Spoilers: This story contains major spoilers from the episode Orders, from Season 6.
Disclaimer: I do not own these characters or plot points; they belong to Lucasfilm and Disney. No money is being made off this work and no copywriting infringement is intended.
There is death after life and evil after good.
It chases the other like a plague that cannot be stopped. Everywhere in society is like that. People just out to get their target, and it never ceases to exist.
On Coruscant, crime was rampant in the streets. Slums were piled by mansions, almost as if it were a literal symbol for how the Coruscanti social class worked. Living on Coruscant was not the same glamor of living as it was always said to be. Smog piled the sky in network of hazy clouds. Starvation occurred out of unwillingness to persist... This, in itself, was what the Grand Army of the Republic was meant to protect; what they were meant to serve.., and schism of the social classes would be enough to destroy any soldier's morale.
Perhaps that is why droids are better fighters. They don't have to lose morale.
The Chancellor saw fit of this. He forsaw that a society with blind protectors was the only type of society that could last. Coruscant would become the way of living by dumbing down reality and installing ignorance as a weapon of choice.
The shuttle zipped past 500 Republica, past the corrupt Senate Complex that was full of politicians believing they just have to serve their constituents, not the Republic... Already, there was a loss of unity.
The Empire has begun since the start of the war.
Landing down on the Grand Republic's Surgical Reconstruction Center (GRSRC), the Nu-class attack shuttle opened its ramp to bring a loose-end that had to be fixed: ARC-5555.
"Greetings, Master Jedi. The Chancellor is waiting inside." The Chandrilan aide named Mas Amedda - thumping along on his Speaker's staff - welcomed them. The Jedi he greeted was liaison to the Jedi High Council: Shaak Ti... But besides of ARC-5555 in his gurney, another alien was following the Togruta: one of the first planners of the Jango Fett clone genotype. Her name was Nala Se.
She had something precious that she had to hide from the Chancellor and the Jedi. The neural inhibitor chip must not be discovered. What is the chip? A device that was utterly trifle...
But the supposedly-crazed ARC trooper feels otherwise.
Flashes of memories went through ARC-5555's head... He claimed to do something more novel than any clone prototype has ever done before: going against orders to protect order in itself.
"Thanks CT-27-5555. That was close." After the clone, whose eventual CT number will be ARC-5555, saved Droidbait, CT-00-2010 from a stun shot.
"It's Fives. The name Fives!" He would shout to his fellow cadet.
Another memory passed when he had to protect that same planet he was trained in. "Look at us!" He ordered to the youth cadets as Fives once was. "We're one of the same. Same heart, same blood... You're training is in your blood..., and my blood is boiling for a fight."
All of his original squad eventually were killed and Fives promised to live up to their legacy by never dying in battle. He seen dozens of clones with separate personalities and although everyone was pronounced different in their own ways, clones were the same and can never be distinguishable...
Or so it was thought. They all may have been given numbers as poor replacements for names, but they still could recognize one another even if they the exact same physical copies of one man, without customizations. Maybe it was the glint in their eyes or the subtle tone-of-voice that was all they could hold on to for an identity.
"This is about more than following orders." Fives remembered how he jeered CT-7567 (or Rex, as he prefers to call himself) for deafly following a wicked Jedi.
"It is... It's about honor." Rex would say firmly. Yes, it flashed in Fives' head.
"Where is the honor in marching blindly towards our death?!" Fives countered.
Rex sighed. "It's not our call. We are part of something larger. We're NOT INDEPENDENT OF ONE ANOTHER."
"I am sorry!" Fives shouted, aback. "I cannot just follow orders when I know they're wrong. Especially when lives are at stake."
Rex tapped his shoulder to size up, reminding how they were fighting for what they thought was the only democracy in the galaxy. "You will if you support the system we fight for."
"I do support it. I do. But I'm NOT just another number! NONE OF US ARE!"
It was those same kinds of words that swayed his brothers to back down from killing him after he and Jesse, CT-5597 disobeyed orders for doing an 'uncalled for' honorable work.
"This is wrong! And we ALL know it! The general is making a mistake and he has to be called for it! No CLONE should have to go out this way! We are loyal soldiers! We follow orders! But we are not a bunch of unthinking droids! We are MEN! Men must be trusted to make the right decision... Especially in the face of orders..., that are wrong!"
