The False Apocalypse

Book 2: Rise of the Guardians

Chapter Seven

Engineering A Plot

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Disclaimer: I do not own any of the worlds or characters from the crossovers. If I did I would be working on them and not this. The original characters and world in the first chapter are however of my own creation.

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"Welcome to Shadow Company." Jedi Master Mace Windu announced as he piloted the landing shuttle beyond the edges of the Coruscant system. As they drew closer, an enormous ship stutteringly flashed into existence. It was the stealth ship Windu had spoken of earlier, The Arbiter 9. A young female voice soon sounded over the intercom in the cockpit as they drew closer.

"I got your transmission Master, opening bay four now." Only two of the beings present recognized the voice as Kaoru Himura. Very little had been explained to the new members of Shadow Company, only as much as the short conversation back on Coruscant and the fact that they would have new operating tags during this mission. Even that much was not explained till they were well outside the effective gravitational pull of the city planet.

An enormous sliding door revealed a laser shield protecting the innards of the ship from the vacuum of space. The technology which allowed solid objects to pass through the shielding while maintaining pressure was truly fascinating. The shuttle shook for a moment as the tractor beams took over for a smooth landing. Most people never thought about why such technologies were used but in reality it was quite necessary. Most ships large enough to walk around in had their own artificial gravity wells. This made landing tricky as you passed from void into standard gravity over a distance of meters instead of thousands or millions of kilometers. For early ships this trick was quite a bumpy ride. Many a ship had crashed on a landing deck while trying to compensate for the differentials. These days' tractor beams were so standard they were nearly forgotten about. That was, unless you were being forcefully tractored by an enemy vessel it was taken for granted.

With the ship now within standard pressure conditions the landing craft opened its loading ramp. Alden stood from his seat near the back of the craft and led the clones out with Master Windu bringing up the rear. It was unfortunate that they couldn't get Wennen out. Her security clearance would have been handy but she was far too well guarded at the moment. If she was going to be of any use to the mission they would have to wait and plan to use her clearance indirectly and in a very short timeframe. The mission was nowhere near that far along yet. Fortunately Ordo had managed to get a discrete message through that they would be in touch.

As the large group of beings marched down the loading ramp Alden began issuing orders with as much familiarity as back in his home world. "We will be upgrading your gear for the mission. If you will all follow me to the Engineering bay, we have a fresh set of clothes and upgrades for you."

"Gear upgrades? They just did that a few months ago." Ordo replied questioningly. Their gear was much better than it was during the first battle of Geonosis. Sure it could be better, but not by much. Even special ops teams had a limited budget that kept them from the best stuff out there.

"I suppose I could have worded that better. We have superior gear for you that we're going to retrofit with some of your current gear's more custom software." Alden clarified as he unhitched the canteen from his side and took a sip of his tea as was his long time habit.

"If you don't mind my asking commander, what kind of upgrades." Darman asked as they followed close behind. The kinds of upgrades they usually saw were minor weapons selection for special missions with the occasional HUD upgrade or something with environmental implications.

"Gear of my own design, modeled to be a hybrid between your Katarn III gear and standard Mandalorian Beskar. I've created a Nano-laminated plating of phrik and ultrachrome. You should be able to last up to thirty minutes in a hard vacuum and sustain prolonged lightsaber contact for up to fifteen seconds before you start getting cooked inside your gear."

"Cooked…" None of the clones liked the sound of getting cooked inside their own armor. Still 15 seconds against direct lightsaber contact was astonishing. Most gear that could be considered 'lightsaber resistant' only meant against glancing blows. Even Mandalorian iron could only last a few seconds and was extremely vulnerable at the joints.

Alden decided to explain a bit further. "Ultrachrome's a superconducting alloy that evenly distributes temperatures across its entire volume. The armor itself could maintain structural integrity up to three full minutes of lightsaber contact if you didn't have to worry internal temperatures. Without a nearby water source I'd leave roughly a minute of venting for every second of hard saber contact." That certainly was impressive. Darman was Omega squad's demolitions expert and he had only heard of Ultrachrome's impressive properties. It was a very expensive material that was even more difficult to work with because of its properties. To laminate the material with phrik would take an impressive engineer with some very sophisticated equipment.

"I thought you were a Jedi not a weapons engineer." Skirata commented, impressed by the boy's knowledge. He knew enough about Jedi that this was an odd case. They didn't take just anyone into their ranks, much less kids developed enough to hold down a proper job. If this was the direction the Jedi were turning towards, he approved greatly.

