So, talking to my mom, a few months back, an idea sprung to mind: What if there were clones who didn't obey Order 66, who turned away from the Empire, and still supported the Republic, despite the fact that it pretty much didn't exist anymore? I decided to start writing on it, in a clone's point of view, and this is how it turned out! Sorry for the paragraphs, that they're not exactly writer-worthy, but I just tend to write, and worry less about the paragraphs. Thanks for taking the time to read it, though, and I hope you guys like it!
Chapter 1
I still remember the day Order 66 was given. It was a dark day for the Republic, and the day I had to choose between following my brothers, or following the Jedi. I was just a rookie, then. Freshly dropped on Utapu with Commander Cody and Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi. I may have been new there, but I still had heard many stories. That's why I found it so hard to believe when Commander Cody gave the order to shoot down General Kenobi as he rode away. I had watched him fall, heard him fall into water, and from that height, he was likely dead. I still held onto hope that he survived. After Cody issued more orders, I approached him hesitantly. "Commander, with all due respect, was there a reason for us to shoot down General Kenobi?" He stood there facing me. I could tell he was staring, but as to whether he was angry, or debating what to say, I can't say, even to this day. When he spoke, though, his voice was eerily calm. "What's your name, shiny?" "Smasher, sir." "Smasher. We received orders directly from the Chancellor himself. Would you like to question them?" I stood tall. "No, sir!" "Good. There is a reason for the orders, but it is not our place for us to question them. We are soldiers. We follow orders, not question them. Understood?" "Yes sir." He gave a curt nod and walked off, shouting more orders. I sighed and pressed a hand to my helmet. "Ah, don't worry, Smasher, the General probably lost his way or something like that. You know that there's stories of how Jedi can go over to the Sith." I nodded. "You're right, Tapper, that's probably it." I knew that it wasn't, though. General Kenobi wasn't that type of Jedi, I was sure. I took the nudge from my brother, and gave him one of my own, then continued on with the nagging feeling that things were just starting to get bad.
"Smash, wake up! It's your turn to patrol" I groaned and got up, rubbing the back of my neck. "I don't see why we do this anymore. It's just a waste of time, nobody has stumbled across us, and we're just going to move again in two days." The look the kid in front of me gave said that it wasn't going to stop, at least not without things getting a lot tougher for me around here. I sighed and sat up. "Look, Chakshu, I'm just saying that sometimes, maybe we can let up. I know battle zones, too. I actually participated in them, too." "Daksh agrees with me that we should keep up the patrols. It's just a precaution." I sighed. "What does Jayin think? And Charin?" "Jayin says, and I quote, 'I don't care what it takes to get out of this camp and away from you and your brother. Just as long as there's an excuse.' Charin just shrugged and said it doesn't matter. Like usual." "Of course. Alright, kid. You've got your way, this time." Chakshu gave a small smile and left me, which was all I can usually get from these kids, are small smiles, and the occasional half laugh. I was happy with it, though. I picked up my helmet and looked at it. The same helmet I wore when Order 66 was given. The same armor that I was now putting on. The same guns. My body ached from laying on the ground, but I preferred to let the kids have the hammocks that we made, at least until we get more rope or vines to make some. Then, maybe I'd be in a better state, but I'm half afraid that the damage has been done, considering I don't remember waking up without an aching body anymore. "Come on, Jayin. You wanna get out of camp? Let's go." Jayin ran up, joining me at my side, his spear in hand. "We going to hunt while we're out, Smash?" "Sure, may as well. Not like we have much else to do." He nodded and stared ahead, his green eyes going distant again. It was pretty often that that happened, and when it did, I assumed he was thinking of what had happened when the Republic started collapsing. It happened fast, and his parents were caught in the middle, as their planet rebelled against the new rule of the rising Empire. He had watched as his parents were killed, helpless to do anything else. Now all he wanted to do was either keep moving, or be left alone. I could understand him, though. I would probably be the same, if the circumstances were different. "What are you thinking about?" I blinked in surprise. "The war. The beginning of it." Jayin snorted. "You mean the Clone Wars, or the Jedi Purge?" I looked at him. "The Purge. I wasn't created at the beginning of the Clone Wars. I was one of the last Clone Troopers before Order 66 was given." "Order 66?" Too much said. I pressed my lips together, thinking of how to get out of this. "What do you plan on hunting?" "Anything I come across that's edible, now you're not changing the subject. What