Preface: I wanted to give you a little background of the story you are about to read and the person who is currently writing it. I am twenty-five and I am a big fan of Star Wars I am both a fan of the Canon we now have and of the EU. I have taken things from both sides of the coin and writing my own story. I am a huge fan of the Clone Wars and I don't believe enough attention has been pushed to see things through their eyes. So not only will this mostly be through the eyes of a clone but also bring back some Jedi who fell in the purge and those that lived. Of course I would appreciate any and all help and reviews, but do keep in mind its been three years since I have attempted writing.
Some of you may think you have heard all there is to know about what took place. Honestly sometimes it is hard to determine the truth from fiction, a reality from a dream. I am unsure why I feel the need to share my story, but I want it to be known what occurred what seems so long ago.
I have not been involved with the amount of conflicts as my brothers have nor am I as old as they are in theoretical terms. I was one of the last to come from Tipoca City that actually saw combat before the Order. I was what most consider a teenager at the Battle of Kamino. I got to train under the supervision of Commander Colt. While I wasn't tops in either physical strength or overall prowess within my squad. I am an ARC. An ARC trooper could match any weakness to a normal troopers greatest strength and hold his own. Where I excelled, overwatch and close quarters combat, few in the company could match my skills. I guess I am getting a little ahead of myself. I am CT-3740 also known as Brute I am or was in Echo Squad. Toward the end of the Clone Wars my squad was selected to provide emergency reinforcements to Felucia. General Shaak Ti herself was ordered away from Kamino after some debacle on Coruscant she was involved in. The rumors coming through the ranks about Fives and his message about the entire Clone Wars made every man involved question everything about the war. Rancor Battalion was selected to also go to Felucia to reinforce the 327th Star Corps led by General Aayla Secura. The reason for such heavy reinforcements was that the Separatist had dug into the planet, but was on the verge of losing its hold there so the orders came down to make sure we took it at all cost. General Barriss Offee was already there as well as a few other commanders and generals alike. The mission had started normal; disembarked from Venator-class Star Destroyer "The Intrepid" on our Larty. I happened to be in the same one with General Shaak Ti with the rest of Echo Squad with some Galactic Marines in tow, and another ARC squad. Normally we would carry thirty among us, but with the escort of the ARC-170s flying as guards, there were roughly twenty men; two ARC squads the General and the marines. Shaak Ti thought it wise to have fewer troops, and equipment for mobility.
When it happened in truth I was hoping to come across an Acklay to see if I had enough precision to take one in a single shot, but the room went gravely quiet as everyone's HUDs flashed on unexpectedly. The comms set to private within our helmets connected troopers only; blocking the outside world and our HUDs lit up to Commander Bly's vision the order came. Growing up we were instilled to memorize all of these safety protocols to protect the Republic from falling. Order 66 happened to name all Jedi as enemies of the Republic, and to kill without prejudice. When this order came through you were among three categories; you either attacked your general, you hesitated and most likely died, or you killed your brothers for the life of the generals. Watching the horizon light up in blue blaster fire as you approached your drop zone was one of the most terrifying visions to witness; having front row seats to seeing Commander Bly turn on his men fighting to the death was another sensation altogether. I didn't hesitate, and I don't know why, but my vibroblade went straight through the throat of the brother raising his weapon next to me. Everything seemed to go into slow motion without hesitation I moved on to more men. Watching Bly fall to the ground assuming the worst as his HUD blinked out, the Larty shook as two of the ARC-170s fell from the sky, my only hope was for the one who shot them down was with me on this fight, but I had to live to find out. The inside of the Larty was chaos brother shot and stabbed at another, men who grew up in the same squad together killing their closest friends. Pain flaring through me as my wounds became prevalent as a fellow ARC fell to my vibroblade. My eyes locking on my fellow squad mate, raising his blasters towards me told me what side he chose. No hesitation my body threw itself into my natural instincts as I quickly closed the gap on…my enemy. What seemed like a lifetime probably lasted less than thirty seconds, but by the end I collapsed. I knew I was going to die I didn't know which wound had done the job, was it the DC blaster wound to the chest from a fellow ARC or the vibroblade to the stomach, I wasn't sure all I know is two of my brothers from my squad was felled by my hands because I decided to defend the general. The last thing I was going to see is my squad mate with my vibroblade buried in his chest with the smoking DC-15A in his hand from shooting me, in that moment I wanted to live so I would know I made the right choice, but I also wanted to accept the sweet embrace of the end so I could never be haunted by this day.
