Have no fear, Grubkiller's here.
Hey folks. I'm putting together a new story.
It'll detail the 'fall of the Republic' (hence the title) in my fanfic universe.
It'll basically be a monster story that combines polished versions of three of my stories (Escaping the Past, The End is Near, Return of the Sith) with a little extra content in between those stories to connect them better.
So I hope that you enjoy my new-(ish) story.
Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars. It was created by George Lucas and belongs to Lucasfilm. Which has been sold to Disney (sigh), unfortunately.
P.S: This story is only rated M for sensual themes later on. Otherwise, it's pretty much rated T.
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Opening Word Crawl (Star Wars theme plays in the background).
A Galaxy at war!
For centuries, the Jedi-led Republic, based in the core and colonies, and the Sith Empire, based in the outer rim, have been at war for centuries. After centuries of perpetual wars, cold wars, and proxy wars, the Republic finally gets the upper hand, driving the Sith into their home territory in the Tion Cluster. After 5 years of being besieged, the Sith go into exile in the Unknown regions, thought to be destroyed by the Jedi and the Republic, which begins a new era of peace and prosperity following the Ruusan Reformation.
Darth Bane has a falling out with the Sith Empire. Refusing to go into exile with the rest of the Sith, believing their constant infighting to be a weakness that caused the decline of the Sith in the first place. He goes into hiding with his apprentice, Darth Zannah, and he creates a new Sith order based off of his rule of two doctrine, which states that there can only be two Sith at any given time (the Master and Apprentice).
For years, the New Sith order works from the shadows, creating chaos across the galaxy, which undermines the Republic's authority. A political/economic/cultural rift begins to open up between the Core and Outer Rim regions of the galaxy. Darth Sidious and his apprentice, Darth Tyrannous, aka Count Dooku, exploit this rift for all it is worth. Darth Sidious becomes Chancellor of the Republic, which controls the core, while Count Dooku leads a new Separatist movement based in the outer rim. Both men lead their respective movements on the path to war with each other. But no one suspects their true intentions.
What happens next will plant the seeds that will bring about the fall of the Republic.
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"-Fallen Jedi Pong Krell before being executed by Clone Troopers during the Battle of Umbara.
Republic held umbaran airbase, near the capital city, Umbara.
Umbara.
A jungle world in the Expansion Region that experienced no sunlight on its surface, earning the name "Shadow World."
For weeks now, the Republic has been trying to wrestle control of the planet away from the Separatist Alliance. Republic naval forces led by Master Luminara Unduili, Barriss Offee, and Ahsoka Tano, were dealing with the Separatist blockade. When the blockade was broken, Clone forces under the command of masters Kenobi and Tiin went straight for the capital city. As this happened, masters Skywalker and Krell covered their flanks.
It was a brutal fight for Captain Rex and his men.
The Umbarans were one with their environment, which they used to conceal their positions and viciously lash out when their enemies were close enough. It made it difficult for the Republic to advance. But with Anakin Skywalker leading them, they made progress nonetheless.
But then something strange happened. Anakin was recalled back to Coruscant unexpectantly, leaving the 501st Legion to be put under the temporary command of another Jedi, who had a serious reputation.
Jedi Master Pong Krell.
An accomplished General with many battlefield victories under his belt. But there was a catch: those battlefields were painted red with the blood of his men. He has more battlefield casualties than anyone else in the Jedi order.
For weeks, he pushed the troopers that he commanded (and despised) to their limit. While his men fought, and died in many cases, he led from behind. After the Republic captured an Umbaran airbase, General Krell ordered Rex and his men on towards the heavily fortified capital, despite the hellfire of deadly missiles being rained down upon the surface by the Separatist fleet. It was going to be a death trap. But, realizing there was a better plan, several clone troopers disobeyed their orders to carry out a covert operation to destroy the very ship arming the Separatists with those powerful missiles.
When they returned from their successful mission, the three surviving troopers were put in the prison hold and threatened with court-martial. But Rex ordered their stay of execution, causing more friction between him and krell.
