I was a Clone Cadet, part of the Domino Squad. We were the worst squad, because we couldn't work together. That's when General Sha'ak Ti called someone who she believed could help us.
"No... You can't be serious!" Heavy exclaimed. "We're not that desperate for help! I like cleaning!"
"We may be able to use her advice." I argued. "What's the worst that could happen?" I had heard of General Jenna, but never seen her. I had high hopes that the kamikaze twenty-eight year old General could whip us into shape. I was disappointed to see a teenager in teal Mandalorian armor talking to Sha'ak Ti instead of the famous General.
"So, you think seriously I could knock some sense into them?" The teen asked. Sha'ak Ti nodded, looking over the training arena. "Shouldn't you call in Captain Rex or General Kenobi? I am hardly qualified to help train new recruits for something this important. This is their last chance, Master Ti."
"That's exactly why I called you." Sha'ak Ti replied. "You are well known around here for your kindness. You helped 99 become a soldier. You can help the Domino Squad. I have faith in you."
"Thank you, Master." The girl sounded like she was smiling. "I won't let you or them down."
"I know." We were lined up, and the girl inspected us.
"Let's see... Fives, Echo, Heavy, Droidbait, and... What was your name, soldier?" The girl asked my fellow soldier.
"I've been called 'Cutup,' but I don't like that name." CT-4040 answered. "I never liked any names."
"And I hate 'Heavy.'" CT-782 added. "Only 99 ever called me that."
"Well, I'm not calling you by numbers." The girl replied. "So, Cutup and Heavy it is." I raised my hand.
"Ma'am, what would your name be?" I asked. The girl pulled off her helmet, sending frizzy brown hair tumbling to her waist. Two brown eyes seared all five of our souls. I had never seen eyes like those. Old and young at the same time.
"My name is General Jenna of the Galactic Republic Army, specifically the Arctic Army." The girl replied calmly. "Any more questions?" Everyone raised their hand. "Any questions not about my age?" All hands went down. "Wow... Seriously? All of you are wondering? Just... Wow... For your information, I am twenty-eight. I'm a high-ranking General and I will not tolerate disrespect due to my appearance. Is this understood, men?"
"Yes, ma'am!" We replied in sync, seeing her icy resolve. General Jenna led us out into the training arena.
"I have a question that's not about your age, General." I admitted, and she nodded for me to ask. "Why does everybody call you the Snow Queen." The General grinned, as if amused by my question.
"That's a story for a different day, Echo..." General Jenna became serious. "Now, the key to taking down a droid is aiming for the head, the chest, or the gun. If you strike its hand, it will simply go on one-handed, men. It can still shoot without its legs. We are starting from scratch, since this is the most desperate case I've seen since 99 was in your shoes."
"How did you manage to break 99?" Fives asked, curious.
"Simple: I taught him that the war doesn't wait for you. If you get left behind, you'll just have to watch as body bag after body bag is carried back. At least in the field, you are distracted. If you remain here, you watch as innocent Cadets leave... And body bags come back." The General looked down. "I do my best... But you can't save them all no matter how hard you try. Now, let's give those practice droids a run for their money. I will be the General. You will obey... Unless you see an opening I do not. No man left behind. Just a nice, standard mission. On my mark... Go!" We did as the General ordered, and we began fighting. All I could think of was what would happen if I stayed on Kamino on maintenance. Would I see Fives' body return there? Heavy's? Any of our Squad's? The General was right. I had to get out! We fought, making our way to the faux tower. The General stayed back to let us do our own thing. By the end of the day, we were soldiers. "Nice job, soldiers. I hear that you're going straight to the 501st. I'm proud of you."
"The 501st?" Cutup asked, surprised. We were going to General Skywalker's army, the 501st Battalion to be exact? That was the most successful army ever to come out of Kamino!
"Yep... I may have put a good word in for you with old Ani. He requested you personally, from what I heard. What was it that he said to me, again? If they survived one day with you, with their sanity relatively intact, they'll make it in my army, you psychopath."
