War is never something that is cut and dry. To assume so either is to make it easier to pull the trigger and end a life, or that person is ignorantly bliss. It takes an unfortunate understanding to fully commit to a cause in war. Heart, soul and mind all must agree if there is to be any true dedication to a side. And sometimes, such dedication is not truly found until after the smoke clears.

By then, it is too late to go back. And the consequences will live with those who blindly follow causes or false heroes. Even if the belief is genuine, it does not mean that the opposing belief isn't. The road to hell is paved by good intentions, and in a war filled with bloodshed that spans the whole galaxy, there are no winners.

Only survivors.

"We are a proud people. Remember to always take pride in your accomplishments, for they are a reflection of you and all mandalorians."

"I assure you, you're son will make a fine soldier. His skills will be sharpened to the peak of perfection."

"Pain is a reminder that you're still alive! If you feel pain, you still live! If you live, you will continue to train! Any weakness and you'll be gunned down without hesitation!"

"We're safe here. Don't worry Zara, they can't get us while we're here."

"I'm scared Jack."

"Don't worry, it'll be fine."

"Jack!"

"Stay behind me!"

"I'm sorry. I couldn't protect you, and I couldn't even back you up when you needed it. I swear, I won't rest until this damn war is over. I just need to get to the right side."

"JACK!"

"Gah!" A boy suddenly jolted from his sleep and sat straight up, unintentionally hitting his head against a pipe and fell back down. "Ahhhh, blast it." He groaned as he rubbed his forehead. After clearing his head of pain, he kicked his feet over the side and got out of his confined spot.

The boy had long black hair, as dark as the space he could see outside of the window to his right. His eyes were a bright green, contrasting with the dark hair yet not appearing out of place as they squinted, adjusting to the light. He had what appeared to be remains of rather horrid white clothes, several large holes across his shirt and pants. His skin was a deep tan, evident that he had seen a good amount of sun where he had come from. He appeared to be no older than 16, yet his eyes conveyed a deeper experience then those young.

'Blasted dreams.' The boy thought as he slowly stood up, walking up to the window and staring off into the darkness of space. He used the glass to see his reflection, rubbing his chin as he stared into the face he's hardly gotten to know.

He was currently on a small, barely functioning freighter ship. It was the best he could manage on short notice and knew that just about anything else would've taken too long to get and he knew he couldn't waste the time to find a more… enjoyable ship.

"Ah well, I've worked with worse." The boy said as he walked up to the cockpit, sitting into the pilot's chair and checking over the systems. The ship was easily over 100 years old, dating far back from what he's aware of. Luckily though, he's capable of getting the rust bucket flying well enough to catch a few winks of sleep and avoid ripping apart.

However, the ship's integrity is far from safe, so he couldn't use his ships main drive. Had he done that, it'd either explode or the ship would rip in two in hyperspace. So he's been forced to simply work with as much of the fuel as he had. He wasn't sure where he was, but he knew he was a good distance from Separatist space, and that was all he needed to know.

It's been over three weeks now and he hadn't seen a planet since his journey started. That and with the limited food he had, he was bound to run out soon.

Thinking on his rations, he pulled up his right sleeve and looked at the bottom of his wrist. Dug into the skin was a small, thin black screen that had several bars on it. The bars didn't fit the whole screen, with only three remaining, the top appearing dark orange while the last two were red.

He sighed as he saw the screen, irritated with the results he had. "Great, and now my nutrients is running low. I probably have another day or two before I have to have the remainder of the nutrient paste. Which means after that, I have a week before I'm screwed."

He then let his sleeve fall back over the screen as the orange bar vanished and leaned back into his chair. The moment he did however, its support broke and he fell back, causing him to flip over his shoulder and lay face first on the floor. "Stupid old ship, stupid old broken chair that doesn't stop breaking." He grumbled as he stood back up, grabbing the chair by the top and walking back into the open room.

Once there, he threw the chair against the wall and sat down next to it, placing his elbows on his knees. Leaning back against the wall, groaning as he felt his body start to weaken. "I always hate it when my nutrient levels get low. It makes the desire to fill it up early worse."