"Before the Jedi found us, I was a weapons engineer. My species' bodies age quite slowly until puberty. Our minds are another matter altogether. My home world may not be blessed with the Republic's level of technology but we're quite advanced in some areas. Even I have to admit though, the combined results far exceeded expectations." Alden replied, avoiding the more unbelievable aspects of his presence here. Fortunately there were a few species out there that matured mentally far more quickly than they did physically. These clones actually being technically younger than he even appeared helped in that respect. For the other Jedi among them, the answer raised as many questions as it answered.

From the rear a high pitched beeping of a com link drew everyone's attention towards Master Windu. "I'll leave you to it, Alden. It looks like Master Sarn is finally returning my message."

"Understood Master." Alden replied in official fashion. He really was pleased to be back in the thick of such important events. Together he knew all his allies would take to their new positions like fish to water. Military black ops happened to be their specialty after all.

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Only a hallway into the ship Master Windu accepted the call and watched as humanoid creature came into existence on his holopad. Like all communications transported through a hyperspace receiver, it was hued blue but easily distinguishable. The being wore a traditional set of Jedi robes but its facial features told a story if urgency that bordered on fear. A set of tendrils faintly writhed just within nearly invisible pouches on his cheeks.

"Master Windu." The figure stated as more a matter of curtesy than a question to who he was speaking to.

"Master Sarn, it has been too long. I take it you have received my message." Windu asked, knowing there would be little reason for the other Jedi to contact him directly if it weren't the case.

"Very true, unfortunately I don't have time for pleasantries. Your message said it was important." Sarn replied, his tenor voice was quite nasal and made him sound far older than he looked.

"It is, I need your assistance in preparing for a mission." Windu replied with military precision. He didn't want to give away too many details over the Holonet. As secure as the Jedi frequencies should be, certain precautions had to be taken for a mission of this magnitude.

"I wish I could help but my research is in extreme peril. My great niece was kidnapped several months ago. Her genome is key to my research. Her alterations could be the cure I've been searching for." Sarn attempted to decline the request. It clearly pained him to do so but his research was very important. If he let his great niece go it could set his research back by decades after the wars is over.

"You wish to go find her." As a member of the Jedi High Council, Master Windu knew just how important Master Sarn's research was. It was in effect the future of an entire species. Were this mission not so critically imperative he would have left the man to it. Even a year ago he would have sent a clone squadron to find the girl if the Separatists were involved.

"I already have been. There have been a few leads but nothing major. It is imperative - " Sarn tried to plea but was cut off.

"I am very sorry Master Sarn but I'm afraid it will have to wait. The fate of the galaxy rests in our hands."

There was a moment of silence but Master Sarn soon sighed in resignation. "Very well, but I'm not sure how my experience could be useful to the war effort. I haven't been combat active in centuries." This would surprise most who were not familiar with Sarn's species and would think him to be a tan, middle-aged human with neck length black hair but not a strand on his face. They were exceptionally long lived if only slightly more so than Yoda's mysterious species.

"I'm sending a set of coordinates. Meet us there as soon as possible. We will discuss it upon your arrival. May the Force be with you."

"And also with you." The link ended abruptly. Windu could sense the conflict in Sarn's voice. He was torn between two sets of duty. The council was well aware of Master Sarn's duty to his species future, even if most of them rejected his attempts. As unfortunate as the situation was, the end of this war was in everyone's best interest.

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Lead by Alden the large group of clones and Jedi, sans Master Windu soon arrived in the engineering bay where a large number of mannequins stood fully geared in a set of matte black armor with few distinguishing marks, save a gray and somewhat modified seal of the Jedi order on each shoulder plate as well as. It was the seal each squad of Shadow Company would use in the field. The seal aside the only other makings on the gear were the colored stripes each clone preferred. There were two distinctly different types of armor lining the walls. The most common looked to be Mandalorian gear, though a bit thicker and more sealed from the elements. The other set was much lighter, lacking the deep space protection in favor of more maneuverability and some distinctive Jediesque accents. Anything old enough to have seen the Republic's Army of Light would have easily recognized it as the gear of a Jedi Guardian. All the gear was specifically designed for combating lightsaber users and heavy blaster fire. Though the greatest difference from combat ready Jedi garb was the mask that greatly resembled those of the temple guards.

The noticeably Jedi gear was not what Darman and the other clones paid attention to however. "Matte black – It's about time they started listening. Matte black, I've been saying it for years." It was a thing of beauty to clones who had been stuck with white and rank related colors since birth. White got nasty in battle and while it was good for instilling fear, it made for terrible stealth equipment.