"Thank you!" Fives exclaimed. We all cheered and hugged the General. The girl smiled uncomfortably, and when we set her down, she laughed.
"It's true, you know. I'm well known for driving almost everyone around me absolutely crazy... I'll be seeing you boys again. General Anakin Skywalker is my second favorite victim."
"Who's your favorite victim?" Heavy asked nervously.
"Here's the list: General Kenobi, General Skywalker, Captain Rex, Commander Cody, Ahsoka Tano, the troops, the Senate, the Jedi Council, then the general population of the entire galaxy." We left that day and joined the 501st. A few months later, we were manning a base on some boring planet... Or a planet we thought was boring... One day, Commando Droids invaded our base. We escaped, but the Sergeant, Droidbait, and two others were killed. Fives, Heavy, Cutup, and I were all that was left. Then, a Rishi Eel leapt up and grabbed Cutup, carrying him away screaming. And then there were three of us left. Commander Cody's ship flew overhead, and we knew we had to warn him about the droids. We sent up a Droid Attack Flare, and I heard a gun blast and the ignition of two light sabers. There were more blasts and clashes, then a giant explosion. Then, there was silence. Three figures propelled down from the base. Two Clones and a familiar figure in teal Mandalorian armor. One Clone Soldier made us take our helmets off to prove we were human, then took an attacking Rishi Eel down with a single blast. No wonder the man was still around after a year at war with the Separatists.
"Nice shot." Fives commented.
"The name is Rex." The Clone stated. "But you will call me Captain or Sir." General Jenna punched him in the arm good-naturedly.
"Sir, yes Sir!" All three of us exclaimed, ignoring the fact that General Jenna was trying to make the all-too-serious Captain Rex smile.
"I'm Commander Cody." The second Clone declared. "Your new boss." We introduced ourselves to them, then turned to our old friend.
"It's good to see you, General." I sighed. The girl took her helmet off, and her hair fell to her waist.
"Where are Cutup and Droidbait?" The General asked. We looked down, still not believing it.
"Droidbait was killed in the attack." Heavy replied. "Cutup got eaten by that Eel Rex just took out." The General looked at the Eel, then at us in disappointment and disapproval.
"Does no one ever read the pamphlet? It takes a week for one of those things to digest their food." The General patted the side of the Eel, then stabbed its side with her light saber. After cutting a hole, General Jenna peered in. "SAVED YOUR LIFE!" Cutup walked out, looking slightly traumatized. We couldn't believe it. He was completely unharmed.
"D-did I get eaten?" Cutup asked. I put a hand on his shoulder, barely holding back a laugh. "That thing ate me..."
"Welcome to being a soldier." General Jenna smirked. "Weird things happen in war. A few days ago, I kamikaze-shot General Grievous' ion cannon off his ship! It was totally awesome!" We climbed up the cliff face and got ready to attack. If the base remained captured by the Separatist forces, then Kamino would be in grave danger. Home. General Jenna put away her saber and twirled twin blasters in her hands. "Nobody is going to lose their planet today, boys... Not on my watch." We stared as she checked the perimeter for Commando Droids.
"Why is she going so serious?" I whispered to Captain Rex. "The General we met on Kamino was... No offense to her... A happy-go-lucky lunatic."
"Kid... When someone is an example for younger soldiers, they have to hide the damage." The Captain sighed. "When I was a Cadet, I met the General you met on Kamino. With her help, I joined the 501st, and I would see the General almost every day. Then, I slowly saw who was really behind that smile. I saw someone who had seen more death than I could imagine. I saw someone who knew her future and couldn't do anything to change it. I saw someone who was broken. The General lost her home planet in a war. That's why she's gone so serious now that our own is in danger. She's determined to never let it happen ever again." Captain Rex's plan to get inside the base worked, and we took back our property. Then, a Separatist Fleet arrived, flying right above us.