Wiping his hands down his face, he sighed as he rested his head against the cold, hard wall. "Three weeks and I can't even find a single Republic cruiser. You'd think they'd be all over the place with how large they kept saying the Republic's fleet is. Maybe even a signal or a-"

"Unidentified vessel, identify yourself." A voice spoke over the half ruined comms, causing the boy's eyes to snap over to the cockpit. "Unidentified vessel, this is Admiral Yularen of the Republic, if you are active, respond."

As fast as his feet could carry him, the boy jolted over to the controls and began to tap across the screen. He couldn't see an image of this admiral, but he knew his audio should still be working. "Yes, hello there. Admiral Yularen, this vessel is under identification 5-c47b. I've been traveling for weeks now, I don't know if it's much, but I could really use some help."

"Zztztzzztztztzzzzzz."

"Unidentified vessel, please respond." Admiral Yularen asked again as static came from his first reply."

"Something the matter?" Anakin asked as he walked up to the admiral.

"We've encountered a ship general. We've attempted contact but have gotten little in response." Yularen answered as he turned to the Jedi Knight. "All that's come in so far is static."

"We believe the comms may be damaged." A clone spoke up as he typed across his station. "The ship appears to be old, far beyond use and is leaking fuel. Perhaps its travel has damaged itself even further."

"And what of this static?" A human man asked as he walked next to Anakin, wearing grey and black Jedi robes. He had short, kept black hair and green eyes, standing at six feet. "Is it constant?"

"No general Shan." The clone responded. "It seems to come from the ship attempting to respond."

"Interesting." Hawke Shan commented as he looked over to Anakin. "What should we do then? It could be a refugee looking for help."

"Or a trap waiting to happen." Anakin added as he walked up next to Yularen. "Unidentified vessel, if you can hear me, give us a sign that you can. Your transmitter is damaged."

It took several seconds, but eventually the ship's lights blinked twice. Taking it as a signal, Anakin continued on. "Your ships damage and age seems rather desperate. We need to know if it is safe for us to approach and extract you."

There was no response after, causing Hawke to sigh and tap down on the communication controls. "Blink once for safe, and twice for critical." A single blink then went off, getting Hawke to smirk. "There, all you had to do was give him an easy way to respond. I'll gather some clones and head out there, sound good?"

"Careful Hawke, it could still be a trap." Anakin reminded his fellow Knight, who nodded and waved his hand over his shoulder.

"I'll keep us safe. Just make sure to gather some medical crew if this person needs some help." Hawke mentioned as he stared to walk out of the observation deck. "We have no idea how long they could've been out here for."

"Right." Anakin nodded as he pressed his wrist communicator. "Send a medical team down to the hangar and keep them on stand by. They may be needed soon."

A few minutes later, Hawke had gathered a small crew of several clones from the 501st legion and set off to the ship in a transport ship. It's not fit for combat like a gunship, but they needed something that may need to help keep someone under care should things be at the worst.

Flying out of the hangar, the ship slowly approached the drifting vessel, the clone pilots taking care not to damage the already falling apart vessel. "Remember men, we're expecting a pickup. But it wouldn't be too far of a stretch if this were a trap. Chaps and Fiz, you two keep your blasters set to live. Webber, Nix and Jet, you three set to stun. If we're dealing with a living being I want to avoid killing it, understood?"

"Yes sir." The clones responded as they set their DC-15S blasters to the ordered settings.

A minute later, the ship attached itself to the airlock of the vessel and locked into place. "Alright men, follow me." Hawke said as he grabbed his lightsaber from his waist. It's smooth chrome design reflecting the light as he walked up to the airlock.

Once he was close enough, he hit a switch and opened the door, causing a faint amount of musky air to flow into the ship. Hawke coughed a few times due to the musk, groaning as he waved the air away. "Damn, change the age we might of put on this ship up another ten years. This thing's filter is clearly broken. Whoever's in here is probably lucky to still be alive."

"Eh, you get used to it after awhile." The moment the voice spoke up Nix and Jet moved past Hawke and aimed their rifles, causing the target to raise his hands up. "I'm friendly, I'm friendly!"

