Disclaimer: I own none of the following, all work is purely fan fiction, the likeness of Star Wars is owned by LucasFilm and Disney. None of the following is canon; everything is based off of actual Star Wars cannon.

CHANGING OF THE GUARD

CHAPTER ONE: Old Habits Die Hard

Jabiim - Phelleem Sector: Outer Rim (04:00 / 19 BBY)

Rain, always with the damn rain.

I couldn't actually tell if I was in the right spot or not, but what I did know was even after serving in this mud hole for six months, I was still no closer to getting over having my damn boots fill with water ever other hour. "Switchback Six, do you copy?"

Finally a signal

"Yeah I'm here." I said into my helmet com, I kept falling in and out of transponder range because of the weather. "You guy's miss me?" I noticed a 'longer than average' pause before I heard the response come through. "Switchback six, did you just take the regulations and throw them in the mud? You do realize you are supposed to check in every twenty mikes, right?"

Leave it to Keller to get on my case, always with the regulations; still he does have a point. I make a habit of dodging checkups.

"Yeah well, I got distracted; the view was just to die for." I wasn't going to let Keller ruin my fun that easily. "You mean the view of the rain?" Ah so Rook decided to break com silence, how refreshing. "Rook old buddy, you really have to see the rain in all its beauty to understand." I teased back at him. "I'd rather not, six."

Well isn't everyone just in a cheery mood today, maybe the weather finally got to them.

"Alright lads let's focus, six are you in position?" Keller raised me over the com again. "In position sir." I responded. I still couldn't tell if I actually was or not, but they didn't need to know that. I switched my visor to thermal imaging to cut through the rain and get a reading on where I was. Across the valley I could see the ship we were surrounding, a wide framed old junker with relatively little in the way of defensive weaponry but still enough to keep it alive if need be.

Great, there's water in my damn boots again, typical.

"I have eyes on the Meridian. Twenty hostiles at least, all running patrols, can't tell you how many inside." That was Onyx our eyes and ears, the man had an uncanny knowledge of camouflage and survival tactics, he was Switchback's go to guy for anything incursion or stealth. He was in this case; reconnaissance. "Copy that Switchback Two. Rook, do you have the exterior charges placed?" Keller replied. "I do, all charges placed on the south side, I don't think anyone saw me. I'm falling back to Switchback Five." If there was one thing Rook could do it was explosives, I had only known him for a few months but I can't say I had ever seen anyone so proficient with blowing things up.

"Alright team listen up here's the game plan, Switchback Six, Three and I will go in quietly through the upper levels and find the target, Switchback Two you're on over watch, keep our backs covered. Four and Five you run extraction once we're clear. After the team is out of the hot zone, Rook blows the charges and the Meridian is dust. Okay, everybody ready?" Keller finished talking and activated his ready status, I could see everyone's turning from red to green on my head's up display in my visor. I looked down and activated my ready status from my armor's keypad on my left forearm. "Good let's get this done lads, quick and clean." Keller responded after receiving everyone's ready status.

Well if there is one thing we're good at it's running a clean op, not to mention making it look like we we're never there to begin with.

I got up and switched back to normal vision on my visor, thermals wouldn't do me much good in close quarters." Switchback Two do you have eyes on me?" I asked. "Affirmative, Six. You have three tangos ahead of you, about twenty meters." I crouched down and used the shadows to cover my advance. I could make out the three shadows as I approached. B1 Battle Droids, the standard for the Separatist Army. "Switchback Six, can you reach the Meridian unseen?" Keller asked over the com. "Affirmative, I can sneak by them, is Three with you?" I responded. "He's here." I waited for the droids to pass then sprinted to the gantry and entered the ship. "I'm inside Keller."

I looked around and took a sudden appreciation for the dry and warm interior of the freighter. "I see you six, we're coming out." Keller said. I could hear his voice coming from right in front of me in the darkness. I saw two figures appear as if developing out of thin air, as their reflective active camouflage disengaged I saw the figures of Keller and Riley appeared before me. Our whole team was part of a special division of the Republic Army known as Shadow Troopers. So every member of Switchback team was fitted with an active camouflage unit in their amour. That unit could reflect light off of our armor and make us appear to be nearly invisible to the naked eye. The units required allot of power, so we couldn't use them for extended periods of time.

I'm never going to get used to them just appearing like that

"Okay so Chief I've got to ask, why the hell does command have us rescuing two troopers anyway? On top of that why did the Sepies' even take them hostage, why not just kill them?" Riley pried at Keller. "Even if I knew Riley, you would be the last one I'd tell. Come on lads let's just get this thing done." Once they were out in the light of the hallway I could see them, we all wore matching armor but we had each made our own personal touches to it. Unlike most units our armor wasn't the standard Republic white. We all wore matte black plates with dark grey accents and unlike our regular army counter-parts we all had dark crimson reflective visors. We were intimidating to look at for sure, but the idea with the Shadow Core was that the enemy never saw us at all.