"You and me both. Last time they geared us in it they sent us to an ice world." Atin answered Darman's awestricken state with a high five. Honestly, black surrounded by ice was just as bad as white on everything else. There was at least hope that their next target would be somewhere they could blend in properly. After all, an unseen foe could instill just as much fear as a nearly invulnerable one.

Alden motioned for them all to take a closer look as he demonstrated the new features. Up close the new Jedi Padawan raised one of the gear's arms into view. "It's is only marginally lighter than your Katarn gear, however it does have a few nasty surprises. It's designed to enhance your strength enough to cancel out most of the gear's weight but not its girth which is only slightly less than that of what you have. It can optionally be equipped and recalibrated for a full repulsorlift jetpack with a half hour power supply. As is, the gloves and boots are equipped with ram boosters for more powerful jumps, momentary flight, and a quick boost out of enemy fire if necessary. I must emphasize here that the default gear does not last long and should be reserved for a pinch or awkward terrain. Until I can make the system lighter without compromising the armor, these features are for emergencies only." Alden emphasized the only part to what might as well have been a round of applause. This gear was not special ops gear, it was high end black ops gear the likes of which they had only dreamed of.

"Roger that sir!" Every clone present shouted in unison. They hadn't seen much yet but it looked like the Jedi were pulling all stops on this gear. A part of Skirata wondered where the funds got washed for this kind of stuff but figured the ship had something to do with it. He wasn't going to complain, especially if they had some for him. By a simple count they did.

"Either way you should see some significant maneuverability improvements. I've already told you of its lightsaber resistance. Try not to take too much heavy fire. I must emphasize the reason this type of gear is not often used; it's the feeling of invincibility and arrogance it gives. You can brush of a lot of fire but it can only vent the heat so fast, so pay attention to the thermal bar on the HUD. I suppose the expense also has something to do with it." Alden emphasized while banging his hand on the helmet. The commandos gave a bit of a chuckle at the sly remark. They all knew how much money the Republic tried saving by cutting costs in gear. They tried balancing money with results. If every trooper in the galaxy had this level of gear then they likely could have paid for double if not triple the troops.

Etain and Jusik in all their experience as Jedi had never seen anything like this. There were Jedi Sentinels that relied rather heavily on technology but they never had access to this kind of gear. The fact that such a young Jedi had designed it all was astonishing. What they failed to realize was that the designs were actually quite old. Alden had simply taken a few exceptional materials and extrapolated designs from his home world with a bit of Mandalorian inspiration. The council was pulling all the stops on this Corvette and that included a near replica of Huyang's new engineering bay. While all this did take valuable time from his studies in the Force, this bit of engineering would produce far quicker results; results they would need in short order.

"I've also added some stealth technology of my own design; far better than anything else I know of. It won't blind you to the Force sensitive but it can help. A Force user that's having to focus on your presence can be dangerous but they are splitting their focus between attacking and finding you in the first place. Numbers will only add to this advantage." Skirata could only nod in approval. This brat had really put some thought into this gear. Numbers and stealth solved a lot of problems when going for an opponent of otherwise superior skill.

"Now if you'll pay attention here." Alden slid on one of the gloves though it was far too big for himself. "You would not believe the convincing it took to approve this feature but it could save you in a melee with a Sith." With a quick squeeze a familiar blue beam erupted from the glove and solidified as a meter long blade. "Ultrachrome, vibroblades, I don't care what you have; a lightsaber will always be superior protection if you can block their strike." Now that was certainly unexpected and it left the entire room speechless for several moments. Alden smirked at the reaction.

"We don't have the time to develop a new style, much less train you in proper lightsaber combat but I can guarantee you, nobody's going to expect this little surprise." The blade withdrew as Alden returned the glove to its place with the rest of the gear. "I've included an introductory tutorial for the gear in the HUD, once the updates are complete and you're suited up. I will however point out one more feature for Etain and Jusik. The Jedi variant of the gear includes an over-robe."

Alden moved over to the larger of the two present sets and pulled on the nearly black robe. "This is no ordinary cloth. It is woven with lightsaber resistant Nano-particles, ultrachrome is but one in the mixture. The cortosis fibers will occasionally short out a lightsaber. While I wouldn't rely on it to outright block one it will deflect glancing blows and absorb most blaster fire. The big advantage is its weight compared to heavier armor and the fact that it is thin enough to cool quickly especially in a good breeze. Are there any questions?"