But with their adversaries wearing clone armor and preparing to launch an offensive against the Republic airbase, Rex and his men were sent out to stop the enemy.
But what happened next was nothing short of a tragedy. A tragedy that forced Rex and his men to make the hardest decision that they would ever make.
(flashback)
The troopers moved out, but soon ran into a brutal firefight and began targeting what they believed to be enemy troopers disguised as troopers from the 212th Attack Battalion. Blue blaster bolts flew back and forth, spearing troopers on both sides. Mortar bombs were launched over the treetops, landing in the middle of clusters of troopers from both sides.
Dozens of combatants on both sides were killed, and dozens more were wounded.
"Captain, where are you?" Clone Trooper Kix shouted into his comm, as Rex charged towards the enemy lines, firing his dual blasters as he went. "We're sustaining heavy casualties."
Rex continued firing his blasters at an unseen target, just as another explosion went off in front of him, killing a cluster of his men. But just before he went to join the rest of his men, the body of someone wearing 212th armor caught his eye. He rushed over to investigate.
On closer inspection, it appeared that the corpse's helmet wasn't on all the way, revealing his throat and chin. But the exposed skin was tanned. Umbaran typically had very pale skin from this planet's lack of sunlight. As Rex went to take a closer look, a tight knot formed in his stomach. He pulled the corpse of one of his men off of the body in question. That's when he reached out to pull the trooper's helmet off.
He slowly pulled the helmet off. But to his surprise, instead of an Umbaran in disguise, it was a clone trooper. The face of Jango Fett looked up at the sky with lifeless eyes.
"What?" Rex exclaimed as he stumbled back in shocked horror.
They weren't Umbarans. They were clones. His men were shooting their own brothers.
Rex rushed back to the battlefield and began to run out in the open.
"Everyone, stop firing!" Rex ordered as he waved his hands over his head and charged out in the line of fire. "We're shooting at our own men!"
But his men didn't listen. They were immersed in the battle and they continued to fire at the armored figures firing back at them.
"They're not Umbarans. They're Clones!" The men closest to him heard him and looked at him as they stopped shooting. "Take off your helmets!" Rex shouted to his men as he ran past them. "Show them you're not the enemy!"
Rex continued to rush out in the open as blue plasma continued to fly back and forth around him.
One Clone sniper from the 212th was about to take aim at Rex when his spotter saw him take his helmet off.
"They're clones!" He could hear Rex shout from afar.
The 212th trooper put his hand on the rifle of the trooper next to him.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa whoa whoa!" The trooper exclaimed repeatedly.
"Everyone! Stop firing! Cease Fire! They're not Umbarans! They're Clones!" Rex continued shouting as he ran across the field. One by one, troopers stopped firing, trying to figure out what the hell was going on.
One 212th trooper was standing out in the open, trying to find a target. That's when he saw Rex charging at him.
He lowered his rifle.
"What the-," he tried to say before Rex tackled him to the ground. They rolled on the ground until Rex was on top. He ripped the helmet off of the terrified trooper and yanked him to his feet. Rex turned him around so that everyone could see that they were clones.
"LOOK! WE'RE CLONES! WE'RE ALL CLONES!" Rex shouted as he held the trooper in front of him.
"What?" Dogma asked in surprise as he ripped his helmet off.
The fire began to die down almost immediately after, and troopers from both sides took their helmets off to go out and meet their brothers out in the open. Everyone was shaken. It was so quiet. No one said anything. Not a word.
Rex let go of the trooper he was holding before he dropped to his knees. the trooper crawled away to collect himself. Rex held his head. He could not comprehend what had just happened.
'What have we done?'. He thought to himself.
(flashback ends).
Later, after finding out that Krell had ordered both units to attack the area they've been sent to, Rex made the most dangerous decision of his entire life: To arrest of a General of the Grand Army.
To Arrest a Jedi Knight
Rex and his men, along with men from the 212th, marched on the seemingly deserted airbase.