The two clones saw the sixteen year old and slightly lowered their rifles, looking over to each other in minor confusion. "A… A kid?"

"Hey." The boy complained as he kept his hands up, his ruined sleeves falling down to his elbows as a result.

Hawke placed a hand on Nix's shoulder, patting it as he walked ahead of the two clones while the others piled in. "I don't think we'll have to worry about this one. I'll handle it from here."

"Yes sir."

The boy sighed in relief as the clones lowered their weapons. "For a second there I thought I was going to get shot."

"You would've survived, their blasters were set to stun." Hawke said as he approached the boy. "But ignoring that fact, why are you out here? It isn't every day you come across a ship that's falling apart while being operated by a kid."

"I'm sixteen." The boy mumbled before answering. "Well, Jedi sir, I'm sorta… on the run as it is."

"Not for anything bad I hope. Saving a criminal isn't a good way to start my career as a Jedi Knight."

"No, no! Nothing bad I swear!" The boy covered as he waved his hands in front of him. "In fact, me leaving was keeping me from doing anything bad."

"Really now?"

"Yes, and I'd be willing to continue on, but we should probably get off this ship."

"Why?" Webber asked, stepping up.

The boy looked over to the clone, appearing slightly embarrassed. "Because this ship could only handle two people before the plating would start to shift on itself. We probably have a minute before the vacuum of space rips the plating apart and pulls us out."

The sounding of metal creaking added on, causing the Jedi to look at him with a tired expression. "You couldn't of told us sooner?"

"Hey, not my fault the clones were ready to shoot me." The boy responded as the metal under his feet creaked. "Oh, and I'd say we have thirty seconds now."

"Move!" Hawke shouted as he grabbed Jack and threw him over his shoulder. Despite the protest from the young boy, Hawke carried on as the clones and him went back through the air lock. Once the Jedi was through, Chaps slammed his fist against the switch, closing the door.

"Sir?" One of the pilots questioned as he looked behind his seat, seeing the Jedi.

"Disconnect, disconnect!" Hawke ordered, getting a nod from the pilot as he turned back to the controls. Getting control, he disconnected from the vessel and began to separate between them. It was seconds later that the ship shook, causing Hawke to drop the boy onto the ground with a thud. "What was that?"

"The vessel exploded sir." The copilot answered as he tapped on his controls. "Seems the hyperdrive was going critical, its age was reaching a point where it couldn't handle itself. Had it of been used any time within two years, that explosion could've taken a chunk out of a planet."

"Wow, really glad I didn't use it then." The boy groaned as he sat up, rubbing his head. "I knew it was old, but I didn't think it'd explode when it WASN'T used."

"Kid, you are seriously the luckiest person alive right now." Nix said as he looked down to the boy.

"I'm sixteen."

"With us, that's still a kid." Chaps responded as he holsted his blaster, being followed by the others.

"Give me at least some credit, I was working with stuff over a century old." The boy said as he sat against a wall. "Add in the fact it was all I could scavenge on such short notice and used for three weeks, I say I did great for a 'kid'."

"Three weeks?" Hawke echoed as he knelt next to the boy. "You've been out here for that long? Did you have enough supplies to last? Do you need something to eat?"

"I'm fine for the most. My nutrients levels are pretty balanced and…" The boy drawled on as he pulled his sleeve down and looked at the screen on his wrist, seeing that he was now down to one bar. "Ah blast, I hate it when it glitches early."

"What?" Hawke asked as he looked at the boy's wrist, seeing the implanted screen and the single, deep red bar on it. "Who put this in you?"

"Long story, and… can we save it for later?" The boy asked as he began to feel the draw back on his nutrients. "I was going to fill up my nutrients, but my paste seemed to of expired a bit before I could take it."

"Sir, if we're helping him, we should get back soon." Jet spoke up as he knelt next to the boy, holding a scanner-pad and typing on it. "His bodies nutrients are heavily depleted. He must have been starving himself to save up rations."