"Only one, where sithspit were you before Geonosis?" Mereel asked jokingly, to which Alden only replied with a smile.

"All the gear is tagged for each of you, just leave your buckets next to your new ones and suit up in the rest. We have just one stop to make before we get to laying out our battle plans tomorrow. I'll introduce you to everyone then. For now I'll show you to your quarters."

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Deep within the confines of Utapau's rocky mountains, General Grievous barked order after order to his droid army via a massive holo-projector. Every command was said between the heaving of his respirator. The beautiful thing about droids was the fact that they did exactly as commanded without all the extra socializing that occurred with organic armies. That was, unfortunately their key weakness, all the same. While they were efficient, their commands had to be precise. Few droids were programmed with enough reasoning skills to make their own appropriate decisions as to the most efficient way to get an order done. They simply did as commanded, no more, no less. They took no initiative to perform better than ordered. In the end, any droid with such capabilities were far too expensive for mass production and too independent for most organics to feel comfortable around them.

In the end, Grievous was obsessed with his army and glad to take the control necessary to guide them to victory. He was also prone to violent outbursts when they failed. They were a disposable army that made for an easy outlet to vent his anger. Three droids had been crushed today upon report of slow progress regarding Lord Sidious' recent commands. It was moments like this when Grievous took matters into his direct control, giving out many more commands than he usually would in order to receive optimal results.

"General Grievous." A darkly robed figure appeared before the towering cyborg, overriding the hologram of one of his droid commanders.

"Lord Sidious - " Grievous attempted to greet dark master with a customary bow but was interrupted before anything further could be said.

"Have you done as I instructed." Sidious was in a bad mood, one did not need to be Force sensitive to detect that in the man's voice. The man clearly sensed the slow progress, Grievous knew it.

"The council is at a secure location and well-guarded. Not even the Jedi council could infiltrate them." The cyborg replied amid a fit of coughing. Even with all his advanced cybernetics his organs were still heavily damaged from that cursed battle all those years ago. In the moment however, Grievous attempted to assure his master that everything was on schedule. It was not quite true but would be within the day so long as he maintained direct control of the local portion of his army.

"Oh I sincerely doubt that General. Months ago I sensed something strange on Coruscant. Ever since then the Jedi's movements have become increasingly erratic." Things had been foreseen and when matters did not go as foreseen it meant that there was outside influence. Darth Sidious was a master at foreseeing the future; of seeing how people would react to certain events. The secret was in isolating events from outside interference, from things he didn't know enough about to try and see. When one could see into a person and what made them tick, when one could orchestrate events to align in a very specific way; then it was possible to predict the future quite accurately. Something had changed in recent months and events were beginning to change. He could see the currents of the Force and something was bending those currents out of their aligned path.

"I assure you Lord Sidious, this facility is more secure than the coliseum of Geonosis." Even with half the droids he had now it would be true. The council had been moved deep into the mountains where there are only a few passages lead. Any strike team or army would have to fight through a labyrinth of battle droids. Even Jedi wouldn't stand a chance.

"It had better be. I will not accept failure in this, Grievous; the council is too critical here."

"Of course, what of these Jedi you've sensed." The last orders he received were short and vague. It would be best to know the kind of opposition he may face in order to best protect this facility.

"That is being looked into. Know that there is a strike team coming to your sector. They should be targeting the trade rout of Tarabba Prime but with the Jedi's deception I wouldn't doubt a strike on the council. Expect at least two Jedi Knights and three squad's worth of ARC level clones." Sidious replied. He was fairly sure that there was no way the Jedi could know of the council's location but there was a nagging disturbance in the Force that told him to be careful with such assumptions. It would not do well for the council to be destroyed or captured before Anakin was turned. They were to be his mission, his victory.

"We will crush them either way. Is there anything else, Lord Sidious?" Grievous coughed for what seemed the umpteenth time over the short conversation as he gripped his metallic chest.

"Actually yes, send an armored transport ship to our research facilities on Sluis Van. One of their projects has ended in failure. I need you to transfer the subjects to Zygerria. They will have to serve us in other ways." Since the rise of the Confederacy, Zygerria had become one of the hubs for slave trade in the galaxy. At one point the Zygerrians had attempted to enslave Jedi, much to the displeasure of their occasional client, Count Dooku, who wanted them dead.

