Everything changed during the war. All my life it seems I'd been taught the traditional values of the Jedi. That peace and harmony were to be sought out over all. Yet when the former Master Dooku turned to the dark side and his right hand Grievous made it clear that war was the only option the Republic would be given, the Jedi lead their clone army into battle.
To be honest the war itself made little sense to me at first. As a padawan at the war's start all I could see it as was two disposable armies fighting to decide an argument between greedy senators. But those ideas soon changed as the battles raged. I grew to like the clones under my command and they me and I found that I was not the only one who questioned the war. Often times the clones themselves even voiced their disdain for the fighting. 'Why then,' I thought, 'are the Jedi entangled in this war? We're supposed to be keeper of the peace so why not serve as ambassadors and not generals?' but it all became clear to me after that fateful order was issued.
I still remember that last mission so vividly. The soft hum of the dropships's low ion emission engines going nearly put me to sleep when Ace broke me from my pre-op meditation.
"Commander Ortan, message coming in from General T'sowra."
"Thank you, Ace." Ace was the leader of Shadow squad, a squad of clone commandos who were placed under my direct control yet again for this mission. Ace, along with the rest of his team, were hard a gritty fighters. We've survived several missions ever since we met during an assault when I was separated from my master and men by a battalion of droids. I linked up with his squad and after we finished their primary objective of disabling a droid factory the squad had volunteered to remain within the 265th, the unit under my master's command, so long as I was their commander. I owed them my life just as much as they owed theirs to me since during that first mission together we had a run in with General Grevious and barely made it out alive. Ace's armor still bares the seered cut in his breastplate from that fight.
Wrench, our communication and tech expert, activated the holo terminal. The low blue glow filled the cabin as my master's tall and sturdy Twei'lek image appeared. Master T'sowra, leader of the 265th and the strictest master I've ever known. The man was hard to impress and quick to punish when appropriate. Though for all that toughness he was fair and ready to lend aid when he could. He even noticed my extremely proficient combat skills very early on and recommended me as a future apprentice to Master Wendu to become the orders next weapons' master after my promotion to knight. However in the field all you ever got from him was a persona similar to what the clones called a drill sergeant.
"Shadow team, are you reading me?"
"Loud and clear, master. Orders?"
"The main battle force will be landing soon. We are the distraction to lure the army out of the city. Your drop ship will land you on the building opposite the capitol tower. Your mission is to infiltrate the building, capture the Prime Minister, and await extraction at the rendezvous point. If possible the shield reactor is a secondary target but get the Prime Minister out."
"Understood master. May the Force be with you."
"May it be with us all. Master T'sowra out."
The troop compartment went dark as the holo transmission ended. I put on my helmet on letting my HUD light up. Shortly after our first mission together I accompanied the team back to Kamino in order to be officially trained and added to there team. As part of all this the Kaminoins commissioned a special set of armor for my personal use. Though the armor wasn't as thick or durable as the standard issue for Commandos it far surpassed that of the average clone. My new armor can with magnetic holsters for my twin lightsabers, grappling hooks, a Commando pistol, and comlink to my men and command. All Commandos customize their armor with paint or additions. Ace had a patern of black and blue paint that covered his chest and shoulders. Wrench had burgundy stripes vertically along his arms with a mobile hard uplink terminal on his forearm. Boomer, our demolitions expert, had the common black and gold paint but were depicting small explosions all over his body. The man also had more grenades than I could count on him at all times. He's only ever run out of them once and that was after not being supplied for two weeks. Lucky, our marksmen, simply had one green bullseye for every shot Boomer claimed was "luck." My last count was seventy-eight.
My armor was simple compared to nearly all the clones. All my armor had was the simple of the Jedi order branded on my shoulder guards and one tick mark for every completed mission on my bracers. The truly unique distinction of my armor however was my robe. It was attached to my suit at my shoulders, waist and elbows. The clones often joked at it but I was a Jedi after all. And what is a Jedi without the force, his lightsaber, and robes?
The HUD light up. I ran through my display checks, shields, pistol battery and then coms.
"Radio check Shadow team."
"Ace here."
"Wrench reading loud and clear, commander."
"Boomer here."
"Lucky here, still wondering when the boss is going to clean off those carbon scars on his armor."
"Soon as you get a new joke book, Lucky." I retorted.
"Besides, half of those are from him covering for your ass, Lucky." Boomer added in.