"Blast." Hawke muttered as he stood up. "Jet, try and keep him awake. Pilot, get us back to the cruiser as quickly as possible."

"Yes sir!" Both clones responded as they went to their tasks.

While they did, Hawke walked to the side of the ship and pulled out a communicator, tapping on its side and activating the hologram of Anakin. "Hawke? Is everything okay? We saw an explosion."

"We're fine Anakin. The ship's hyperdrive just self destructed due to its age." Hawker explained as he paced to the side. "But going past that, turns out we need that medical team after all. We found a kid on the ship, he's starving and is probably getting weak from the lack of nutrients. If he doesn't get treatment we may lose him."

"A kid?"

"Yeah, I know." Hawke chuckled bitterly. "Out of everything that was ridiculous, from an old ship, to the first noted hyperdrive malfunction due to expiration, the shocking part's that a kid was holding that piece of scrap together. He seems rather conservative, but he might have been lucky."

"Is there anything we should know before getting him support?"

"He's been out here for three weeks and is probably extremely weak. Jet thinks he's been starving himself to keep his supplies." Hawke answered as he looked over to the clone and boy. "It apparently didn't work, his rations expired the last time he likely filled himself. We're dealing with someone who needs time to recovery, we may need to head to a medical station to get him the full treatment he'll need."

"We can't exactly just abandon our mission. We're coming out here for a reason." Anakin responded.

"Then I'll take a transport and get him somewhere once he's able to." Hawke persisted, catching Anakin's attention.

"This kid really has your attention, doesn't he?"

"He's a lot like you Anakin. He's resourceful, gifted, and we don't even know what he can really do. All we know is that he's sixteen and capable of surviving in poor conditions for three weeks all alone. The Republic could use every edge we can get, and this kid might be one we need."

Anakin began to think as he planned his next response. "If you're that certain, then the council should understand why you needed to leave. But it's a big risk for you to take, especially if he doesn't turn out like you think."

"Trust me, he will." Hawke spoke as he turned and looked at the boy. "He'll just need time to fully realize his potential." He then smirked as an idea came up. "And I think I might know a good way to get him started."

"We'll see then. The medical team is ready and on standby."

"Good, the kid 'll need it." Hawke finished as he cut the communication, keeping an eye on the boy. "I can sense his presence. You'll make a fine soldier, most like you do."

"Generals, you can enter now." A medical clone spoke up to Anakin and Hawke, who were waiting outside of the medical room the boy was taken to.

The two Jedi nodded and entered, seeing the boy in a fresh pair of medical garbs and asleep. He had several I.V.'s hooked up to him, along with a heartbeat monitor. His hair was cut down to just an inch in length, likely to avoid it getting caught in the machinery.

"How is he?" Hawke asked one of the clones in the room.

"He'll live, but it was a close one to say the least." The head clone said as he walked up to them with a datapad. "As you explained, he was likely starving himself to ration up. It worked, but his body has gotten weaker because of it. He seemed to of had water, but his body's level seemed as if he was keeping himself from drinking much either. Possibly two days without any."

"Little food, little water, and air that was clearly messing with his mind even." Anakin spoke to himself as he wondered just how the kid managed to survive. "Was there anything else?"

"Uh, yes actually sir." The clone responded as he handed the datapad over to Anakin. "He seemed to have some sort of monitoring enhancement implanted into his wrist. It was connected to most of his nerves, and was likely what he used to know when he'd need to eat and drink. But it was also taking a lot of that to keep itself powered."

The clone then walked over to a table, moving some of the surgical equipment to expose the black screen that was once in the boy's arm. "We attempted to treat him with it in, but noticed a lot of the I.V.'s substance were being drawn into it. We removed it and immediately noticed a health increase to the boy. His vitals were picking up almost immediately upon its removal."

"It both monitored and kept him in check." Hawke concluded. "So he clearly ran from some one who wanted to keep him. And they probably thought he'd be back because of the way the monitor limited him."

"How long would you say he'd be asleep?" Anakin asked, tapping on the pad to look at the boy's more detailed examination.