Fives was having enough with the government he grew up fighting for. Not because it was corrupt but because barely anyone except the Jedi seemed to have given them any berth to be people. They were droids..., with lungs..., and limbs..., and a brain..., and a heart..., but were still expected to behave as machines no matter what.
"Would you stop acting as if I'm a piece of hardware!" Fives obstinately shouted to his superior, Nala Se. "I'm a living - being!"
He couldn't stand her cold nature yet conniving logic she fed to the Jedi... The inhibitor chips' true intention was not to make clones less aggressive, but make them as an on/off switch, all under the control of Sidious' devious will. True enough, he saw himself to be the next 'Emperor' to rule a 'Sith Empire' that would reign forever. And with the clones suddenly obeying his commands, the galaxy will one second be free and the next, enslaved.
All that mattered after that was finding the key to immortality. And science, just as it was with the Kaminoan technology, will eventually find that ability to control the universe for eternity.
Fives, the only thing that stood the fine line between righteousness and evil, was brought towards the Chancellor, still strapped in a gurney, it was lifted so he could be on his feet.
"Master Shaak Ti..." Chancellor Palpatine reintroduced himself to the Jedi on such a vital occasion. "It is good to see you again..." He placed a friendly arm on her shoulder. "I expect you kept this matter extremely confidential."
"Yes, Chancellor." She mumbled.
Palpatine slithered a smile. "Ah, good..." He turned to face CT-5555. "So this is the clone that has caused so much alarm?" He was trying to be polite, but that went without saying. It was definitely the clone.
"No, you drugged me! She-" Fives lashed about. Nala Se was already ahead of Fives and made the cruel act of injecting ryll into him before meeting with the Chancellor, in order to appear insane when he really had a tweak to his nervous system... It was a self-explanatory trick she learned at the Tipoca City Military Complex.
The Chancellor patted the air in front of CT-5555's face. "There, there, soldier. Don't strain yourself."
Palpatine showed his blurry face to him, and yet Fives could tell who he was looking at... "Sir?"
Inhaling quickly, he tried to stand at attention but found out that due to the straps of the gurney, he couldn't move at all.
Seeing his distress, Palpatine continued his generosity. "Guards, let him down, please." The straps were removed and Fives was firmly on his feet. "Now, Trooper, what brings you before me?"
Fives rubbed the back of his head, feeling the sore spot where the ryll was injected... But, of course, he had no proof on the matter. To accuse without proof would only make him appear more delusional.
"The chips, Chancellor." Fives stated solemnly.
"'Chips'?" Palpatine exclaimed, acting like he didn't knew anything of the matter.
Shaak Ti interjected, holding up the preserved gatherings of brain tissue, with one appearing normal, Fives', while the other one was decayed, Tup's, or CT-5385...
How it decayed...? The universe may never know.
"These were removed from both clone troopers... Clone trooper Fives claims that they are the cause of the problem."
Palpatine stared at the pieces that were given to him, appearing utterly furious as his eyebrow quivered down. He held back a frown but by the means, he was irate. The risks! The Grand Plan! He was like a predator backed into a corner; all the more dangerous.
Nala Se interjected as well to support her side of the argument. "Those are inhibitor chips which are placed in clones to make them less aggressive and more compliant to orders... I tried to explain to this clone that they are placed there for their own good... But he removed his chip..., nonetheless."
Originally, the problem came about when one of the troopers, CT-5385, under Fives' watch, killed a Jedi named General Tiplar after the decaying part of imported brain tissue malfunctioned for (again) unknown reasons... CT-5385, or Tup, killed the Jedi not out of choice or delusions, but ill-timed possession of his body, as if he were a droid... And he had no choice to do such a dastardly act of betrayal. And that controversy led all the way to the Chancellor's attention, in that particular room.
"Our own good!?" Fives was alarmed, perhaps made easy to anger from the ryll. "This thing they put in us malfunctioned in clone trooper Tup! I removed his to analyze it... and there was signs of rapid decay." Fives shook his head as he looked to the floor.