"Can't we get a break?!" General Jenna asked, unamused. We decided to destroy the base using liquid tabanna, which would signal to the Republic Fleet that something was wrong. The droids opened the door, only to see...
"You didn't say please." Heavy stated, and he began shooting. The General leapt out from behind him and began cutting down droids. We threw bombs and shot as well. It got to be too much...
"Fall back!" The General ordered, deflecting a blast. "I've got one last trick up my sleeve!" We did as she said, closing the door. I noted the drop in temperature as we regrouped in the main room. Captain Rex felt the cold, too.
"She's at it again." He muttered. We didn't have time to ask. The General ran in and sealed the door, laughing giddily.
"That was fun." She commented. We left the General and Heavy to finish wiring the tanks to explode. The long-distance detonator wasn't working, so Heavy told us that he would stay behind and do it manually. The General didn't exactly agree, and by that I mean... She threw him down the maintenance pipe after us and blew it up herself. We watched the young General's final battle on Rex's portable holocomm, shocked and unable to help.
"Do we take prisoners?" A droid asked, looking at the weakened General. The girl smirked, reaching for the detonator, eyeing a crate.
"I don't, cupcakes."
The Rishi Base exploded, falling down the cliff, nearly hitting us as it went. We couldn't believe it. General Jenna of the Galactic Republic... Was dead.
"Poor kid." Commander Cody sighed, looking down. "Her little sister is going to be devastated. And her parents..." We stood in silence, watching as the base burned to ashes. Republic ships landed, and we had to break the news to the troops. The fallen General's four Captains looked like they were trying not to cry to appear disciplined and cool. Commander Glacier placed a hand to his forehead, shaking his head in disbelief. The three Jedi on the ships above were simply frozen in horror. They still hadn't turned off their holocomms. Their unblinking eyes still stared in terror. I noticed that Captain Rex hadn't spoken since the base went up in flames. I went over to him and stood next to him as some men put the fire out.
"All of this time, that kid had my back." Rex admitted. "Every time my life or anyone's life was in danger, she'd show up out of nowhere and save it. All she would ever do besides save you is try and make you laugh, or at least smile. General Jenna was a great hero... And we all hated her." Rex's eyes were full of regret. "In our darkest times, she'd save us, give us a reason to smile, and we always called her annoying. Snapped at her. Treated her like a kid instead of as a hero, a General, or a Jedi. That's why people didn't like her kind. They were too nice. They were heroes. And one day, they were pushed too far. General Jenna didn't have a limit like her people. No matter what she was going through, she'd find a way to hide it from us and smile, and we hated her..." They pulled out a few crates, one of them in half-decent shape. Commander Cody, Heavy, Cutup, and Fives joined us. We stood in silence, at complete loss for words.
"Captain Rex... Her home planet, the one you said was destroyed in a war... What was it called?" I asked quietly. No one answered my question. The silence remained unbroken, then...
"Gallifrey." We looked around to see the a General, covered in ash but smiling broadly as she tucked her helmet under her arm. We stared in shock. General Jenna was alive and well. "You ain't getting rid of me that easily, soldiers."
"Wouldn't bet on it." Captain Rex agreed, finally smiling. We were taken to General Skywalker's ship, given medals, and officially welcomed into the 501st. Meanwhile, the Jedi Generals spoke about the recent events.
"Jenna, what you did was stupid, irresponsible, and moronic." General Kenobi scolded the younger-looking Jedi Knight, then sobering and placing a hand on her shoulder, looking concerned for the girl. "We could have lost you today because of your poor choices."
"Aw... You do care." General Jenna cooed, making General Skywalker chuckle. "And that wasn't a poor choice, Obi. I saved someone's life today, and a whole planet! If that's not worth dying for, I don't know what is."
"How did you survive the blast, General Jenna?" Captain Rex asked as we walked over. To the surprise of what was left of my Squad, the young General raised her hand and released a puff of silvery-blue snowflakes into the air, lighting up our shocked faces.
"I improvised."