A General's Discovery: Prelude to The Masters of the Galaxy
A man set at the end of the observation deck on a disguised cargo ship, watching the stars as they rapidly past by in sub light travel, dressed in the white robes of a Jedi and the cloak of a hero. Suddenly a flash of white light filled the windows the star light galaxy began to streak across the window.
"We just made the jump into hyperspace General Kenobi," reported a clone trooper walking onto the observation deck."
"I seem to have noticed lieutenant but thank you," Obi-Wan said with a sign of gratitude in his face to the loyal clone.
"The captain had me really come here to tell you that we may hit more delays," the clone started to say in a stutter.
The ship came to a violent halt, the blue swirling aura outside the ships window returned to the eerie darkness of space.
"General, get up here," a voice said on the comm. system. Kenobi pushed past the clone and into the corridor, the clone followed closely down the rough metal steam shooting pipe laden hallway. Kenobi haste fully made their approach towards the bridge while being shook by various blaster blows to the ships hull. Opening the door to the bridge, he saw the captain punching various commands in a swell of panic.
"Report!" Kenobi said holding tightly to a metal handrail and the captain's bantha hide covered chair.
"If this busted up old computer is correct on our location, then it seems we are on the rim of the Hapan Cluster," the captain said in a blaze of frustration on the sudden turn of events.
"What in the blazes are we doing here?" Kenobi said in a tiresome anger.
"We were running to close to the border and a hyperspace interdictor caught me off guard," the captain continued in a sign of total loss in the situation, there are three Hapan battle cruisers coming right at us.
"What were those previous blasts," assertively asked Obi-Wan.
"Scout ship of some kind, it beat the hell out of us though I would suggest sitting back Master Jedi, this could be a rough ride," the captain said in a in a sly sarcastic manner, "Get some of your pets ready run the guns."
"Pets?" an ARC Trooper said that approaching the bridge.
A noise indicator sounded in the control panel.
"What the hell? Sub light engines and weapons are deactivating," the captain yelled banging at the control panel.
"That's what I came up here for general. The clones in the holds are all dead," the ARC trooper said without even the simplest stutter of the mass loss of life.
"What?" the general said in a surprise of disgust and anger, the expression of his face turned sour as sweat trickled down his rough beard, "How could I not feel their loss?"
"Come on General!" the ARC clone ordered even though it was out of place. Obi-Wan and the ARC clone ran down the tattered and beaten corridor to the engine room. Obi-Wan started to slow as they passed the rooms of the clones that lay dead in a mass bloodshed, looking at the loss.
"Clones," the general thought, "The sad fate they must endure is that they are mere tools, individuality stripped of them. Nothing left in them but their purpose." Echo's of his past rushed into him, but not as himself but in a third person, he could see the force but could not wield it. He saw his past, but where it leads up to the mission, his past shattered and deviated, he no longer saw himself. He no longer saw anything. His mind swept blank.
"General there is no time," said ARC clone in a more distressed tone than before.
"I know commander, there is no time." Kenobi said with a little less concern for his life or any others, "I don't think this ship or its lives aboard can be salvaged."
"Where are those damn engines?" the captain screamed in the intercom, "Unless you would like to fight boarding parties, we need those engines!"
"Why didn't they just destroy us?" questioned the general to his ARC clone, "We are under the guise of a smuggler's transport.
The general sighed and looked saddened by his fate.
"We need to get out of here," the ARC said with more anger in his voice, "We still have a mission to."
"To complete?" the general said sounding of being under powerless of mind control in his voice, "Our mission is a failure commander. We have failed. There is nothing more we can do than make a stance with this boarding party. Grab the grenades, guns, and, thermal detonators."
The ARC trooper complied with the warrior spirit that Kenobi without saying a word. Kenobi turned the nearest comm. panel
"Kenobi to bridge, do we still have communication?" he questioned into the speaker.
"Your still taking to me aren't you but If your talking about outside communication, there is an emergency generator," the captain said with haste fully and as sarcastic as ever, "It's a little too late for a distress call don't you think and where the hell are my engines!" Kenobi stepped away from the comm. panel.
"I need to report my status with the Jedi Council." Kenobi said now without a hint of pressure about the situation in his voice. An overhead pass made a sound over the upper hull.
"Get a hold of yourself, General," the clone said with worry of the General's bizarre actions.
"No get a hold of yourself commander, get the explosives and weapons I asked for," Kenobi now with a more defensive harsh tone in his voice yelling at the ARC trooper.
The ARC trooper sighed and turned away from the general, and down the tattered hall. Kenobi waited a second until he knew the clone was out of listening distance from him and readied himself for communication.
"Deviant Light to Old Folks Home, the mission is not going well master. The Hapans know I am on board this ship; they have intercepted us and are making their final approach to board us. I am wondering the fact that they are taking longer than normal boarding procedure to take us. My fate is sealed and the ship is doomed. The clones aboard the ship are all dead but two, an ARC trooper and standard clone trooper lieutenant. My fate is sealed and the ship is doomed. I have attached data in this transmission vital to the Republic. The captain has underestimated my importance as expected. May the Force be with you."
Kenobi transmitted his message surprised that there were no jamming devices activated. He stepped away from the console. Boarding claps sounded on the upper haul as they attached themselves to the ship. The ARC trooper came running to Kenobi with the weapons requested.
"Here you are sir, the weapons you requested," the clone trooper said with a shortness of breath in his voice, "I guess your transmission went though without a problem?"
"It would seem more than our communications were suppose to leave this vessel," Kenobi went on saying about the communication.
"What about your light saber, where is it?" the clone questioned. "I must have lost it," Kenobi said with a dazed expression flowing in his voice, "There is one thing I would like to know commander. Could you take off your helmet?
"I don't see why," responded the ARC troop.
"That's an order, commander!" voiced a more angered impatient Kenobi. The clone trooper lifted his arms and unmasked his face hidden within the helmet. He looked a replica in the bounty hunter Jango Fett, but only a few years younger.
"What's the problem general?" the unmasked Clone said truly questioned and somewhat angered by Kenobi's lack of urgency of the desperate situation.
"It would appear that some people aboard were not who they seem," expressed Kenobi.
"Damn, I knew it. I figured there was a difference with that other clone. First one of me I have worked with that never took the initiative to help his general," he yelled in disappointment. Noises started erupting from a way on the far side of the corridor. Sparks started to fly as a hole was being cut though the bulkhead.
"Well this is the end of us," the clone continued, "I'm just another dead clone."
"So am I," said Kenobi holding a set thermal detonator, "So am I." The indicator on the thermal detonator stopped flashing and a white light filled the ship.
_________________________________________________________________________________
"Report Lieutenant"
"Well Admiral, some of the lower portions of the ship were badly damaged, no escape pods jettisoned. Our clone and one of those menacing Advanced Artillery Troopers were found severely scorched. Our clone must have had a lead on who to kill but it must have been too late to deactivate that explosive. There could have been a distress call sent in the while our clone was transmitting information but its nothing to consider a major threat, well nothing that would get here for a while"
"I'll make the assessment on threats Lieutenant, you find me Conway!"
"I'm sorry sir."
"Our client does not take sorry for an answer, only for a weakness on your part."
"Right sir."
"Is there anything in terms of more relevant information that would lead us to his capture."
"Well sir, our clone seemed to have wiped out most of the squad on board."
"Most of them?"
"Well yes, that's the problem. The passenger manifest log we received from that clone read twenty-five troops, we only counted twenty-four total dead sir."