Where was I, what happened… the calling of a wounded brother stirred me. I woke in a cold sweat trying to move quicker than my body could follow, and the adrenaline induced strength evaporated before I could even raise up, and I fell back onto my makeshift bed. Withering in pain as the hot humid air filled my lungs, rasping for breath looking back into a mirror. The voice coming from the image before me wasn't my own it was similar, but not mine it told me to relax, and I was luckily going to live; things went black after I heard him. When I next woke it was dark out and the calls of the jungle woke me, the same man was there.
"Where am I? What happened?" I weakly asked, staring at him hoping for the full explanation of today's events.
"First I am CT-9635, also known as Doc, from the 327th, " he explained calmly, "The where is rather simple, we are on Felucia currently in a field hospital till Evac or death greets us."
"Why would death, you didn't answer my second question Doc," I told him coldly, anger slowly stirring at his words.
Doc explained that Order 66 was issued by the Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine stating that the Jedi had attempted to overthrow the Chancellor and take the Republic for their control. Currently the bridge and communications had been taken over on The Intrepid, but the ship was still being fought over between Clones who had sided with the Jedi and those loyal to the Republic if there was a difference. He also explained that several Padawans had survived on Felucia where their Masters had not, and that only General Aayla Secura, and General Shaak Ti were the only known generals to have survived on Felucia. Apparently my Larty was a warzone as only the general actually walked out once it landed. Only three had lived from it, a fellow Echo Squad, and a Marine both wounded and less likely to live than myself. The 327th stood intact and mostly sided with the Jedi, but Bly and several of his men fell defending the Aayla Secura , and Barriss Offee in the beginning. General Offee was among the dead accounted for on Felucia. I passed out shortly after being told that the Intrepid would either be our savior or our death.
I awoke to the sound of a medical droid entering the room. The unmistaken sound of the droids shuffling announced it as a 2-1B surgical droid the hydraulic movement of gears wasn't very quiet in the small room.
"What time is it, and where are we?" I asked through gritted teeth as I struggled to rise up in the bed. The burning of still mending muscles reminding me of the wounds I had recently suffered.
"Greetings CT-3740, I will be checking your vitals," the animatronic voice announced.
"They call me Brute, now what time is it and where are we?" I asked again, annoyance quickly building with this droid as the sound of whirring began.
"Patient name changed to Brute, clone name CT-3740 preference Brute. Greetings Brute I will be checking your vitals," the voice repeated. The whirring noise again coming from the droid as it began reading the monitors.
"Alright, what time is it and where are we?" The clone asked the burning slowly fading and the pain subsiding.
The droid began spouting off its findings and medical analysis as if the clone wasn't there.
"Patient CT-3740 also known as Brute is recovering slowly, low bacta supplies forces mundane treatment. Pain management for check administered. Blood pressure is up as well as signs of stre-"
"Hey droid I told you its Brute, just Brute!" The clone growled.
The whirring began as the droid processed the newest information.
"Patient just Brute, is experiencing continued elevation of blood pressure. Consider administering medication to treat newest ailment and access potential cause."
The exacerbated clone fell back into his bed, and closed his eyes waiting for the droid to finish and leave the room.
"If only I had some tools I would dismantle this rust bucket," grumbling quietly to himself.
The fading sounds of the hydraulics announcing the droid heading for the door. The quiet gears timidly cranking as the droid turned at the door.