do you mean, Order 66?" I kept walking in silence, trying to decide what I should tell him. I knew that it's likely I'm going to lose his trust with this information, at least a little bit. After all, it was my brothers that killed his parents. I opened my mouth, but stopped suddenly, holding my arm out to stop Jayin, too. I crouched, down motioning him down, and made a signal for him to be quiet. I heard it again, the slight crunch of footsteps, slow and steady. "We're being approached," I whispered. "They know we're here." Jayin went pale. "What do we do?" I shook my head. "Quietly, turn and go southeast, don't go too close to camp. We don't want to lead them there. I'll hold them off." "But it's just you! You can't hold off who knows how many people!" "Jayin, I'm ordering you to leave, I can't have you-" "You may as well stand up. I know exactly where you are." I was shocked to hear a girl's voice. I looked at Jayin and stood slowly, pistols at the ready to shoot. She stood with her hand propped on her hip, and another girl stood behind her, looking fairly uncertain. They were twins, looking almost exactly the same, except for the one in the front had some markings placed on her face with what I assumed was mud. My eyes slid to the Jedi patch on her arm, then down to her belt, where a lightsaber hung. "What the-" "Hello to you, too." I shook my head. "I thought all the Jedi were dead." Her face turned sour. "They are, that I know of." "Then why do you wear a Jedi symbol and have a lightsaber?" "None of your business. What's your names?" Jayin stepped forward. "You first." She smirked. "You're the bold one. I've seen you before. I'm Nisha, and this is my sister, Nitya." "I'm Smasher, this is Jayin. How did you know about Jayin?" Nisha snorted. "I've been following you guys and watching you for a week and a half, now. Didn't know whether to trust you, or not, so we watched you to find out." Jayin raised an eyebrow at me. "I don't know what's more disturbing, that they found us, or that they stalked us." I suppressed a laugh and cleared my throat. "So, how did you find us, exactly?" "We've been wandering around, came across your tracks. One day we followed them, and saw the little squirmy one." Jayin laughed. "Which one?" I elbowed Jayin in the ribs and said "well, I guess you're wanting to join?" Nisha stepped forward. "Only if you do something and answer a question." "Okay," I said carefully. "Go ahead, then." "Take off your helmet and look me in the eye." I hesitantly took off my helmet, tucking it under my arm, then met her stare with an even one of my own. She cocked her head to the side slightly. "Why did you disobey the Order?" My eyes widened and I took a step back unconsciously. "You are a Jedi, aren't you?" "No." "Why do you think I disobeyed the Order?" "I just know. Now why?" I turned away and looked over my shoulder at Jayin. "We need to finish the patrol. Let's go." I walked off without waiting to see if he followed. My past wasn't something I wanted to talk about. Especially with a girl that carried the lightsaber and symbol of a Jedi.
"What was that all about?" Jayin asked, panting with the effort of trying to keep up. I stayed silent, grateful for the helmet that shielded my face from his prying eyes. "Hey, I asked you a question!" I kept going, acting like I didn't hear. Then he took it too far. He knocked on my helmet. "Hey, anybody in there? I asked a question, and I want an answer." I stopped and turned to face him. "Stop." "Well if you would have answered, instead of playing deaf!" "I have given you the respect of not prying about your past. Give me the courtesy of doing the same. I don't want to talk about it." Jayin looked surprised. "Okay. I'm sorry, then." I nodded at him and then continued on our way. I knew I was being a little tough on him, but I didn't need him, or anybody else judging me because of my past. I already do that myself.
By the time we got back to camp, it was sunset, and both Jayin and I were tired. We had taken the second and third patrol without coming back, and had hardly noticed. I was surprised when I heard laughter and saw Nisha, Nitya, Chakshu, Charin, and Daksh sitting around the fire. I hauled our dinner meat over to the fire, dropped it, and silently got the skewer ready. I stabbed the creatures, already cleaned and ready to cook, and set them over the fire. "Hey, Smash," Daksh said. "Hey kid. I see you have new friends." "Yeah! They lived on this planet before the Jedi Purge started! They said that they had a farm and animals, and got to have training, too!" I looked over my shoulder at Nisha, who sat silently watching me. I didn't trust her, and I could tell she didn't trust me. "That should be done in twenty or thirty minutes," I said before walking away. I sat in my tent cleaning my pistols. It was something I knew I could do without error. Something I had learned early, and always did. I had already given my armor a quick wipe, and I was happy with that, considering that I wasn't proud of it anymore. That time had long passed. The time that I had been proud of being a clone. I pulled out the ragged journal I had been keeping since I left Kashyk, and started writing.
