Chapter 1: The Mandalorian
Null-11 looked at his Null brothers. There were six, the last surviving of the original twelve. The rest had died from the Kaminoans and their testings.
Null-11 missed them. Especially Null-1. Null-1 had been his best friend. It felt as if there was a void in his heart, as if the Kaminoans had gouged out a small piece with each of his brothers' deaths. He looked over to his left, Null-7 made a face at him and he had to stifle a laugh.
"Shhh! This is serious!" He whispered to his brother. "You could get us in trouble!"
Null-7 grinned at him and cocked his head. "Not me, brother. YOU are always in trouble!" He grinned. Null-11 shook his heard and allowed a small snicker to escape his mouth. The Kaminoan scientist, Orun Wa, looked back at them unhappily. Since when was he happy with them? Null 11 thought. Even when our scores exceeded their expectations they still don't approve of us. For the millionth time in his short life, Null 11 swore he would do better. He was two in human years, four in clone, but still had a mind of someone older.
Unless he was pranking someone or making a joke.
Today they were going to see Jango Fett, the Mandalorian template of his brothers and himself. Null 11 was curious to what he was like, and what would he think of the Nulls? His very first clone batch? Null 11 hoped he would approve. None of the scientists or others approved of the Nulls. They were deemed failures constantly.
Orun Wa turned a corner, and waited briefly for the door to slide open, entering in his graceful way that annoyed Null-11 and his brothers. His thoughts were interrupted at the sight of a man in silver and blue armour. To his surprise, there was another man in Mandalorian armour. The one with sand-gold colouring removed his helmet, and smiled down at the six clones. He had brown hair and blue eyes, and looked stern, but kind. Null-11 hoped that this was their template. He also noticed that he kept his weight on his right leg, bringing him to the conclusion that his left leg must have something wrong with it. His attention was brought back to Orun Wa as she addressed the man in blue and silver armour.
"Here is your first batch, Jango. These are the Nulls." Orun Wa announced, motioning gracefully to the clones lined up next to her.
The T-shaped visor looked them over carefully. "I thought there were twelve." His voice was synthesized, and therefore Null-11 could not make out any emotion that may have been in his voice.
"There were, but they did not survive their training." Orun Wa answered, but the Mandalorian in gold armour snorted. "Training indeed." He muttered, loud enough for only Null-11 to hear him. Null-11 decided that he liked this man. He seemed to care about him and his brothers. Definitely more than any Kaminoan.
Jango shifted and turned his visor onto Null-11, who held his breath, closing his eyes as he prayed that he would be accepted.
"What's wrong with them?" Jango asked, turning his attention onto the Kaminoan scientist.
"What do you ask?" Orun Wa asked slowly, tilting his head slightly.
"You called them Nulls. What's wrong with them?" Jango asked coolly.
Orun Wa bowed slightly. "They are highly intelligent, deviant, disturbed..." Orun Wa paused. "And uncommandable." The gold armoured Mandalorian snorted again.
"And how would you know that?" He demanded.
Orun Wa ignored him. "We are going to recondition them." He announced.
Null-11 froze. Reconditioning? That would mean-"
"Terminate?" The gold armoured mandalorian asked in shock.
Null-7 reacted before anything else could be said or anyone could move. He cleared the distance between himself and the gold armoured man, snatching the hold-out blaster from his holster, and tossed it toward Null-11 before the Mandalorian could react. Null-11 caught it and without hesitation turned it on the scientist.
There was silence. Nothing moved. Null-11's hand trembled slightly, but his mind was determined.
"Stand down." Null-11 jerked around to look at Jango Fett. "Stand down, clone." He ordered softly, though anything else was lost in the synthesizer.
"He will not." Null-11 turned his attention back to the Kaminoan. "They are uncommandable." Orun Wa turned his attention onto the small clone that had the gun pointed at his heart. "They are failures."
Null-11's hand shook more as he set his jaw and aimed the gun. "Shoot him." Null-5 hissed.
Null-11 was ready when a soft voice caused him to hesitate. "Stop, child." Null-11 looked up at the gold-armoured Mandalorian. "Stand down. Give me the gun." The Mandalorian set his helmet down and began to approach slowly.
Null-11 watched him and stepped back and away. The Mandalorian paused for a moment before continuing carefully toward him. "Come on, child. Do not do anything you will regret." He was next to him now, and Null-11 looked up into the clear blue eyes, his own brown ones filling with tears.
"It's okay." The Mandalorian gently pulled the gun from Null-11's hand, holstering it back in the holster, passing a guantletted hand over his black hair briefly before turning toward Orun Wa.
"It seems you have been proven wrong, Kaminoan." He announced, not bothering to mask the contempt in his voice. "These boys are commandable. If you bothered to try." He looked down at the Nulls. "I would like to train them. As a special force squad." He announced.
The Nulls looked up at him, hope in their eyes.
Orun Wa frowned. "They are failures..." He started, but the Mandalorian cut him off.
"You said that they were intelligent. I've seen their scores. They exceed your expectations. You have a control problem. That is why they are 'failures', because they are independant." The Mandalorian then did something Null-11 never thought he would do. He turned and picked him up. Null-11 wrapped his arms around the Mandalorian's neck, burrowing his face into his shoulder, clutching his shoulders tightly as he tried to keep his tears in check.
"I will train them as a black-ops squad. And I will show you that they are the best." He announced. The Kaminoan cocked his head. "Very well Kal Skirata. But I warn you. They are an impossible task, and you will soon realize their worthlessness." The Kaminoan turned and gracefully left the room.
"Good, Skirata." Jango Fett nodded to him slightly before turning to look behind him. "Come, Boba." He ordered. A small three-year old boy hurried up to his father and reached his arms up. Jango lifted the boy into his arms and left the room, Boba looking over his father's shoulders at the clones. Null-11 thought he was strange. He looked like himself and the other Nulls, but his mind seemed immature. As if he was...human.
The gold-armoured Mandalorian, Kal Skirata, looked down at the Nulls, 11 still in his arms. "Come ad." He ordered, leaving the room and turning down the hall. They travelled into a section that the Nulls had been forbidden to go. But when the Nulls hesitated to enter this area, Kal Skirata just turned and motioned them on. The Nulls decided to trust this man that had defended them and followed him until he entered a room. "Here we are." He announced, setting Null-11 down. "This is home." Kal Skirata announced to them. Null-11 looked at his brothers, and, as one, smiled up at the Mandalorian. Home. Ad. Words that they had never even dreamed of hearing. Home Indeed.
A/N: Hi guys! This is my very first fanfic, but I love to write and read(especially star wars.) Should I write more chapters or should I leave it here? Please review, and vote on my poll for a bounty hunter story!