"Just Brute, it is 0900, and we are on The Intrepid, you have been in my care for the last two weeks. The current commander of this vessel is General Shaak Ti" the droid announcing in a bit of the sarcastic tone before walking away silently.
The clone left lying there staring at the door where the droid had been. Four figures entered as the droid left. First was General Shaak Ti the red skin of a Togruta was easy enough to spot, a blue Twi'Lek that could only be General Secura, the third was another red skinned individual that wasn't recognizable off hand but a lightsaber was clipped to the belt, behind her was a clone the armor a dark green that was beyond battle marred, the kama announced him as a commander. The three who didn't have their face covered seemed to be a mixture of emotion it was evident throughout the figures the outcome of Order 66 did not seem to go as well as it had on Felucia.
"Looks like the droid won't be forgiving you so easily since you attempted to stab it when we moved you to the ship. Thank you for assisting me on the LAAT," a soft serene voice from Shaak Ti interrupted the silence, "I regret to inform you the other two survivors were not as lucky as you were."
The feeling that sunk into the pit of my stomach as I realized I was the only Echo left, "So rumor that came from Fives was real general?" My voice didn't even sound like my own.
"Yes, he was telling the truth, and I am glad Commander Fox was able to capture him without anyone knowing he lived." The general's words barely registered before my will took over and I rose out of bed. The healed wounds in my abdomen and chest screamed from being freshly mended.
"Fives is alive," my voice no longer under control as my surprise was clear raising my voice, "How did he live the whole Rancor Battalion heard the rumors of him being killed on Coruscant!"
The red skinned individual spoke up and explained her name was Tiplee, she was Mikkian, and that her sister General Tiplar had died due to a premature call of the order within her ranks. The premature call of the order caused Palpatine to try to cover it up and Fives had discovered the truth and spread it as quickly as possible. The word hadn't got out as quickly as the Jedi involved had hoped before Fox had to bring Fives in for his safety. The order was issued shortly after, and that sides had been drawn with Felucia coming out better than most war fronts had apparently. The Intrepid had fallen in the hands of the Jedi's clones and we were in orbit in the Outer Rim hoping to hear from anyone. General Kenobi has just issued an order that the Jedi Order on Coruscant had fallen and that the temple was no longer safe for Jedi. The hologram did allow for a hidden message to be administered to the highest members of the Order and luckily the enemy had not learned of the coded signal in the hologram yet. A list of hidden locations had been given to members in case the temple ever fell there would be a safe place to retreat. The location had not been disclosed yet, but we were assured Shaak Ti would reveal it in time.
Tiplee had just finished explaining everything when she introduced Commander Doom, of the 27th Legion. He waited till the Jedi walked out when Doom stepped up to the bed and spoke.
"I am surprised an ARC would turn on his brothers," the distaste seemed evident, "but I understand why you did it. I know it wasn't easy for you to make that decision, it wasn't for me."
My silence seemed be the green flag for him to continue speaking. The numbers hadn't come in yet nor had any further orders or communication. There wasn't any telling exactly how many men we had on our side or even how many Jedi survived. The only thing for sure was most of the Coruscant Guards would be joining us, and a good amount of ARCs had decided to listen to Fives. I would most likely be looking at a promotion to help fill in the need for officers. The hardest pill to swallow was twofold the first being that Republic loyal clones had hit the field hospital making their last stand for the Republic on Felucia and that was how my two comrades had perished, and Doc had been killed as well. The second was the very Republic so much was sacrificed for was no more. After Order 66 the Supreme Chancellor called an emergency session in the Senate deeming all Jedi as traitors of the Republic. The Republic had now become the Empire.
After speaking with Commander Doom I didn't have much to say when the rumors of what had occurred on Coruscant and Fives everything had come into question, the ripple had caused many clones to contemplate where this was going, how much could possibly mean how much of it was true, and what was our life going to be after war. None of this had been answered because now the only thing I knew for sure was even though the Clone Wars had ended the Republic; the war had truly just begun.