"It will be done, Lord Sidious. Sluis van is nearly finished with a new battleship. I will send the transport as it enters commission." The matter would have no impact on their efforts here on Utapau. The orders would be keyed in with little time wasted.

"Ensure that it is done." Sidious commanded as he ended the transmission. Sidious really should have more faith in the droid army. As disposable as they were, they easily outnumbered a few squads of clones. Clones could take out a several dozen droids and Jedi could take several times that number but Grievous had thousands within this facility and the corridors were small enough that numbers could easily exhaust such a paltry force. Caught between a laugh and grunted cough Grievous returned to his duties and did as commanded. Grabbing and momentarily admiring one of his many lightsabers with a free hand he mentally grinned at the thought that his collection would soon grow.

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For the clones it was effectively nightfall by the time they made it to the Arbiter so all further plans were left for the following day. Until the arbitrary time arrived, none had met any of the other Jedi aboard the ship. When they did, the meeting was unlike anything they had expected. Never before had so many clones met so many Jedi in such a relaxed setting. Surprisingly the common room of The Arbiter was more than large enough to accommodate many beings. There were now Skirata, 15 clones and 10 Jedi on the ship; all of which were in the common room with the ship on autopilot. They were on their way to pick up one more Jedi and a few knew that yet another Jedi would join them before the mission commenced. In the end there would be 28 personnel trained and ready to destroy Palpatine's plans.

Introductions were interesting to say the least. Sanosuke for one entered only to stand in the doorway blinking before stepping backwards and waiting for the door to close and re-open before he could believe his eyes. He knew there were going to be clones, he simply hadn't expected them to be so – identical. Fortunately they were human so he was able to shrug it off far sooner than others had anticipated. The interesting thing that most of the Jedi noticed however was how different each clone felt in the Force. It was almost like knowing identical twins. They may look the same and have quite a few similar traits but they were fundamentally different people. These little differences were easy to pick up in the ripples of the Force that flowed around and out of every living thing. Though the Force, it was like every one of them having different skin tones, or tattoos that marked them as an individual.

There was only one problem, there were so many of them that it would take time to get to know each of them on a personal level. From Delta Squad, most were influenced by their training by the brutal Sargent Walon Vau. RC-1262, otherwise known as Boss was widely considered to be an ideal leader. Though he was fairly quiet he commanded great respect both inside and out of his squad. He was serious but got the job done as cleanly as possible. Fixer was what RC-1140 went by. He was a by the book kind of soldier and didn't hesitate to bring his brothers back into line if their banter was interfering with a clean job. Considered to be second in command of Delta Squad he insisted on calling his brothers by their RC- numbers during an op. As serious as he could be it did make him an excellent slicer and tech expert.

RC-1207 used the alias Sev while RC-1262 was known as Scorch. These two were the more or less the squad clowns, always giving each other shit at every corner. Still, they were good at what they did, among the best of the best. Sev was the squad's sniper and ambush specialist, and a damn good one at that; truly a master at his art. He absolutely loved the thrill of combat. In fact Scorch often joked that he was psychopath; all in good fun of course but hey, if one liked combat that much... He was known to be jealous of those from Omega squad and the nulls who were raised by Skirata, a far less brutal father figure than Vau. Scorch on the other hand was the true joker of the group and an explosives technician at that. His favorite armament was a good grenade launcher attachment for his DC-17 rifle. Of all the clones he was known to have a highly inflated sense of irony, a fact that fed his fundamental nature as a joker.

Where Delta Squad had come to know Skirata far later than Omega squad, they were all viewed by the Sargent as his children. They had all been officially adopted by Mandalorian custom. However, only the Nulls were closer to the man than Omega Squad. Originally the leader of Lambda Squad, before its demise; RC-1309 was known as Niner. He, like many others in his squad suffered from some semblance of survivor's guilt. Every clone in this squad had once been part of another that had been effectively destroyed during the first Battle of Geonosis. While Boss was known to lead by being in charge, Niner preferred to lead be being 'sure' of his actions.

Darman, otherwise known as RC-1136 was Omega squad's demolitions expert. As Darman was a bit long in combat situations, most who came to know him would simply call him Dar. Originally of Theta squad he was known to be the calm one; even if he did have a nasty temper if he felt betrayed. On his very first mission after the Battle of Geonosis he met Etain who he fell deeply in love with. She had not yet told him that the boy she occasionally 'babysat' was actually their son. To this day she wondered how she had kept it such a secret from Darman and the Jedi alike. There was still a fear of how he would react.