Off in the distance, storm clouds were forming. Dark clouds moved close together, lightning flashing through them, making them glow as thunder boomed in the distance. It was as if nature itself wanted to be a symbol today. An ominous symbol for what was about to happen.
In the detention cells beneath the base, Fives, Jesse, and Hardcase were all still in their prison cell. The troopers who were nearly executed for taking personal initiative, sat around and waited for something to happen. That's when providence seemed to show fortune in that moment. The lift slowly descended to their level. The occupants were Rex, Tup, and Kix. The three troopers stepped off of the lift and walked over to the cell. That's when Rex deactivated the shield. Fives, Jesse, and Hardcase stood up. That's when Rex and the others presented them with blaster rifles.
The three prisoners looked at each other and nodded. They reached for the rifles and geared up.
As far as they were concerned, it was payback time.
Up in the command tower, General Pong Krell looked out over the stormy horizon with his hands clasped behind his back. That's when the lift door opened up to reveal Rex and over a dozen clone troopers from the 501st and 212th.
They entered the room and fanned out along the walls, completely surrounding the Besalisk Jedi.
When Krell was surrounded, Rex stepped into the room, the door closing behind him.
"General Krell, you're being relieved duty," Rex stated assertively.
The smiling Jedi turned around. When he did, a flash of lightning very ominously crackled in the distance.
"It's treason then," Krell said.
Rex unholstered his sidearms and pointed them at Krell. "Surrender General," he ordered.
But Krell stepped forward, undaunted. He was a giant, standing a head taller than anyone around him, with broad shoulders and biceps bigger than the head of an average human.
"You're committing mutiny Captain," Krell said as he stopped when he was in the middle of the room.
"Explain your actions," Rex ordered.
Krell looked around at the troopers pointing their rifle at him.
"My actions?" he asked.
"For ordering your troops against one another!" Rex shouted.
"Oh..." Krell said as he looked at the ceiling and held his chin with one of his four hands. "...that. I'm surprised you were able to figure it out, for a Clone," Krell mocked.
Fives looked over to Jesse. He gave a hand signal. Jesse nodded and slowly moved towards Krell with Fives and several other troopers.
"Surrender General, you're outnumbered," Rex said just as Krell spread his arms out and channeled the power of the force to make every trooper around him fly in every direction, causing them to slam into the walls around the room.
The troopers all grunted and groaned as they hit the walls.
"You dare to attack a Jedi?" Krell asked as he ignited both of his dual bladed lightsabers.
The clones got up and began to fire on the four armed Jedi. Their plasma bolts flew towards the General from every direction. But krell spun around several times and expertly swung his blades around like they were propellors. He turned around and swung his blades at two clones that got too close to him, slicing them almost in half. The general then thrust his blade forward and impaled to other clones that were in front of him. The clones continued to lay down fire. One trooper charged, unwisely, at the General in an attempt to subdue him. He failed. Krell crisscrossed his blades and sliced them across the trooper's torso. He then kicked the staggering trooper across the room. The trooper's corpse flew towards Rex. Rex dodged the trooper, who flew into the door with a loud clang.
Moments later, the remaining Clones stopped. So did Krell. He stopped swinging his blades so that he could talk to Rex. Burning hatred spewed from his eyes as he stared into Rex's soul.
"I will not be undermined by creatures bred in some laboratory!" Krell declared.
He turned around and charged at the window. He smashed through it and somersaulted in the air repeatedly. When he landed on the base grounds, the impact caused a crater to form around him and glass shards began to hit the ground around him. He then looked up to see that he was surrounded by dozens of clones.
"Get him!" One trooper ordered.
That's when every trooper on the base opened fire on Krell, pouring everything they had at him. Krell lashed out and slashed several troopers so hard that they were thrown away several feet. The troopers that were surrounding him tried to move in closer. But when they got too close, Krell would sometimes slash several of them at once. He then used his two free hands to pick up some of the corpses and throw them at the other troopers around them, pushing them to the ground.
Rex and his men watched from above. They quickly moved towards the elevator to try and hook up with the rest of the troopers, who were definitely having trouble subduing Krell.