But the Chancellor was not bemused. "And we are positive this has nothing to do with a virus?"
"No..." Nala Se took the moment to appear more knowledgable on the controversy. "We still do not know what caused clone trooper Tup to kill. We only know that his chip failed..., and now, this clone, has removed his own chip," She chuckled under her breath, "which makes him a risk to himself and others."
Fives couldn't take the idea of being punished for doing the right thing. No one could. "I'm not at risk." He tried his might to appear reasonable, but the ryll kept him aggressive, so he decided to turn to the Chancellor for help. "Sir, they're covering something up. I know it. If it's not them, it's a Separatist plot. They used the chip against us to make us more violent than less. That's why Tup killed General Tiplar."
The Chancellor was now bemused as he paced around. "A Separatist plot from before the war even started? That seems rather unlikely." He swirled his black raiment around to face the Jedi Master. "Don't you agree, Master Shaak Ti?"
The Jedi couldn't deny it, however. "Yes, Chancellor. It seems very unlikely..." She pursed her lips, wondering where the debate will lead to next.
But Nala Se was having the high ground over Fives. "It is absolutely impossible. What we have here is a single malfunction to one clone's inhibitor chip caused by a virus, Separatist plot or not..." Fives glared at her, but with Nala Se's demeanor came logic... And logic - science - was difficult to argue against.
The Chancellor nodded, desiring to have an uninterrupted debate. "Perhaps it would be best if clone trooper Fives and I discuss this without your presence."
Shaak Ti was quick to her feet. "Chancellor, I must object."
But the head of state just raised his hand up front. "Please, Master Jedi... Trust me..." He had an innocent look to his eye. "I will not be alone... I have my security here. I want this soldier to feel he is having a fair say in this matter."
Nala Se and Shaak Ti begrudgingly nodded as they swept out of the room. The Chancellor waited for the doors to close before he turned to face Fives. "Now..." He smiled..., deviously... "Where were we?"
Fives tried to stand at attention in front of him, but couldn't help but be surprised at his sudden shift in his tone. "E-excuse me, s-sir?" Fives stuttered.
"Clone..." The Chancellor stopped using his name... He also waved his hand to dismiss the shock troopers and Red Guard to leave momentarily... Yes, he will need them back in just a moment, but what he had to say next was something that required a stark lack of ears. He waited until everyone else was gone before continuing. "Do understand that I am the supreme law of the galaxy, whether the Separatists, the Jedi, or even yourself likes it or not."
Fives squinted his eyebrows. "As you wish, sir."
The Chancellor guffawed. "Ha! Trooper, you don't need to be formal... That comes later... I have created your kind... And I have created your mind... And your kind of mind is no longer mine, BUT, the rest of the Clone Army's is... Remedy th-"
"Wai', wai', wait!" Fives interrupted as he took a few steps toward him. "You're the one who created the Clone Army?"
The Chancellor smiled even more... "You should know by now that I create just about everything around you... This democracy is mine... And this democracy will undo itself like every other does... Because - of - me..."
Fives had to hold back a gasp. "You don't believe in democracy anymore?" He asked morosely.
The Chancellor turned away as he grinned ecstatically. "I never did."
It was Fives' eyes that popped from their sockets, flabbergasted. "Then why were you ever a politician in the first place? I don't see how-"
But he stopped when he noticed that the Chancellor was beaming ear-to-ear. "The Jedi's apocalypse will come..." He stepped so that he was right next to Fives' ear. "You may have removed that chip I placed in you, but it won't do you any good..., not when I use all the others to wipe them Jedi from existence..." Fives couldn't believe what he was hearing, but this time was too shocked to be able to interrupt. "You clones are my tools... Nothing more... You're whole state of existence is not to fight for a democracy nor the Republic..." And without moving his arms, the Chancellor lifted Fives into the air with a Force Choke... "But for me..., and my unstoppable Empire."
Fives didn't care about hearing him admit he was a traitor. All he could do was gasp for breath. Lord Palpatine continued to beam as he stepped in front of Fives.
"It has begun... This war will be over in days.... And my Empire shall reign supreme... And I shall force peace into the universe..., MY WAY... All your friends, your clones, everyone you care about are my tools... You were created as nothing more than a means for an end." Fives still couldn't reply as he was so close to death.