RC-3222 took the name Atin meaning stubborn. He originally came from Prudii squad which meant shadow. The irony relative to this current assignment was not lost on him even if Scorch was the one who first brought it up. Of all the members of Omega squad he was the most heavily plagued with survivor's guilt, though that has faded with time. He serves as the squad's communications and technology expert. Though he generally leaves demolitions to Darman he is more than competent in that area.

RC-8015 took the rather common name Fi which was high galactic for son. Known for his flippant sense of humor, Fi was the squad's medic and sniper and had quite the fetish for exotic blasters and other weaponry. Unfortunately he was nearly killed on a mission to Gaftikar and was temporarily replaced as he recover. Truthfully it was a miracle he survived, the medics even pulled the plug and still he lived on. The time since that fateful mission had been rough but he was recovering nicely. At first he was a shadow of his former cheerful self but has been slowly pulling out of it even if he does feel less himself.

The last and most recent member of Omega squad was RC-8843, otherwise known as Corr. A munitions disposal specialist, he was severely injured by an explosive that took off both his arms below the elbow before joining Omega. His cybernetic prosthetics tend to freak others out as he has a tendency to sharpen his blades on his fingers. Corr has had heavy contact with the Null ARC Mereel whose carefree, adventure seeking attitude has rubbed off quite a bit.

Lastly there were the Null ARCs, six of the deadliest clones ever created. Every one of them had perfect recall at a level that overshadowed even Alden's. Lead by Ordo, they were raised almost exclusively by Kal Skirata. They, more than any of the others, had very little attachment to the Republic. Mandalorians through and through, they were effectively Special Ops mercenaries that happened to contract exclusively for the Republic and their own interests. Captain Ordo, otherwise known as N-11was married to Besany Wennen by Mandalorian custom. Of all the clones Ordo was steeped the deepest in Mando tradition and Kal's philosophy. Though he had never been sent out on a long term mission he often paired up with Mereel to get done what few others, even Jedi, dared accomplish. Ordo rarely if ever joked and was hyper aware of his surroundings on missions. This hyperawareness coupled with his perfect recall made him especially hard on his past mistakes.

The team's specialist in droid sabotage was designated N-5, known as Prudii. Shadow seemed to be a running theme with this group. While most of the other clones were in deep freeze hibernation, Prudii was out sabotaging droid factories and changing slag recipes. He was so effective at his job that he managed to cut clone losses to 1 in 50 droids for a good chunk of the war. Thanks to this mission he looked somewhat older than the others, more haggard and warn but no less energetic. If there was one thing he hated, it was being called sir or Lieutenant.

Then there's N-5, also known as Kom'rk which meant gauntlet. Kom'rk often worked covert ops with the expert tracker N-10 Jaing to track down targets and acquire valuable information. Together they managed to locate General Grievous' on Utapau location months ago. Unfortunately the information seemed too easy to get and was considered to be a trap. Kom'rk had a good sense of humor and got along well with the other lighthearted clones. Jaing on the other hand was known for something else entirely. He was a true genius at slicing and software writing. In fact, he had already written a virus designed to siphon off fractions of a credit from trillions of bank accounts over trillions of transitions. Unfortunately for the clones, this mission was taking them away from the time they would have used to implement it and build a clone retirement fund. On the other hand, if everything worked out they may have something better.

Lastly, there was N-12, A'den whose name meant wrath. With the variety of skills similar yet better than most ARCS He was very cynical of Palpatine and the Republic. To him, it was about time they tried striking at the heart of the CIS. The revelations of the last few days made all of his suspicions fall together quite nicely. Questions he had harbored for years were starting to make sense. For a man known for a smile so wide it had left permanent creases in his face, his wrath was something to be feared. Now it was targeted squarely on Palpatine's maniacal plans.

"So who is this Master Sarn you keep mentioning?" Kom'rk asked, having heard the name a few times over the morning's breakfast discussions.

Master Windu replied with some of the basics. "He is… rather odd for a Jedi. He may seem like it, but he is over four hundred years old and an accomplished Jedi Master. Most of the last couple centuries he's spent attempting to alter his species genetic makeup. You see, he is an Anzati, a species with potential lifespan approaching a thousand years." He had only met Jedi Master Nilus Sarn a handful of times but the root of his research was certainly among the more noble goals any Jedi could aspire to.

"Why would he want to alter that? Most beings dream of having that kind of lifespan." A'den asked, a little offended by the fact that clones were given such a short life while someone blessed with one so long would try to cut it short. Thinking about it, a lifespan that long had to be one of the longest of any species. He could only think of a few that were longer.