General Krell charged forward and dove over an Umbaran star-fighter. He continued to charge at the wall of Clone Troopers in front of him, who continued to fire on the traitorous Jedi. Krell continued to use his two dual sabers to deflect multiple rounds back at the troopers. Then, when he was close enough, he used his two free hands to force push the remaining troopers to the ground. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Krell ran off of the base grounds and disappeared into the dark, and dense, Umbaran jungle.
Rex and his squad rallied up with every available clone and went to go chase after him.
But as they went to give chase, they were blocked by Dogma, who held his rifle at the clones in front of him.
"Hold it right there!" He ordered.
Rex and his men pointed their weapons at Dogma. The trooper in front of them was a by-the-book trooper who followed his superiors without question. Even if that superior was Krell. The misguided trooper was what stood between them and going after the traitor.
"Lower your weapon, Dogma," Rex said. Not in a demanding way, but rather in a calm way.
"I-," Dogma shook his head. "-I can't do that sir".
Rex tried to be calm, but he wasn't having any of it now".
"That's an order!" He shouted.
"It's my duty," Dogma said, pointing his rifle from trooper to trooper. "You're all traitors."
Rex holstered one of his sidearms and used his free hand to take his helmet off. He wanted to show his face to Dogma, hoping to try and have a man to man conversation and reason with him. But he still had a pistol pointed at Dogma just in case.
"I used to believe that being a good soldier meant doing everything they told ya'. That's how they engineered us. But we're not droids," Rex said as Tup walked up to them with his helmet off. "We're not programmed. You have to learn to make your own decisions."
Dogma then pointed his rifle one handed at Tup.
"Dogma," Tup said. "Don't do it". He warned.
The misguided trooper then looked down. He lowered his weapon in shame. Two troopers rushed up to him from behind and tackled him to the ground.
"Take him to the brig," Rex ordered before he turned to the troopers behind him. "Troopers, don't let General Krell escape".
Every trooper that Rex assembled rushed in the direction that Krell was last seen moving towards.
The hunt was on.
The Clones spent hours trekking through the foggy jungle for their four armed quarry.
The glowing plants gave the fog an unsettling red glow. Umbaran native life forms began to chirp and cackle in the distance.
Rex activated his wrist comm and spoke into it. "Anyone got anything?"
"Uh, negative Captain," a trooper answered back. "We lost him-...Wait!" Literally seconds later, the hum of a swinging lightsaber, blaster fire, and screaming clones could be heard from the other end of the call. Rex and the troopers were alarmed as they reacted to the sounds of distress coming from Rex's wrist comm. "He's too-powerful. HURRY-GGAAHHHHH!"
Rex shut off his comm and began to rush deeper into the jungle with the rest of his troops in tow. They stopped when the blaster discharges became louder. Fives took cover by a tree trunk and zoomed in with his visor. He could see the clones being chopped apart by Krell. When he cut down the last clone, he looked off in the distance, facing the spot that Rex and the others held. But before the clones could do anything about it, Krell jumped up into the tree tops and disappeared out of view.
Fives looked at Rex. "He's coming". The troopers fanned out and took up defensive positions.
They waited.
But nothing happened. It was all quiet. Too quiet. Way too quiet.
Then, suddenly, the strangest thing happened.
"You should have listened to the arc-trooper from the beginning Captain," Krell said.
His voice was echoing across the jungle, as if he was using the trees to reverberate his voice in every direction. The clones became jumpy and began to look in every direction as Krell began to laugh in a maniacally unsettling way. They looked up and around, trying to locate the source of that voice.
"HA HA HA HA! He was right! He was right," his voice echoed. "MRA HA HA HA HA HA HA. I was using you."
Some of the clones gathered up and stood back to back, covering each other.
"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Krell laughed as he dove out of the trees and pointed his blade down. He landed in the middle of a cluster of clones and killed all five of them as he landed.
"You've all been my pawns,' Krell mocked as he activated all of his blades.
"Get him!" Rex ordered.