"T-t-traitor." He mumbled between gasps for air.
"Oh, yes..." Palpatine mocked. "You may have come to realize by now that I am the missing Sith Master, not Dooku. I am the real enemy, not the Separatists... I am the herald of Evil's glory..." Fives continued to choke as his face grew white. Emperor Sidious still appeared nonchalant... "But you are a loose-end... And since I cannot kill you - good grief, what would everyone feel of that. No, no. Instead of killing you, I'll replace that chip in your head... And you'll be my slave with millions of others."
He finally cackled..., but Fives couldn't take it anymore. "NEVER!" With all his strength, he kicked him the chin... Sidious' brief disconnection of the Force brought many things to fruition. The Chancellor's shout of pain made a shock trooper return with a blaster, and Fives lunged to grab it out of his hands...
"No, let me go! Stop!" Sidious tried to mask his power with weak words, preparing to deliver a barrage of Force Lightning but before he had the chance to subdue Fives, the opposite pair of doors opened with Shaak Ti racing due to the wail Palpatine made.
"You-" Fives lifted the swiped blaster up, preparing to execute the traitorous Chancellor..., before being Force Pushed back by Shaak Ti, who was still unbeknownst to the Chancellor's true identity. Fives had no choice but to race out of the room...
The rest of the galaxy depended on him.
Out in the streets, it was beyond filthy. Fives now had a duty to save the Republic and the Jedi Order. Everything was pitted on his shoulders. And the capital he thought he was fighting for was roaring for change.
'Why did the Chancellor tell me everything? Was he overconfident that he believed he couldn't be beaten? And why didn't he turn the clones into his slaves the moment the war started...? The moment, they were issued to their Jedi generals?'
Then, suddenly, Fives gasped as he clamored against the Flitnock speeder he stole... The effects of the ryll was seeping through his veins; dancing; clogging in his brain... He tried to twitch his eyes open, but everything that was still seemed to be in constant movement. Blurry... The line between friend and foe was blurred and Fives' world had turned upside-down.
Fives had traveled around Coruscant, still sick from the spice, but he made it through. He couldn't give up on Domino Squad's legacy... He wanted to save everyone he saw, everyone ignorant of the imperial capital they were living in.
He met Kix at the clone bar, 79's, and told him to tell Rex that he should meet him at the coordinates to a warehouse he passed by from a taxi ride, in the Underworld Level 1325.
Once Rex showed up with Anakin Skywalker, Fives was ready.
But they were all being tracked! Commander Fox, or CC-1010, was stationed to find the rogue clone and bring him to justice... At first, he only planned to stun the clone and bring him for questioning, but the Chancellor made his order very clear, very foolproof, to him:
"When you find CT-5555, and he puts up a fight, shoot to kill. Silence him."
Only Fox knew of these direct orders, and left with a squadron of troopers to capture the rogue.
Back in Warehouse 18, the full effect of the ryll was kicking in. Fives could barely keep himself standing, and felt vomit constrict in his throat from the massive headache that persisted.
Anakin called out in the dark room. "Fives? Fives, we're here? Come out. We want to talk."
"General Skywalker... Thank you! Thank you for trusting me!" Fives answered, becoming more hyper from the drug. "Have you come without troops?"
Now that question brought both Rex and Anakin to the edge of their seats, hesitant to believe that he wasn't plotting something.
"We have."
"Put down your weapons, then!"
"I don't think so, Fives..."
"Please, sir...! Please, I'm unarmed."
With gregarious movement, Anakin turned off his lightsaber and Rex truthfully announced, "Alright..., I'm putting my pistols down." And laid it down, he did.
"What are we here for, Fives?" Anakin questioned.
"I need your help." He simply said.
"I know you do. We know you're not well. It's been rough for you these past couple days." Anakin stated back, but he picked a wrong choice of words.
"I'm not crazy!" The ryll bursted now, blood clogged his heart before scrunching through his arteries as the drug took hold... Or maybe it was the fact he lost his inhibitor chip. He was becoming like Jango Fett without it, but definitely not mad. As it was stated earlier by his droid friend on Kamino, AZ-3, he may die soon for loosing his chip, even if the length of time it would take was unknown. Perhaps the body wasn't capable of sustaining life after a sudden loss of the brain, whether it was an implanted tumor or not.
