Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Bird Squad (an Order 66 story)

Dramatis Personae:

Jade Rellik- Human Male, Jedi Knight,Former General of the Grand Army of the Republic(GAR

Captain Hawk- Human Male (Clone), CO of Bird squad, 552nd Legion (detached duty), GAR

Sergeant Eagle- Human Male (Clone), XO of Bird Squad, 552nd (dd), GAR

Cardinal- Human Male (Clone), Bird Squad Heavy Artillery, 552nd (dd), GAR

Sparrow- Human Male (Clone), 552nd (dd), GAR

Dove- Human Male (Clone), 552nd (dd), GAR

Night Owl- Human Male (Clone), Stealth Expert, 552nd (dd), GAR

Blue Jay- Human Male (Clone), Mechanic, 552nd (dd), GAR

Crow- Human Male (Clone), explosives Expert, 552nd (dd), GAR

"Pidge" Pigeon- Human Male (Clone), Communications Expert, 552nd (dd), GAR

"Peek" Peacock- Human Male (Clone), 552nd (dd), GAR

Ahsoka Tano- Jedi Knight, Former Apprentice of Anakin Skywalker, Former GAR General

Captain Rex- Human Male (Clone), Former 501st Legion Captain, GAR

Fives- Human Male (Clone), Former 501st ARC Trooper, GAR

Captain Drake Peflar- Human Male, CO Jedi Cruiser Hammer

Spar- Human Male (Clone), Former 102nd Trooper aboard the Hammer

Erik Seving- Human Male (Clone), Former 102nd Trooper Aboard the Hammer

Chapter One: Order 66

Clone Captain Hawk, otherwise known as CC-25834, leader of Bird squad, walked down the ramp of their cruiser, the Bird's Nest, to meet his Commanding Officer, Jedi General Jade Rellik.

"Mission accomplished General," he said proudly as four of his nine man squad (not counting himself) followed him down. "Zero casualties."

They had been tasked with eliminating a Separatist Listening Outpost on the far side of the planet while Jade and the other six men, including Hawk's XO, Sergeant Eagle, established their own outpost on this side of the planet.

"Well done Hawk," Jade replied, looking up from his blueprints with a smile. "Glad to hear that you've yet again earned your zero-loss reputation."

"No small thanks to your leadership sir," Hawk replied, lifting his helmet off to reveal a grin of his own.

"Clankers didn't give you any trouble, did they sir?" Eagle asked him.

"No trouble at all, or at least none that couldn't be handled by Cardinal's heavy artillery," Hawk replied.

Captain Hawk was an older Clone, one of the first produced, but he had not been present at the first Battle at Geonosis. He had, therefore, had a chance to start off with a clean slate as a squadron leader under General Rellik and his former padawan, Mek Fearen, who had already graduated to the rank of Knight and been given his own command. Under Jade, who unlike many Jedi heeded his Clone's advice, Hawk had led many successful skirmishes, never losing a single man under him, the only Clone in the Republic who could say that. There had of course been close calls, such as when Night Owl was captured and tortured by the Seppies for information he didn't possess, but they had survived, and Jade Rellik had himself led the charge to rescue Owl. In fact, Hawk's reputation had earned him an invitation to hold a Captain's position in the ARC Troopers of the 501st! Hawk had turned the position down, though, preferring to remain with his men and a Commander he knew and trusted.

Sergeant Eagle was another story entirely. Eagle was brash, headstrong, and, quite frankly, a pain in the shebs. In any other squad, he would never have made it past the rank of Trooper. But he had proven himself a more than effective leader in battle, a trait which earned him a promotion and the trust of both Hawk and Rellik. Eagle wore a distinctive set of Phase II armor, painted to reflect the bird he was named for, with a white helmet painted yellow over his mouth and nose-a "beak"- and dust brown armor beneath. Under his helmet, he wore a prosthetic over his right eye which allowed him to see better than average out of his injured eye, which had earned him his original name of "Eagle eye," shortened to Eagle to fit with his new squad, which was dubbed "Bird Squad."

Behind Hawk, Troopers Cardinal, Night Owl, Crow, and Peek removed their own helmets and sat down on the various chairs scattered throughout the basecamp.