"Right, and the other half are from your own blaster. Do us all a favor Boomer and stick you your grenades." Lucky never could go one mission without letting that one go. Our second mission Boomer was still getting used to a five man team and accidently shot at me once. But that was just Lucky's way, and Boomer never seemed to mind. That same mission he even challenged Lucky that by the war's end he could get more kills with his grenades alone than Lucky could with his sniper rifle, and he was doing a good job at it too.
"Ok team listen up for the OPORDR. Ace?"
The dropship landed in camouflage mode. That was one thing I always had loved while I was with Shadow Team, anytime we needed something we got it. Even if that something was a highly experimental stealth drop ship complete with active camouflage and recycling ion emissions. Nearly undetectable. I went first, as was our protocol. I had the highest likelihood to survive an ambush with my Jedi training. Plus I refused to let anyone die if I could help it. Lucky went next. He took his position on the rooftop. He was our eyes for this mission. Specialized thermal scope to penetrate the building and rounds to match so that if need be he could unleash an unseen counter attack. By the time he set up the rest of the squad had piled out and the ship was already in the air.
The rain was heavier than I thought it would be. But I should have expected that by how loud it was in the ship. In the end the rain only helped us as we had better concealment in a rainy night. "Grapples ready." Ace commanded. Four hooks launched across the gap and secured on the capitol's roof. Sailed through the air till we landed on the other outer wall then scaled up. Ten meters from the roof Lucky came over the com.
"Hold up. Tango on the roof… was on the roof. Coming towards you Wrench."
A body fell from the roof and wrench caught him mid fall and attached the body to the line.
"All clear. Move up."
We reached the roof then Boomer posted by the door elevator. Ace searched the body. First thing he found was an earpiece com and mic.
"Wrench, patch us in."
Within seconds we started hearing the radio traffic throughout the tower. Mostly junk info until we heard the first explosions from the battle outside the shield. Then the traffic cleared up. All mission sensitive. Just what we needed.
"Lucky, monitor the com traffic. What do we have on the floor below us?"
"Looks like two elevator shafts. One heads to what looks like and elevator hub floor-area thing. I don't really know for certain. The other goes to a room with a lot of guards."
"Nothing some well placed explosives can't fix, sir." Boomer pointed out.
"How many guards directly below us and at the hub?" Ace asked.
"Just two below you. Three at the hub."
"Child's play…" Wrench mocked. He was always the most silent of the group. Hard to read but we all trusted him just the same.
"Ok. Continue with the plan. Wrench with me. Boomer, Ace, the Prime Minister. Lucky, you got my elevator I asked for earlier?"
"Got your routes planned, sir. You want the fun or boring way?"
"Covert op Lucky."
"Suit yourself…"
If all went well this plan would go off without a hitch and we'd be out of here in the hour. Wouldn't have needed to do this in the first place anyway had this planet and its Prime Minister just stay loyal to the republic. Three weeks prior to this attack the planet had been part of the Republic before it suddenly seceding. At first everyone thought it was simply because its inhabitants were simply tired of the war effort. But Republic Intel found Separatist droids, reactors and factories in various stages of completion on the planet. The next day Intel went dark. So now it's time to find out why this planet turned traitor.
Wrench sliced the door and we were in. the two guards were easy enough. Lucky shot one through the walls and the rest of us gunned down the other one before he could react.
"Heads up, you have two guards coming up in the elevator. They heard the shots."
"Roger that Lucky. Wrench? Stop them before they get up."
Wrench got to work on the console and the doors to both shafts opened.
"We have maybe a minute before they put two and two together."
"Right. Ace, Boomer, down the second shaft. Wait for our signal to move on the Prime Minister. Wrench-"
"Waiting on you, Sir." Wrench already had both our lines set. I hooked up and we went down. The elevator itself was an annoying problem. Wrench quickly set up a low range jammer to stop their signal and when he nodded that we were clear we cut in. Lightsabers are a true marvel of a tool and one that the team has mentioned several times has come in handy. Now was definitely one of them. Because once the hole was cut we saw not only the two guards, but twelve battle droids as well. Plasma bolts erupted from the elevator as I drew my second saber and began to deflect the bolts. Wrench quickly dropped a shock grenade in and the 5 second stun was more than enough for me to drop in after it and make quick work of them all. Soon as Wrench dropped the jammer we learned that we just stirred the hornets' nest.