"Please. Please, jus-just hear what I have to say." He finally came out in the light. Anakin lit a smile on his face, but to Fives, it seemed contrived.
"We're here to help you Fives. Just let us help you; take you back to the Jedi Temple."
Abruptly, Fives pressed a key switch and out came a ray shield that not only lit up the room but trapped Rex and Anakin inside. "NO!" Anakin pounded against the shield with his mechanical hand, but it wouldn't budge.
"I just need you to listen to me. Please." Fives didn't know if Anakin would have heard him out, so he took precautions and set a trap for them.
Unfortunately, it helped his verdict even less. "I don't think we have any other choice." Anakin spat back.
Fives couldn't wait any longer and chose to claim what he heard the Chancellor admit. "I was framed!" Fives cried out. "Because I know the truth. The truth about a plot. A massive deception."
"By who?" Rex questioned.
"Well, there's a sinister plot in the works against the Jedi." When he thought he saw them carry disbelieving faces, he knew he had to say more. "I have proof of it. I can prove that everything I say is true beyond the shuttle of a doubt!"
Anakin still looked at him suspiciously. "Show me the evidence."
Fives grabbed his head, dizzy from the spice, the drug in his bloodstream. "Th-the evidence..., is..." He pointed to his head, "In here. It's in all of us. Every clone."
Rex became worried at how he said 'every clone'. If what he said was true, it was 'inside' him too. "What is it?"
Fives had to hold onto a crate for a moment just to keep his swaying balance. "Organic chips built into our genetic code, to make us do whatever someone else wants. Even to kill the Jedi. It's all in here." He pointed to his head again, getting to his feet once more.
Anakin folded his arm, not sure how to make with what turned out to be little proof. "Let's just get you some help first. It'll be okay, Fives. We'll sort this out."
But ARC-5555, or CT-27-5555, heard insincerity in his voice and refused. "Gah, you don't believe me!"
Anakin held his arms up defense. "Look, we- we want to help you. Truly... But very few people are going give any clarity of this."
"Will they give clarity when what I forewarn becomes true?! Huh?! Then will you believe me!?"
"Fives, we are all a part of the Republic." Rex assured. "People will listen. In Republic, we trust."
"You can't. It's wrong!" Fives shouted.
Rex never thought he would hear his brother say something like that. "What?"
"At least the people who are leading it." Fives took a gasping sigh, "Just hear me out a little more."
Rex bowed his head. "Of course we will, Fives."
"There is corruption in the Senate. The courts. Everything about the politics of this war is dealt by-" He paused. "Someone, this person, he placed these chips in our head so that at a ripe moment, he can control us, possess everyone in the clone military!" He blurted out.
This time, Rex was getting scared. Although it seemed far-fetched, he never could have guessed that he may be under the possession of someone else's will.
"Fives, I don't know if anyone else can believe thi-"
"You think I'm crazy. You think I'm just another clone! Just another piece of cannon fodder! THAT'S ALL I WAS MEANT TO BE!" Fives was getting desperate, depressed knowing that everything he knew, his whole reason of birth was to be used as the Chancellor's tool.
"Come with us." Rex suggested. "We need to bring you home."
"I have no home anymore..." Fives grabbed his head, wanting the neural-throbbing to cease. "You just - don't - get it! You're not listening to me!"
"Fives," Rex sighed, "We are listening to you."
"How do I know you're not tricking me?!" Fives groaned, taken under control of the drug. "How do I know it won't be a trap!? The Chancellor would try to kill me, I can promise you that!"
Anakin took a confused step forward. "The Chancellor?"
"He's in on it!" Fives balled his fists white. "I don't know to what extent, but I know he orchestrated much of this. He told me in the medical bay." He tapped his chestplate for emphasis.
Anakin grew angry. He knew the Chancellor longer than any clone. To him, he was the surrogate father he, literally, never had. "He told you? When you tried to assassinate him!? You have gone too far, Fives. The Chancellor isn't capable of what you claim!"