I couldn't agree more Chief. Get this thing done and get back to base so I can drain the water out of my boots.

"On me you two; keep it quiet." Keller ordered and switched to hand signals to motion us to follow him. I took up position alongside Riley. Of all the troopers in Switchback squad I knew Riley the best, he and I were part of the same batch when we were born on Kamino. We went through basic training together and took part in the many battles throughout the Clone Wars. When the offer to join the Shadow Core was given to us we joined together and were eventually placed with the rest of Switchback squad.

As it was I had grown to like my new unit. We were formed only eight months ago but so far we had a nearly perfect track record and worked very well as a team. The six of us were transferred to Jabiim after the Separatist Fleet attacked the planet for a second time and the Republic sent reinforcements to aid in the defense. Six months later we were still here and it seemed like the war for the northern hemisphere would never end. But to spite the endless slog Keller had managed to keep us all alive and we had proven to be very useful in the Republic's campaign to retake the planet.

I just hope Onyx is keeping a good eye out, the last thing I need is an ambush with my boots filled with water. I really thought by now I'd get used to this happening.

"Okay the scan said it should be just up here, stack up on the door and set a charge." Keller motioned to a hatch ahead of us. I approached and place a sound canceling charge on the door. "Charged placed, five seconds." I moved behind Riley just as the charge detonated with a muffled thud. Keller moved in through the hatch first and we both followed, as I entered the room I saw the remains of a pair of B2 Super battle droids, larger than the B1's and more heavily armed. But their tough armor and advanced wrist mounted blasters did little to protect them from a two ton hatch that crushed them.

"Keller I think were too late, look over there." Riley walked over to the bodies of two Clone Troopers; our targets. Both men had their helmets removed and blaster shots in their chests. "Killed at point blank range, they were executed." Keller observed. "Riley search them and get their ID tags, we can't take the bodies." Riley began to search the corpses. "Sir why do you think the Sepies' took them anyway? Just to kill them later, it doesn't make any sense. Not just that look at their markings, these men are from the 501st legion. They haven't been on Jabiim since the first couple years of the war." I said as I looked over my fallen comrades. "He's right sir, these men aren't even supposed to be on planet, the 501st is heading into the Core last I heard." Riley made a good point; the legion these men belong too is hundreds of light years from Jabiim.

Why are you poor sods so far from your unit? None of this crap makes any sense.

"Sir look, a long range holographic communicator. It was on the troopers." Riley said as he handed the device to Keller. Keller looked at both of us then played back the last message the device received. A small six inch holographic figure appeared from the communicator in Keller's hand. He was a Clone from the same legion. The figure began to speak "This is Captain Rex of the 501st Clone Battalion; this message is highly sensitive information, share this with no one. I am revealing this to all units I can after giving an advanced warning to a select few I could trust. After receiving this message I advise all troopers to cut contact with Republic High Command. I have learned a terrible truth and I fear that it may already be too late, the Republic will soon fall from within and the clone army will be forever changed. To all clones receiving this; you must at all cost remove the inhibitor chips we all have in our brains, many of you do not even know it's there but you must find it and remove it at all costs. I do not know what they will do when they active but what I do know is that there is some dark force at work here and the chips are linked to it. Many of my friends went mad trying to uncover this plot. This is of the utmost importance so I am enacting Emergency Authorization Code: Victor Sierra Niner Niner Delta. Good luck my friends, my brothers and may the force be with you all. Rex out." the figure vanished and the three of us just stared into the empty space.

"Sir?" Riley was shocked I could tell. "What do we do?" I looked at Keller "We follow the Captain's instructions, that code is an authorization very few know, it is reserved for anything that posses an immediate threat to the structure of the Republic. The same Republic we have fought to defend for decades. If Rex is to be believed then we must remove these chips from ourselves and tell no one of this message." Keller dropped the communicator to the floor and crushed it with his boot. "Do you lads trust me?" I'd never known Keller to ask such a thing; he was very bothered by the transmission. "Of course sir." Riley said "I do too sir, and the others will as well." I backed up Riley. "Good, we need to be unanimous in our decision. Let's get out of here and blow this ship." We left the room and proceeded towards our extraction location. "Switchback team we're done, let's get out of here." Keller said over the team com.

We all boarded our specially modified LAAT gunship and escaped the hot zone, as we circled the Meridian from above I looked to Rook with the remote detonator in hand. Then to Keller who simply gave Rook at quick nod before Rook pressed the button and the Meridian erupted into a massive fireball.

Damn fine work boys, damn fine.

"Alright lads listen up, we have some troubling news." Keller motioned for the squad to gather as the doors closed and we flew inbound for friendly airspace. "We have a decision to make." I looked at Keller as he removed his helmet as sat down; I had never seen him so troubled in all my life.