Cardinal, the squad's heavy artillery expert, was known as a stickler for the rules. He always followed orders, no matter how insignificant, and had been ridiculed for it by his fellow troopers at first, until he proved how adept he was at handling artillery such as the E-web blaster cannon.

Night Owl was, quite simply, an enigma. Captured by the Separatists a year before, Owl had been tortured, including the removal of his tongue, rendering him incapable of speech. Night Owl had nearly been killed when he was captured, and was saved only thanks to General Rellik. However, rather than accept a prosthetic to allow him to speak again after his rescue, Owl had adapted to his new situation, becoming an expert at stealth. His unique camouflage armor usually reserved only for SpecOps Troopers, mad him blend in anywhere, allowing him to become completely invisible. He communicated now by the use of symbols and gestures, or even writing, if necessary.

Crow was a quiet one, though not always. He mostly kept to himself, but was beyond exceptional as an ordinance man, knowing explosives inside and out.

"Peek" Peacock was a flamboyant man, almost a suck-up. While he followed orders to the letter like Cardinal, for him it was not a matter of professionalism, it was a matter of looking good to his superiors. Normally, Hawk would have requested to have him removed from the squad, but the man did have his strong points. He had a sense of humor, which could often lift morale when it was low. And he was a master of martial arts, sometimes besting even General Rellik at sparring matches. So Hawk accepted him, though he dubbed him Peacock, much to his annoyance.

"C'mere and help us set this thing up Hawk," Jade said, gesturing for Hawk to join him at the command table. So far, there was only one pre-fabricated wall up, with a lead for two more walls at the end of it. Hawk didn't know a lot about construction, but he knew enough to know that the remaining walls should fit right in with the leads, and have their own leads to be filled in by the final wall, and then capped by the prefab roof still aboard the ship, which included a communications and scanning dish, the Republic's most advanced.

"What do you need me to do sir?" Hawk inquired.

"Give the boys a hand with lifting the walls in place while I steady them with the Force," Rellik ordered.

Hawk nodded, and, leaving his rifle on the table, went to join Pidge, Sparrow, and Dove in lifting the two walls.

"Pidge" Pigeon was the squad's communications expert, and had designed much of the communications network that would be brought online when the structure was complete with a little help from the squad's eccentric techie, Blue Jay.

Sparrow had, originally, been considered a failure by the cloners at Kamino, a genetic anomaly. For while he carried the same genes as the others in most ways, he was smaller than them. However, Master Shaak Tii had determined that Sparrow had potential, and requested to train him personally, paying to have a unique set of armor made for him. And her efforts had paid off- Sparrow had not only met the same standards as the other Clones, he exceeded them with regards to speed and maneuverability, and his muscular stature more than made up for any difference in size. Shaak Tii had been pleased, and arranged for him to be assigned to a Clone squadron as soon as possible, much to the chagrin of the Cloners, who despised the absence of "genetic perfection" in one of their Clones, and who still wished the "defective product" destroyed.

If Hawk was the head of the squad, and Pigeon it's ears, Dove was it's heart, it's conscience. While Peek could be amusing at times, Dove could always be counted on to lift their spirits under any circumstances. Dove was a moral compass, sometimes even counseling the General on the "right thing to do." When Night Owl had been captured and even Hawk had given up hope on saving him, Dove had lobbied the Jedi to get him to at least try to save the Clone, finally succeeding in convincing the Jedi to save Owl, despite the enormous odds against success.

As for Blue Jay, who stood next to Eagle and Jade, he was the squad's brains. Trained as an engineer, Blue Jay had been struck by a piece of shrapnel in a battle, and had never been quite the same man. The Doctors had no explanation for it- surgery had caused him to gain in IQ in some areas, notably those required for inventiveness and engineering, and lose in others, such as sociability and weapons accuracy. Rellik couldn't bring himself to leave Jay in the hands of a mental therapist or in an asylum, so he kept him on the team. And it was lucky they had, for his inventiveness had saved them on a number of occasions. In fact, the new prefab design was one of Blue Jay's, thought up in his spare time, and approved by Coruscant for mass production upon successful testing.

Hawk put his helmet on as he joined Dove on the West wall, just in case it decided to fall on them. Eagle counted down for them.