Memories. Sometimes, I wish they didn't exist. They remind you of what you've done, of what your brothers have done, and what you didn't do. They do exist, though, and a girl came around today with her twin sister. Somehow, she knows about Order 66 and what it is. About the fact that I didn't obey Order 66 when it was given to me. The question is, how much does she know? More importantly, who is she? I have my suspicions that she was a relative of a Jedi, maybe even one that I had been around when they killed him or her. I regret what happened. Every second of every day, even though I can't fix what happened. The Jedi trusted us, led us into battle, and most tried to keep as many of us alive as possible. I didn't know one myself, but a close brother of mine did. One that was executed for not killing a Jedi.
Memories surfaced in my mind, of a brother who was just that to me. Who died by another brother's hand when he disobeyed Order 66.
"Hey! Rookie! Get up, we've got work to do, remember?" I groaned and rolled over, off the cot that I slept on the night before. "Yeah, yeah. I'm going, Sharp." Sharp scoffed. "I'll believe that when you're actually out of bed." I sat up and pulled my armor on. "Happy?" Sharp chuckled. "Very. Now I don't have to do some body pulling by myself." I sighed. "This must be the worst job possible." He grunted. "I may have to agree with you. There's nothing worse than pulling a brother's body onto a pile of them and burning them." "Yeah. The smell of burning flesh is worse when you know it's a brother's body burning. Especially when it's a whole pile of them burning." Sharp nodded in response and pulled on his helmet grimly before grabbing the first body and dragging it over to the designated burning area. I followed suit, all the while thinking that it couldn't possibly get worse. Then it did. I waited for Sharp to pull the body from the top of a pile of them. It was a massacre, I could tell. My heart seemed to stop when I saw it. A Jedi body. "Sharp." "I see him. We'll burn him separately. He at least deserves that." I helped him carry the Jedi over next to the pile of already burning clones and arranged him to look at rest. Sharp set fire to his body and we both stood, watching. "Do you know why we're doing this to them?" "No, Smasher. I don't. I wish it didn't have to be this way, though. I may be only a little bit older than you, but I served with a Jedi once. They're the best people to be led into battle by, and they are caring and compassionate, even though we're just clones. Able to be replaced by another brother. I don't know why we're killing them, but I hope at least some survive, and can stop this." I nodded. "What if you were given the Order?" "I wouldn't do it. I'd miss, and hope the Jedi got away." I looked down at my feet, wondering what I would do if I had the Order.
"Sharp. You have been given Order 66. Your target is Quinlan Voss. He's going to be passing through this zone, and you are expected to follow through. Failure to do so will be treated as treason and you will be executed immediately." I watched in horror as Sharp stood at attention, being given the orders we both had hoped to never get. After he was dismissed, he came over to me. "I just wanted to say my good-byes, Smash." "No, don't say that. You can get away. Now, before you have to sit at that turret!" He shook his head. "There's no chance, rookie. I have to so this. I'm not going to kill him, though. Remember what I told you about it before. Shoot to miss." I looked down, and Sharp laid a hand on my shoulder. "There is a sort of honor in this, Smash. I hope you can remember this and see to it that more Jedi survive." I nodded. "I'll do the best that I can, Sharp." He nodded once. "I know you will." He turned and took his place in the turret, loaded it, and readied to shoot where we expected General Voss to come from. I stood rooted to the spot, unable to walk away. From my brother. From what was sure to be my fate one day. Ordered to kill Jedi.
It wasn't long before I heard a speeder approaching, and I tried to brace myself for what I was about to see. General Voss sped into sight, ducked down low on his speeder and intent on a path. Sharp corrected and fired once. Twice. Three times. Voss emerged from the dust only to turn back, giving a two fingered salute when Sharp didn't fire again. Sharp returned the salute, as clones emerged, beginning to surround him. Our commander stood in front of Sharp. "I thought I gave you specific orders. I told you what would happen if you disobeyed." Sharp held his head high. "I know." The commander shook his head. "Take him out where the Jedi was. We'll execute him there." I followed slowly as Sharp was pushed and shoved toward where he fired at General Voss, and was pushed down to his knees. They removed his helmet and his armor, and looking at us, on his knees, Sharp looked no less a fighter than the Jedi he warned off. "Any last words?" Sharp looked up defiantly. "Yeah. Long live the Jedi. And may they take down this corrupt troop, army, and government." Sharp looked straight at me, and I was the last thing he saw before he was shot. Killed by his own brothers. I watched him fall, his eyes still on me. "Burn him where he lays," our commander ordered, turning to me. I nodded and poured lighter fluid around his body as the commander walked off. I looked over my shoulder to make sure nobody was watching, and arranged his body the same way we had arranged the Jedi's body. "Rest easy, brother." I stood and started the fire, then watched my brother burn.