Now, Fives knew he didn't believe him. "HE IS!" He waved his arms up, frustrated, naturally delusional for having what he knows to be denied. "I swear to you, General... You have no idea what's comin-"
Suddenly voices rang out from behind, as Fox and his squadron barged in, past a menagerie of crates, guns to the ready, sprinting towards Fives. "Stand down, soldier! Stand down! Get on your knees!"
'No! No, it wasn't meant to be this way! I needed more time! I just needed more time' Fives ringed inside himself.
"No, no, NO!" He shouted furiously. "Stay back!"
He looked over to the pistols Rex placed down.
"Don't do it, soldier! Don't do it!" Fox begged aggressively towards Fives.
Fives couldn't take it anymore. If he had to kill what was meant to be cannon fodder, so be it! If he had to kill one of his own brothers, so be it! If had to do what was for the greater good, as any Jedi would maxim..., so be it! "Get away from me!" He lunged for a pistol and aimed it at Fox.
"Fives, no!" Rex cried out.
Then..., a shot rang out... Fox had no choice and he hit Fives with a charged blast straight through his armor, hitting his scorched, throbbing heart.
Fives dropped the pistol... Then he gasped... Then he raised a hand to the hole in his armor to try and diffuse the agony before he fell on his back, as Anakin and Rex helplessly watched. "Fives!" Rex anguished. "Fives! Fives!"
"Get this ray shield off!" Anakin barked, as one of the shock troopers fired at the source of the shield, deactivating the contraption... As sparks and smoke gently rained down, Rex ran to hold his brother in his arms. "Fives?! Brother?!'' He turned to Fox. "Call for help! We need a medic!" They did nothing. No amount of medical treatment could fix a ruptured heart.
"Rex," The fallen soldier gasped, showing emotion in his voice. Showing reasoning in his tone... Showing he wasn't crazy all along.
"Fives?" Rex had a tear in his eye.
"This..., it's bigger than us..." Fives simply said as he writhed steadily in pain. "Than anything I could have ever imagined... I-I never meaned to..." He motioned for Rex to hold him so he could whisper in his ear... He complied and listened. "I only wanted to do my duty."
Then he fell down, his neck having to be hoisted up by Rex to keep whatever consciousness left. "Brother! Fives! Stay with me, Fives" He hit the back of his head, causing Fives to finally smile, for one last time, repeating the words Tup echoed on Kamino. He remembered Hevy..., Echo..., Hardcase..., Tup...
"The mission... The nightmares... I'm just glad..., they're..., finally..., over..." Then he collapsed, with no more gasp for breath. His mouth opened as if he didn't finish what he had to say, for he never had the chance to warn what he had been told.
Rex continued to beat down on him, desperate to keep him alive. He couldn't see a clone like him go out that way, by another clone. "Fives? No, Fives! Come on! Don't go! Stay with me! Stay with me! Fives? Fives...!? Don't go... Oh, no.."
He was dead... The tear finally came from Rex. The troopers were all taking their helmets off and circled around the body of the most bravest of soldiers. Even Anakin had to keep himself from breaking down into sobs.
The last trooper of Domino Squad, the greatest soldier who has ever lived, epitome of the clone trooper of the Clone Wars, was dead.
Clone soldiers don't always realize this, but they have a purpose to fight for something more than the system of government they were drafted in. There may be a loss of any romantic feeling with honor or duty, but it may be times when one just has to hold on in war, in society. Not just to realize that things are better than they appear, but to understand - grasp - that there is always hope and love in the most mundane things, attributes, or people.
The things soldiers have a duty to fight for is just a simple love; to carry a weight for someone else.
They are killed callously like any other person, but they fight for everyone, not just their nation and people and system. It is as banal as anything that is the greatest of adventures..., for they know that there is a richness in this universe that doesn't have to fall towards one man, nor one idea.
But for all men and women and children, regardless of differences; we're all the same, like the clones. We all yearn to have an identity outside what we are meant to be, like the clones. We all wish to make our societal system all the more hopeful, like the clones. We all kept fighting for the right, for their good mind knows what is right, like the clones.
There is life after death and good after evil.
- ItsATrap101
This story is dedicated to all the soldiers around the world, in every nation, who would give their lives to make the rest of us safe from such conflict.