"Three, two, one, lift!" he said. Simultaneously, the East and West walls rose, supported on the bottom by two troopers each and lifted on top by Jade, whose hands were extended in a manifestation of his Force telekinesis. First, the East wall slid into place as Jade held the West still. Slowly, the three guided the East wall into position. They lowered it onto the lead, where Pigeon had already laid out mortar to receive the wall. A striker sat nearby, ready to be used to smooth the joints between walls.

Pidge picked the striker up and Sparrow grabbed the brush as soon as the wall was in place. However, Pigeon soon stopped and placed his hand to the communications antenna on his helmet, apparently receiving orders, even as the West wall began to shift into position. However, unlike the East wall, the West wall fell away from the troopers with a crash as Rellik cried out suddenly. Hawk rushed to his side, blaster drawn and pointed outward, believing at first that they had suddenly come under attack, though Blue Jay's sensor net should have picked up any intruders within five miles.

Hawk noted with approval as the other Troopers had a simalr reaction, even Jay, who picked up a pistol, though he knew he couldn't use it well.

However, Hawk was surprised to note that Pidge had his blaster pointed not at any unknown threat, but at the General himself!

"Trooper Pigeon, what are you doing?" Hawk demanded.

"Sir, I've just received a transmission directly from Chancellor Palpatine."

"And?" Hawk demanded once more. "What's that got to do with pointing your weapon at a superior officer?"

"The message was 'Execute Order Sixty-Six.' Sir," Pidge replied.

Deep in Hawk's subconscious, where hundreds of contingency orders had been buried long ago, Order 66 suddenly came to mind, and Hawk's demeanor instantly changed. For Order 66 stated clearly: "In the event of Jedi officers acting against the interests of the Republic, and after receiving specific orders verified as coming directly from the Supreme Commander (Chancellor), GAR commanders will remove those officers by lethal force, and command of the GAR will revert to the Supreme Commander (Chancellor) until a new command structure is established."

Hawk turned his rifle towards the General along with the others, determined to slaughter the traitorious Jedi then and there. All of the others save one: Dove.

"That's not possible!" Dove shouted, just loudly enough to make Hawk hesitate. As the Captain of the squad, it was his responsibility to execute Jade, and the others would not fire until he did. "There must be some sort of mistake Pidge!"

"No mistake," Pigeon replied coldly. As the one who had personally received the Order, his reaction to it was the strongest, the most ingrained. Actually, most Clones did not have Order 66 drilled into them deeply, most simply followed their superior's orders. But the men of Bird squad were all first-batch Kamino Clones, meaning they did have the Order ground into their subconscious, especially the CO, Hawk, and the Comm officer, Pigeon. And so Hawk once again prepared to execute Jade once more, and would have pulled the trigger, were it not for a sudden interjection.

"Wait!" Cardinal shouted. "He's right!"

"Cardinal?" Peek exclaimed incredulously. "I would think you of all people would be in favor of following this order to the letter!"

"No," Cardinal replied vehemently. "Not this one. This goes against the Cardinal order, my Cardinal Order."

"And that is?" Hawk asked, curious.

"We don't kill our own squad!" Cardinal replied.

This broke through to Hawk, three years of loyalty to Jade overwhelming the one year of Flash-training he had received as a Trooper on Kamino. He slowly began to lower his rifle, but then raised it again as Rellik stirred.

"Why did the Jedi betray the Republic?" Hawk demanded of the General.

"I…I don't know what you're talking about," Jade replied, remaining on the ground. Blue Jay, the only one besides Dove who had never pointed his weapon at the General (Hawk supposed the surgery had wiped the Contingency Orders from the man's mind), helped Jade to his feet. "I… I just felt the deaths of dozens, no, hundreds of Jedi! All of them killed suddenly, with no warning, by their own trusted men!"

Hawk was shocked to see the General do something he had never done before- he was crying! The stern but good humored General had never shed a tear, not even in the direst of circumstances, yet he was clearly now a broken man, torn by the loss of his friends and peers, no doubt including his former apprentice.

"Dead!" Jade sobbed. "They're all dead!"

And then, suddenly stiffening, Jade looked him dead in the eyes, or at least, in the eyes of his helmet. What he said next chilled Hawk to the bone.

"Are you going to kill me now, Hawk?"