"AHAHAHAHAH!" Krell laughed as the clones began to attack him.
The clones surrounded him and tried to subdue him. But he was too powerful. He blocked and deflected every shot that came his way. He then began to jump from clone to clone, cutting them down with his blades. He stabbed one of his blades through a tree and impaled a clone that was taking cover behind it. He continued to spin his blades like helicopter props and cut down any trooper that got too close. Krell then thrust both of his blades behind him, impaling two troopers that were trying to attack him from behind.
When Krell decided that he wanted to get his hands dirty, he deactivated and holstered his blades. He cracked his knuckles and charged at the clones. The Besalisk Jedi rushed, dodged, and somersaulted his way through the clone platoon's line of fire until he got up close and personal. He punched one clone so hard in the face that his neck snapped back. Krell then bashed another trooper into a tree, knocking I'm unconscious. He then got behind one clone and lifted his back. That's when he swiftly broke the terrified and struggling clone's back over his knee, breaking his spinal cord.
That's when Tup charged at him. Krell simply grabbed the trooper by the shoulder and threw him about 15 yards away from the carnage.
Tup hit the ground and slid across it. He groaned as he slowly got up. That's when he saw a Vixus wake up right next to him. It groaned as it opened it's glowing mouth and began to wiggle it's tentacles around. This creature was native to Umbara. It rested on the jungle floor and kept completely still, his tentacles acting as vines to anyone oblivious enough to walk by and become dinner to the stationary beast. The Republic encountered several of these creatures since the operation began.
Realizing the dangerous spot he was in, the rookie Clone gently and quietly stepped back out of the creatures reach. A few moments later, it went back into it's slumber.
Tup was about to go back and rejoin the fight when he had an idea. He activated his com-link and spoke into it.
"Captain Rex, this is Tup. If you can, force the General towards me," Tup requested.
"What?" The confused captain asked into his comm as he continued to fire at Krell, who was still having his way with the clones. "Why?"
"Trust me," Tup said.
Rex spoke into his comm to speak to everyone around him.
"Troopers, listen up! Circle around. Lure him towards Tup," Rex ordered.
On Rex's order, the clones began to pull away from Krell, who was impaling a trooper with his saber. He watched as they ran off into the jungle. Deciding not to let them get away, he withdrew his blade from his latest kill and gave chase.
Meanwhile, back at the Vixus, Tup was carefully stepping over the sleeping creature's tentacles.
He then turned around to see his brothers being chased by Krell, just as he planned.
"AHAHAHAHA!" Krell laughed as his prey ran off into the jungle.
Tup fired a few rounds at Krell to get his attention. The Dark Jedi deflected all three of them.
"Hey, ugly! Come and get me!" Tup taunted.
Accepting the challenge, Krell broke off his pursuit and charged at Tup, who looked away just incase his plan failed. He didn't want to see it coming.
When Krell was close enough, he prepared to dive at Tup and turn into a diced entree. But he jumped off of a 'vine' to jump at Tup, which a fatal mistake. A mistake that Tup had planned on.
When it seemed like Krell was going to add another clone to his kill list, the Vixus' tentacles began to flap around until one of them grabbed onto Krell by the torso. Krell panicked and shouted in alarm as he was swung around by the creature's tentacles.
Tup just stood back and watched as he waited for his brothers to arrive.
When the Vixus tried to bring Krell close to his mouth, Krell swiped his blade at the creature's tongue, chopping it off. The creature groaned in pain and dropped Krell to the ground, who dropped his green dual saber. But before krell could recover, the Vixus used another tentacle to grab him by the ankle. He was now being held upside down. Just when things seemed like they couldn't get much worse for Krell, Rex and the others came back to assist Tup. They blasted away at the General, who was only armed with his blue dual saber.
The General tried desperately to defend himself and not be eaten at the same time. He force pushed a few clones away from him, and as he was swung close enough to one clone, he swiped at him, barely grazing his ankle, and forcefully tripping him. That's when he reached up and severed the tentacle that was holding him. He dropped to the ground as the creature screamed in pain.