"Unfortunately their longevity is largely the result of the way they 'feed.' They have … tendrils that emerge from their face that literally suck the life energy from their victims. They are in effect the reason for those silly vampire legends. Many choose to live their life feeding on non-sentient beings but there is a genetic urge that makes sentient life force more… desirable, I guess you could say. A very large portion of the race treats the hunting of sentient beings as a fundamental part of their culture and shun those who refuse it. Many become bounty hunters but others simply stalk beings in the night. Master Sarn longs to remove this urge from their genetic makeup."

"Noble, so he's a genetic engineer. Never heard of a Jedi doing that before." Skirata replied with a sardonic chuckle. The loose sarcasm aside, quite a few present had to agree. It as a well-known fact that Jedi were diplomats and peacekeepers. Only failed Jedi joined the Agricore. What many failed to realize was that many fully fledged Jedi often left fieldwork to take lead positions in the Agricore, performing research or helping restore balance to devastated planets. This was a bit more common in a Jedi's later years or after they suffered a debilitating physical loss that would keep them from normal peacekeeping operations. Still, there were many Jedi who saw this as a noble path.

"He uses the Force to guide his research. Among a few other things, he's tried everything from genetic splicing to cybernetic control and using the Force as therapy. He is by far the galaxy's leading authority on the relationship between the Force and organic matter. In fact, the Kaminoans taught him quite a bit in exchange for some of his research. We're bringing him in to see if we can neutralize the contingency override that Palpatine had placed in most of you."

"You did mention that before. When did they star putting those chips in anyway? Either we didn't get any or they weren't very effective at the start." A'den commented. As much as it irked him, A'den was particularly interested in how this had happened without their knowing about it. Eliminating it was currently high on his list of priorities.

"Actually it was shortly after Kal saved you from the preverbal axe. As much as the Kaminoans would have preferred genetic loyalty bread into every clone, the demand was simply too fast. They needed a quick and cheap solution or they would lose quite a bit of money. You Nulls are the only group without one, granted they did become more effective over time. They later added some genetic modifications to make the chips more effective." Alden replied with what he knew. It was a sad and disturbing affair.

"I swear, the more I hear about these chips the more I want to wipe every computer on Kamino." The entire matter disgusted Sanosuke to no end and the sentiment granted him quite a few nods of approval.

"You? You couldn't write a program to count your fingers, much less wipe that much data." Hiko practically snorted in response. Computers were new to everyone from his world. Their little experience with them amounted to over the shoulder glances at Alden's work and the last few months of training. The idea was laughable.

"I could sure smash'em up though." Oh yes, there were more than a few clones that were beginning to like this Jedi.

"Enough, we're set to rendezvous with Master Sarn in a couple hours. Until then, I want everyone in the training bay until then. Kom'rk and Jaing will use our orbital scans of Utapau to develop an attack plan. It will be their responsibility to break us into teams of 5 once they have an understanding of our skillsets. Everyone else will use this time to get to know each other's strengths and weaknesses. Once Sarn has arrived I'll need a couple volunteers outside of the Null group to have their chip examined, possibly removed if it's determined to be safe." Master Windu commanded once everyone's breakfast had enough time to settle.

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Right on time The Arbiter 9 rendezvoused with a small red Jedi fighter along the Rimma trade route, south of Malastare and Haruun Kal. It was a convenient location on their path to Utapau, and only a few micro-jumps from a nice void to hole up in while they prepared for battle. It wasn't very much later when Aoshi lead Nilus Sarn to the Engineering bay where Master Windu and Alden stood, casually waiting with their clone volunteers Atin and Niner.

Niner was sure of himself as usual, preferring to take any risk himself over his squad mates. It was a bit of a self-proclaimed order. Atin on the other hand was fascinated by the technology of it all and was hoping for a chance to know how it worked.

As the group discussed the possibilities, the bay door slid open with a pneumatic hiss. Master Windu was about to be the first to greet the Anzati but never got the chance.

"Yes, yes, welcome and all that. Do you mind explaining what was so important that I had to leave my work?" Aoshi simply shrugged from behind as Master Sarn approached the others. The genetic engineer was clearly in a hurry to get back.

"Over here Master. Allow me to introduce you to clone commandoes Atin and Niner." Alden tried to introduce the patients they would be examining.