"SIR! WRENCH! COME IN! ARE YOU TWO ALIVE?!"
"We're fine Lucky, but you forgot to mention that this tower was filled with droids."
"I can't see them sir."
"Maybe they're part of the deal, sir? Experimental tech to develop new droids in return for protection?"
"Maybe, Ace. But that's for Intel to sort out. Lucky how are we looking?"
"Like a regular party, sir. You've got the whole tower in buzzing now. Minister's guard just doubled and that elevator hub is booming now."
"What's the fastest way to the generator?"
"Straight down, but there's a lot of guards and durasteel in the way at the ground floor."
"So this shaft goes all the way down then?"
"All eighty floors to the ground then you'd need to hop to another elevator to reach the generator or cut through ten feet of that durasteel I mentioned. And I don't think your lightsadber is that long, sir."
"How'd you know, Lucky?" Boomer added.
"Not now you two. Wrench, can you initiate the code without being directly linked into the system?"
"Yes sir but I'd have to be within fifty meters."
"I'll get you within ten. Ace and Boomer be ready to hit at any second."
I started to cut our way through the elevator floor. What I was planning to do was crazy. Would it work? It had to. We didn't have the time to fight through the floors and Master T'sowra was already committed to his attack. We had to get this done now. Wrench looked up after he primed the code. I looked at him and tossed him a tether. I don't know if he understood what I was planning but he hooked up like he knew.
"Lucky, tell me when we're at floor fifteen."
"Roger sir but what-"
And like that we jumped.
Eighty floors. At first that doesn't seem so high up till you're free falling from the height. My heart was racing and Wrench had to be in a panic. Our com channel was going none stop with Lucky's disbelief at my stunt and Ace and Boomer wanting to know what was going on. The floors passed in seconds. Before I knew it I heard Lucky scream we were at fifteen. I only had a few seconds and I had to time this perfectly. The generator was in a large chamber under the ground floor and ten feet of solid durasteel. As fast as I could I muster all the strength I could and blasted a wave of Force at the bottom of the elevator shaft. It broke but barely enough for what I needed. Wrench and I threaded the needle of the hole I had just punched through the floor as ruble was still falling apart. As soon as we made it through and fired my grappling hook back through the hole and prayed that there was enough cable to make it back to the elevator.
We were still falling and every second of it felt like an eternity. The generator chamber was massive feeling more like a hanger than housing for the thing. We were within five meters of the generator when my cable finally caught on something. "WRENCH NOW!" I yelled as hit the switch to retract my cable. He initiated the code and the entire facility went dark. "ACE, BREACH NOW!" the sounds of combat filled the radio then silence. The only sound we heard was the winding of my cable. Once I saw that my hook had in fact hit the elevator I was relived. Wrench climbed up and detatched himself from me then helped me up into the elevator. Still no radio chatter.
"Ace, do you have the HVT?"
"…. We have a positive ID. It's the governor, Sir."
"Good work. Everyone one head to the roof for extraction. Luck, contact Master T'sowra and tell him to start pulling out."
"Roger that, Sir. Evac shuttle is enroute."
We all regrouped with ease. The whole of the tower was in chaos. They were still trying to get the power back on by the time the shuttle arrived. The governor put up no fight. He was sedated shortly after Ace apprehended him. The dropship touched down on the roof top and we all followed our SOP of boarding it. First Wrench followed by Boomer. We all would cover Lucky as he was typically set up in a sniper over watch position, and this time was no exception. Ace tapped my shoulder for me to move to the ship. I turned and as I stepped onto the ship our portable holo terminal was beeping with a priority hail. We shut the doors and dusted off. Wrench set up the holo and seemed confused.
"What's wrong, Wrench?"
"Sir, the message is coded as a priority message from the Supreme Chancellor, but…"
"But what? Spit it out, commando." Ace prodded.
"… its coded in Separatist encryption routines."
"Sounds odd, but we can't ignore orders from the Chancellor himself. Put him through."
I would soon come to both regret and thank the Force for that decision. For that was no ordinary hail, but an order that would alter the entire galaxy forever. The Chancellor appeared, and was in slightly different attire than usual for him. Most notably he had a hood cloaking his face that seemed disfigured. Then, without a word or hint of warning, the order came.
"Execute: Order Sixty-Six."