"Removing the monitor was something we had to be careful about. We had to sedate him and even then he'd of still felt it with the connection to his nerves system." The clone across the room responded. "There should be enough in him to keep him asleep for a day or two. Possibly more if his bodies injuries start to act up."

"Injuries?" Hawke questioned, getting a pat on his arm from Anakin. "What?"

"Here, this is what they meant." Anakin responded as he handed the datapad to Hawke. The Knight's eyes widened slightly at the examination of the boy, seeing the dozens of scars on his body. "Two cut wounds that go across his chest, three going down his back, one that's on the back of his head, and even several burn scars on his arms and legs. Likely from blaster fire."

"He was being trained to be a soldier." Hawke muttered as he looked at each scar. The ones on his chest went diagonally across, starting from his right shoulder down to his left hip. The one on the back of his head was clean, only a thin line that went straight down from the back of his head down to the base of his neck. And the blaster injuries were smaller than the average wound. It was difficult to tell if the shot wounds were healing, or the blaster's caliber was smaller.

"Soldiers don't walk away with injuries like that." The head medical clone said. "He was put through pain most men wouldn't ever encounter. And he has even more enhancements then the one in his arm."

"Explain." Hawke ordered, getting data transferred to the pad in his hand.

"It appears that he likely had surgery across portions of his body. Most of these are small differences, only increasing his muscle and bone strength ahead of the average man. The one that we were concerned the most about is the one in his head." The clone explained as Hawke's attention went to the scar that went down the boy's head. "The scar was a surgical wound, which means someone put it in him."

"Put what?" Anakin asked as he took a step over to the boy.

"An inhibitor chip." The clone said, pulling up a skeletal hologram of the boy. "This chip is holding something back in his head, we can't tell what, but the functions it has are similar to something you'd put into an AI."

"What kind of functions?"

"Two that we can tell." The clone responded as he pointed to the hologram's skull. "A biological override that induces a high frequency signal… and a kill switch."

"A kill switch?" Hawke asked in anger as he turned to the boy. "They must of thought he'd be dangerous if he got out. But why didn't they hit it then when he escaped?"

"I killed the man who had the code and deleted all files on the chips." The whole room turned to the boy as he spoke, surprised at his waking.

"But, his vitals aren't…" One of the clones began to say as they looked at the vitals. Just like earlier, they were calm, too calm for someone awake. The heart rate was the same as someone his age sleeping, and yet he was clearly awake.

"I can control my heartbeat." The boy answered the unspoken question as he opened his eyes. "Sedation is lacking on me due to the enhancements you spoke of, it's that way because I was augmented to avoid ignoring pain or getting poisoned. My body rejects just about every chemical combination that would have an effect on a human body. I'm not immune, but my resistance is greater than most, I could survive a deadly virus for a month that could kill someone in just a few hours."

"That's… quite a lot to say." Hawke said as he placed the datapad down. "How do you feel?"

"Fine, just a little weak." The boy responded as he looked over to the Jedi. "And I think it's customary to introduce yourself when among hosts. You did save my life, so I think it's fair I answer anything you need to know."

"I see your training didn't take away formality." Hawke chuckled as he stood next to the boy. "My name is Hawke Shan, Jedi Knight. This here is Anakin Skywalker, same rank."

Anakin walked next to Hawke as he spoke to the boy. "Can you explain why you've been out here for three weeks? I know you just woke up, but it's been bothering us since you said it."

"Right, that." The boy said as he looked to the ceiling. "Well as you can tell, my trainers weren't exactly the best of people. I was meant to be a soldier that could turn the tides of battle, a super soldier if you're feeling fancy. I didn't agree with their ideals, was put through more pain because of it, and took my chances with an escape. Didn't work quite as well as I hoped it would though."

"But you're alive, and made it long enough to get support. Impressive for someone so young." Hawke responded, smirking as the boy groaned.

"Sixteen isn't that young."

"Do you have a name?" Anakin asked, getting silence from the boy.

"J4K is so lame! Why can't you just give yourself a normal name like us? I know, why not Jack? It has a ring to it right?"

"…Jack." The boy finally responded, turning his head to the Jedi. "My name is Jack."