"Yes, yes, nice to meet you. Scoot along Padawan. What is this all about Master Windu, the sooner we get done with this the sooner I can get back to salvaging my last three decades of work." Sarn's nasally high tenor voice seemed to crack like that of a very old man. It all seemed very off considering that he looked to be a human of no more than 40. Overall he aged well for a being of over 400.

"I'm afraid this is not the kind of mission that can be completed in a few hours Master Sarn. If everything goes as planned, the war should be over within the month." Mace replied.

"A month! Impossible, my niece will be dead and gone in a month. I'll have to start my research over from scratch." Master Sarn paused, looking back and forth between the empty walls, Master Windu and the commandos. In the end he had to let out a deep sigh of reluctant resignation. "Oh very well, this had better be worth it. What do you need me to do?" It was a surprisingly quick turn in resolve that left the two clones rather confused as to what went through the man's mind.

"I'll keep it short. We found the Sith but he has a preverbal self-destruct button. Through a combination of genetics and a control chip, the clone army will follow every contingency order as commanded; even against their own inhibitions. Order 66 will force them to turn on every Jedi in the galaxy."

"I see – the Sith intends to do this soon?" Now this was troubling, far more so than the potential loss of his research. The how was now irrelevant, only the how to fix it mattered.

"Allow me to introduce Atin and Niner. They've volunteered to help us." Alden attempted to continue where he left of earlier.

"I can think of a few ways to do that. I take it you already have a few in mind?"

"Genetic splicing for one. We need something that can override the genetic portion of the orders that can be easily distributed among the clones without alerting anyone in the senate." Alden replied.

"That is a tall order. The other?"

"If you can remove the chip from either of our volunteers then perhaps we can slice our way into a universal shut down signal for the chip. Worst case, we may have to reprogram it."

"An even taller order, very well, let's take a look." Master Sarn glanced around the room to see what tools he had available. This room was quite respectably stocked, though not as well as his main laboratory. "Lay down you two, let's see what I can sense." Gesturing to a set of medical surgical tables, Niner and Atin complied. Sarn approached Atin first and placed his right hand over the man's face. Silence permeated the room to a dead stillness until a sharp ripple broke the meditative stillness.

"The logical place, of course; right between the frontal and temporal lobes. This work has all the hallmarks of Iskalloni technology."

"The cyborgs from Wildspace?" Alden asked rhetorically.

"You know your species, good. They use a very distinctive organic - machine hybrid technology that allows for easy integration into their physiology. I'm going to assume the Kaminoans spliced some Iskalloni genome into the clone army for easy integration. It's not very surprising, the Iskallons have a remarkably healing factor among quite a few other desirably genetic traits." Master Sarn replied, clearly fascinated by the technology.

"So you've worked with it before." Windu surmised, hoping Sarn was more familiar with the technology than anticipated.

"I've dabbled with it a bit. Unfortunately, their technology is quite incompatible with my race so that research was short lived. I can tell you there is good and bad news. Programming this kind of chip is easy enough, it's interfacing with it that can be a problem."

"Because it's organic" Again, Master Windu surmised from the evidence at hand. It was all too obvious.

"Yes, they use strings of DNA with specific patterns at precise intervals to prevent normal mutations from accidently reprogramming the implants. The language is simple enough but shutting them down is impossible. The technology integrates with the host at a genetic level. Damaging or removing them can cause permanent psychological damage."

"That sounds about like what happened to Fives. His was damaged and he went on a rampage trying to execute order 66 without ever having received the order." Alden recalled out loud.

"More likely that it was only partially damaged instead of broken."

"So we re-program the implants. How do we distribute it to the army?" Master Windu could see that this train of thought was the shatterpoint of the contingency orders.

Sarn chuckled in amusement. "I'll have to see what kind of failsafe's were built in but we may be able to utilize the ration supply." Rations, laced with a genetic splicing serum; simple but effective. They could only hope it would be so simple.

The plan had been forged and the pieces gathered. Now all that remained was setting the board. If all went to plan then Sidious' days were numbered. Unfortunately no master plan has ever gone off without a hitch. That is the trouble with Chess; the opponent is always maneuvering and adapting to their opponent's stratagem. Even worse, war, especially when the Force was involved; made even a master's chess game look like a child's foolishness.

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Chapter Notes

I have got to say, wookipedia is a valuable source! Having read most of the books with these clone squads it is still hard to remember so much about each individual. This is why it pays to write a good character bio file that can be easily referenced. It comes in especially handy when having to keep track of so many characters and what has happened to each one. The downside, when you get enough characters you can have a bio-file larger than some chapters.