Chapter One

Kamino, Tipoca city

68 days ABG

ARC trooper Alpha 23 stared at the wreckage of droids scattered over the water covered landing pads. The battle had been his first, but not his last. He'd been locked in stasis after he'd finished his training under Fett. The Kaminoans seemed to think that he and his brothers were too 'dangerous' to be given the freedom to roam around the cloning facilities. They'd been right, of course, but since the enemy had assaulted Kamino, apparently two months since the completion of his training he'd been activated, with the rest of the Alpha ARCs. Now he was alone, besides a few clone troopers that worked to clear the landing pads. They made sure to keep their distance.

Not that he'd done anything to threaten them. He'd spoken perhaps a dozen words throughout the entire engagement. Fett had taught him to fight, not talk, and the Kaminoans hadn't exactly encouraged idle chit chat. He stood underneath the dome of one of Tipoca cities' facilities, watching the rain that he'd known since his earliest days fall into the freezing waters of the ocean below. His rifle, a WESTAR-M5 blaster rested on his leg, as he examined the body of the weapon for damage. He'd used it to knock a B1 battle droids bird-like head clean off. The blaster was sturdy though, or at least stronger than the cables and durasteel holding a droids head on.

The WESTAR wasn't the only weapon he had. Included in his arsenal was a DC-15S carbine, a DC-17 side arm, a vibroblade housed in his left hand gauntlet, a miniature flame-thrower in his right gauntlet, and a plethora of grenades. He was, quite literally, a one man army. He'd been trained to act as one, and was equipped to take on most missions with a degree of perfection that no one else could accomplish. However, now that the battle was over, he wasn't sure what was going to happen to him. Would he be put back in stasis? Sent off on a mission? Or assigned to one of the many Jedi generals that were on the planet, that had fought against the attacking separatists?

He didn't know, but personally, he hoped it was one of the two latter options. Now that Alpha-23 had gotten a taste of combat, he realized he enjoyed the rush of adrenaline, the risk of dying, even as he blasted apart the spindly battle droids. He just wanted to be able to fulfill the purpose he'd been trained for.

Satisfied that his weapon was in optimal condition, he lowered it. He stood, and turned his back on the clean up that was still going on. The battle had left a lot of debris on the outdoor platforms. He decided to go inside and investigate the damage there. For most of the battle, he'd been outside the facilities, sabotaging troop transports with a well placed shot, or tossing an EMP grenade into a platoon of droids when they were on the narrow bridges that led from platform to platform.

The damage inside wasn't so bad. Most of the fighting, except in a few isolated areas had been outside. For the most part, the cloning vats and clone children were intact. He knew what he'd been ordered to do, in the scenario that the separatists got their hands on kids. 'Asset denial'. All ARCs had been personally ordered by Fett himself to terminate the kids if it looked like the separatists were winning. Personally, Alpha-23 was relieved that they'd avoided that outcome. He wouldn't have hesitated of course, he was trained too well for that. But, still, he would have regretted killing the children, if only because he'd have been taking assets from the Republic. The government he'd been bred to serve.

"ARC trooper twenty three. Report to my office immediately"

He recognized that voice. It belonged to Orun Wa, one of the Kaminoan scientists, and if he'd heard right, the one that was responsible for the Null-class ARCs. Now those guys were crazy. Uncontrollable, psychotic, even. He'd heard that they'd tried to kill Wa when they were kids, not that he blamed them. Apparently, the only thing that had saved the scientist was Kal Skirata. One of the Cuy'val Dar. Those that no longer exist. A Mandalorian, like Fett, with a hatred for Kaminoans. Something that Alpha-23 could sympathize with, to a point. The Kaminoans had performed all kinds of tests on clones, including himself. He wouldn't have shed a tear if the droids got every last one of them.

He arrived at the office, where Orun Wa waited, along with a fairly tall human female, with long dark hair, blue eyes, and wearing the tunic and robes of a Jedi. A lightsabre hung from her belt. He removed his helmet, and saluted the Jedi, before turning to Wa. He did not salute the scientist, and the Kaminoan noticed. His grey eyes narrowed dangerously, but he didn't say anything in the presence of the Jedi. 'I'm not a kid any more. You can't threaten me into submission.'

"You called, sir?" He said, feigning respect.

"I did. It seems that you have been assigned to master Kohl. You leave immediately"

Alpha-23 had to struggle to keep a grin from breaking out on his face. He was finally leaving this miserable, wet planet behind.

"A pleasure to meet you, ARC trooper. I look forward to working with you" the Jedi said, inclining her head gracefully.

"As do I, general Kohl" he replied.

"Our gunship is waiting on platform thirteen. I have a few things to finish up here, and then I will join you"

Alpha-23 left the facility, and almost ran to platform 13. He was finally going to do what he'd been made to do.