As Krell sat up and rubbed his bruised head, the creature next to him was blasted repeatedly out of no where, before it finally died. He turned to face the origin of the shot to see Tup standing right in front of him, pointing a rifle in his face. Krell recoiled in surprise just before Tup fired on him. He was hit in the face with a stun blast, knocking him out cold.
Rex and the others walked over to inspect the unconscious traitor.
"I stunned him sir," Tup said.
Rex used his foot to push Krell onto his back, to make sure that Tup was right. He then looked at Tup. "Nice work Tup," Rex said as a 501st trooper moved to restrain Krell with a set of binders.
Later, beneath the grounds of the Republic controlled airbase, the underground prison cells were occupied by Umbaran soldiers, who all had a look of hatred towards the clones, who were invading their home. Another cell was occupied by a clone trooper named Dogma, who stood in the way of justice. But another cell was occupied by someone else. A full-blown traitor, who had all of his arms restrained by binders. It was Jedi General Pong Krell.
The prison's lift descended to the lower levels, carrying Captain Rex and a few of his men.
"Why General?" Rex asked as he and his men walked in front of the shield. "Why kill your own men?"
Krell was sitting pretzel styled on the floor. When Rex asked his question, he smiled and chuckled as he stood up.
"Because I can. Because you fell for it. Because you're inferior," Krell mocked.
"But you're a Jedi," Rex said. "How could you?"
"A Jedi? HAHAHAHA! I am no longer naive enough to be a Jedi. A new power is rising. I've foreseen it. The Jedi are going to lose this war, and the Republic will be ripped apart from the inside." As Krell monologued, the clones reacted with fear and anger written on their faces. A nervous Jesse looked at Fives, who frowned, wanting to punch Krell right in his flappy chin. "In its place is going to rise a New Order, and I will rule as part of it."
"You're a Separatist," Rex accused.
Krell nodded.
"I serve no one's side. Only my own, and soon ... my new master," Krell revealed.
"You're an agent of Dooku," Rex deduced.
"Not yet. But when I get out of here I will be," Krell said. "After I've succeeded in driving the Republic from Umbara, the Count will reward my actions, and make me his new apprentice".
"How could you do this?" Asked a new voice. Everyone looked to see that it was Dogma, who was in the cell right next to Krell. "You had my trust. My loyalty. I followed all of your orders. And you made me kill my brothers!" Dogma shouted accusingly.
"HA HA HA HA!" Krell laughed as he stood taller. He leaned in to look at Dogma through the ray shield that separated their cells. "That's because you were the biggest fool of them all Dogma. I counted on blind loyalty like yours to make my plan succeed".
Dogma looked off to the side before he lowered his head in embarrassment and shame. Krell chuckled again as he turned to face Rex again.
"That will never happen," Rex said assertively. "You're a traitor General. And you will be dealt with as one".
Krell smiled and shook his head. "You never learn Captain. The Umbarans are going to retake this base, and when they do, I will be free," Krell said as he sat back down, but with his back straight, as if to show his confidence in himself. Rex frowned and ripped himself away from the cell. He and his men stepped back onto the lift, which took them to the surface, leaving the overconfident General in his cell.
Outside the base, the battle of Umbara was back in full swing. Green explosions filled the night sky outside of the base, showing that the Umbarans were advancing. As this happened, Rex, Fives, Jesse, and Tup walked out of the prison building and onto the base's runway.
A clone sergeant named Appo was walking towards them with Hardcase and Kix.
"Captain. We've repaired the transmitter. It looks like it was sabotaged. We received a message from General Kenobi. He and General Tiin's forces have captured the capital. but the remaining Umbarans are heading here," Appo reported.
"Gather everyone on the perimeter. We need to prepare for a full-scale attack," Rex ordered.
Appo snapped off a crisp salute. "Yes sir," he said before he, Kix, and Hardcase rushed off to gather every trooper in the base.
As Clone troopers across the base scrambled to their positions, Rex faced the troopers that were gathered with him. "Krell sabotaged the transmitter. He's been against us from the beginning."
