful to the Commander!"
"Oh be quiet Check! No one wants to hear the rules right now!" Duck and Bunker responded at the same time, laughing. I just smiled, pushing Bomber to the side.
"What am I going to do with you guys…?"
"Come on Commander! Just pick one!" Hook stated, watching me. They had gotten through nearly the entire battalion, and I had still not picked one that I liked. "How hard can it be?"
"Hook, I want this clone to be good, but not too good. Brave, but still cautious. Respectful, but not like Check."
"Hey!" Came a yell from Check, who stood behind me, along with the rest of the squad. Slyde, our pilot, laughed and hit him upside the head. I turned away, shaking my head. I wanted this clone to be good perfect. And I knew there was one out there.
"Alright, here is… CT-9287. Hook stated, looking down at his data pad. A clone walked in, his helmet on tight. I immediately saw there was something different about him.
"You should know this one my padawan." Came my Master, Shaak Ti's voice. I turned to her, trying to study her face. Her monterals twitched, and I immediately looked away. From about 20 feet below us, the clone ran forward, aiming his blaster up at the droids.
"Let's not take it easy on him…" Hook stated, pulling the lever down. The program immediately got harder, but not by much. The clone desperately ran forward, shooting this way and that. From where I stood, I could sense he was panicking. But it seemed like he was used to this. I got closer and looked down at the clone, watching him move around.
"That one. I want that one." I stated. At that moment, the clone got shot, and he landed on the ground. But, he didn't get up.
"Uh, why Sir? His moves were sloppy, he was slow, and he got shot!" My clones all asked at once. My hand came up and they immediately silenced.
"Try shooting down droids and running for your life, when your…blind?" I asked. They all looked at each other, greatly confused.
"Sir?"
"I know that clone. I saved his life a long, long time ago. His name's Trip. Or, so Kix named him. His entire mutation batch went bad, and they didn't think they would survive. There was talk about scrapping the entire batch, just to save the precious DNA that was getting low."
"But you wouldn't have it," Dino stated.
"Exactly. You men know me, I hate death. Especially when it's me who's caused it. And I knew I had a chance to step up in this, so I decided to stand up for them. My Master decided that we would continue with it, and that's what we did. He was the only survivor."
"But Sir, he's blind?" Bunker asked.
"Yes. He was born without his optic nerves. His eyes are blank white."
"Then how did he do all that stuff without falling?" Duck asked again.
"Echo location. We installed it in his helmet. And now, this is the clone I want on our squad. If he can fight when blind, and do OK by himself, imagine what he could do with us? I say we take him."
"Same here!" Stated Bomber!
"Yeah!"
"Yep!"
"Yes Sir!" Came the continuous flow of affirmatives. I nodded, and turned to the intercom, smiling.
"CT-9287, would your report to the control room?" I asked. By now, the clone trooper had come to his senses, and gotten up. He looked up in the direction of the control room, although he couldn't see anything, he could make out the direction of the voice. He nodded, and began to walk up to the back elevator.
"I think she likes you Trip!" came an old and scratchy voice. Trip recognized it to be one of his best and closest friends.
"99! You really think so?" Trip asked, giving a slight blush under his helmet. 99 was the only one that every made him feel like he was wanted. 99 nodded.
"Of course! She picked just you! Now go up there and give her your best!"
"I will 99! I will!" Trip answered, running up to the elevator. The echo-location in his helmet helped him make out the buttons on the control panel, and he was able to get on. Minutes that seemed like seconds passed, and he was outside the door of the control room. "Here I go…"
He entered the control room, his echo-location making out 9 figures. Several clones, and two Jedi by the looks of it. Although he couldn't tell what they looked like, he got a faint idea in his mind. "CT-9287, correct?" came a voice. A female one.
"Uh, yes Ma'am, er, Sir." I smiled at his awkwardness.
"My name is Akelia Taske, and this is my squad. I've watched you Trip, and I am very impressed with you."
"But how Sir? I failed the test."
"Yes, you did. But you also had more disadvantages than the others did. And you did even better than some of them. I know who you are Trip. You are blind. Have been since mutation. You're entire other batch was infected, and never made it. But you did. I was there Trip, and I am impressed on how you went against the odds to be who you want to. That is the kind of clone I want on my squad. Are you willing?"
He stood still for a moment, frozen. As if he couldn't believe what he was just hearing. Then, he responded. "Uh, yes Sir! Of course Sir!" I smiled and turned to the squad.
"Guys, introduce yourselves. I'm going to go confirm my decision with the Commander."
"Yes Sir!" They answered. I nodded, and took my leave along with my Master. But as I left, I heard the introducing of names, and the many questions that new trooper had. Boy, did he have a lot to learn.