"Well Jack, what now?" Hawke asked. "You found a Republic cruiser, which I assume was one of your goals. So you could go back to Republic space, live a normal life, have a family, and put the past behind you. Or perhaps you'd rather do the same but in Separatist space. Perhaps even just find a random planet to stay on. We could get you registered and on your way if you want."

"Pfft, a normal life." Jack chuckled bitterly as he turned back to the ceiling.

"You are still a kid, you could do that if you wanted to." Anakin added. "It'd probably be a better choice after all the things you've been through."

"It's impossible for me to go to a normal life." Jack responded as he closed his eyes. "Ten years of the most brutal combat training and abuse you could think of does that. No, I can't go to a normal life. Everything I did would've been for nothing."

"Then… what?"

Jack then opened his eyes, determination burning in his vision as he forced himself to clench his fist. "I want to fight for an actual cause. One that I agree with. One like the Republic."

"You're only sixteen and you want to fight in a war?" Anakin questioned.

"Jedi start fighting even sooner. Some Padawans can be fifteen when they start actually fighting in this war."

"Yes, but-"

"How far are you willing to prove you'll fight for us?" Hawke interrupted.

"Whatever you want me to do, I'll fight my hardest as long as I do some good." Jack responded as he looked at the two Jedi. "I just want to help people, that's all."

'You claim sixteen isn't young, but you think so much like a kid.' Hawke thought sorrowfully as he kept a straight face. "Then I believe I may have an idea that could get you to fight alongside us. But you won't just be proving it to me, or a Jedi."

"I'm willing to do whatever it takes. All I ask for is a chance to prove myself."

Hawke smiled at the answer. "That's conviction." He said as he patted Jack's shoulder. "That'll be a good part of what you need. I'll explain to you the better details of everything once you're healthy enough to do it. For now, you need your rest. Your body is too weak to even stand, so we'll be taking you to a facility that can better treat you. Is that okay?"

Jack groaned as he closed his eyes. "I don't like waiting, but I have been for three weeks now. What's a few more?"

"That's the spirit." Hawke said as he stepped back. "Just wait a while longer and I promise you, I'll make sure you get your wish."

"Uh Hawke, mind if we speak outside?" Anakin asked as he grabbed Hawke and pulled him out of the room, the door closing behind him. "Are you serious about this? Getting a kid involved and becoming a soldier?"

"I can think of worse things he could've become. An assassin, a mercenary, or even a bounty hunter." Hawke responded, crossing his arms. "This way, we don't have to worry about a potential super soldier going against our troops on the field."

"Yeah, but becoming a soldier so young?"

"He isn't going to say no, so stopping him will be pointless." Hawke countered. "Plus, we can get him some proper training, perhaps fix his planning a bit as well. I mean, he can't be that bad, I'd say give him the chance and let him prove himself. And besides, if we bring him to Kamino for training, he'll be there for perhaps a few months with the next batch of clones. He'll probably be seventeen by the time he's done."

"He'd still be a kid."

"A kid with both the basic direct military training and even his super soldier enhancement training. I mean, it sounds like a good deal if you ask me."

"And what of the clones? Do you think they'll accept this?"

"Sure, it might take some time. But I'm certain if he makes enough of a name of himself, and stay side by side with them, they'll respect him."

Anakin sighed as he shook his head. "If you really think having this kid fight with us is a good thing, then go for it. I'll continue on the mission while you bring him to Kamino."

"Yes!"

"But you have to tell the council."

"No!"

(A/N): Well, haven't thought of doing this story again in awhile. Long story short, I've written several chapters of this on another cite and will be transferring it over to here. For those who are used to my current writing, if you notice a difference in quality that's mainly due to the fact this was my mid-writing, having started it around a year ago and dropped it after I came to this site. Once it's caught up I'll be able to make it into my current writing style, but since it's at least at my shifting point from my original writing style to my current, it should at least be bearable. I'm probably making a bigger deal out of this than it is, I just feel that most of my pre-fanfic writings were flawed that looking back makes me cringe from a story perspective.

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Peace!