In response to this unsettling revelation, Fives stepped forward. "If the Umbarans get to him, he'll turn over all our intel. The defense codes, everything. He'll strike a crippling blow to the Republic".
Jesse jumped forward. "Something has to be done. We can't risk the possibility that he might escape".
"As long as Krell's alive, he is a threat to everyone of us," Tup said, putting in his two credits worth.
Rex was shocked at what was just implied by his men. He looked down in deep thought before he finally reached a conclusion.
"I ... agree".
Dogma was still in his cell, using his helmet as a seat. He could hear explosions rumbling through the ground, and vibrate through the walls around him. They were getting louder and louder.
He couldn't help but sit in self-pity.
'I killed my brothers. I kept them from arresting the monster responsible for it all. And now, I might die before I can ever make things right'.
As Dogma sat in his self-pity, he saw that the lift was coming back down. It was carrying Rex, Fives, and Jesse. When the lift came to a halt, the shield to Dogma's cell was deactivated. Fives walked up to it, prompting Dogma to stand up. Fives led him out of the cell, but kept his binders on.
Meanwhile Rex stepped over to Krell's cell and unholstered one of his sidearms.
"Turn around and step toward the wall." Rex ordered.
Krell rolled his eyes and did as he was told, more annoyed than afraid.
"On your knees." Rex ordered.
Krell just stood there as Jesse deactivated the shield to his cell. He looked over his shoulder at Rex.
"Ha ha hm! You're in a position of power now. How does it feel?"
"I said. On. Your. Knees." Rex ordered as he pointed his blaster at Krell's back.
"It feels good, doesn't it?" Krell asked as he sunk to his knees. "But I can sense your fear."
Rex slipped his finger inside the trigger guard and put his finger on the trigger itself. But he didn't pull it. He just held it. He was hesitating big time. His hand began to shake. The gun shook as well.
"You're shaking, aren't you?" Krell asked, taking note of the fear building up inside of Rex. "What are you waiting for? The Umbarans are getting closer." He said as the explosions on then surface grew closer and closer.
Rex looked away from Krell, in deep thought. This had never happened before. Should he keep him alive for questioning? Should he just end Krell right now? Is this the way to treat a prisoner of war? For all he knew, either choice in front of him could have dire consequences.
"I have to do this." Rex said.
"You can't do it, can you?" Rex still held the gun in Krell's direction, but he still held his fire.
"Eventually, you'll have to do the right thing-" Krell said as a blaster discharged and sent a blaster bolt straight into his back. He fell over with a groan and slumped over before he finally died on the cell floor.
The clones were all confused. Rex didn't fire. So he turned around to see that a pistol had occupied Dogma's shackled hands. Smoke poured out of the barrel.
They were all surprised. Fives felt his hip holster and looked down to see that it was empty. Dogma had pulled it out to kill Krell.
"I ... I had to." Dogma said, sounding out of breath and looking like he was going to collapse. Fives gently put Dogma's hands down and removed the sidearm as he did so. "He betrayed us."
Rex looked down at the corpse of General Krell, deep in thought.
The clones of the 501st Legion would eventually drive the Umbarans back with support from Master Kenobi's forces, who continued to rout the remaining pockets of resistance. And the Separatist fleet was finally pulling out of the system thanks to General Unduili and the two padawans.
It was soon time to round up the prisoners and take care of the wounded.
But despite what the propaganda vids would say, taking the planet wasn't going to be what stuck out for the Jedi Order or the Clones that fought on Umbara. It was going to be the fact that a member of the Jedi Order, a knight, had betrayed the Republic, and the Order that had sworn to protect it.
This was already shaking the Order at its foundation. But little did anyone know, Pong Krell's words, about the Jedi losing and the Republic falling, were going to haunt the Jedi order for the foreseeable future.
Another seed, that would bring about the fall of the Republic, had just been planted.
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So that's the prologue folks.
Hope you're excited.
this is Grubkiller, over and out.