Clone crisis! After the mysterious death of his
friend Charmy, ARC trooper Mighty embarked on an
investigation, which led to the discovery of a
hidden chip which is placed inside clone
troopers when they are still embryos. The
Soleannan scientist Elise claims the chip is
harmless, and is meant to restrain the clones
from violent, unpredictable action. Mighty claims
otherwise, and has convinced Shinobi Master Lara-Le
to allow him to plead his case directly to
Supreme Chancellor Solaris on Mobotropolis...
Mighty was in a shuttle approaching Mobotropolis, he was restrained to a gurney half asleep from a tranquilizer. He saw Elise appear and stand over him holding a syringe "No… Wait…. What is that?". Elise stared down at him coldly before injecting it into his neck "No. You…", Elise put her finger on his mouth "Shhh" he fell asleep. The shuttle landed at the platform of a tower where Julian was waiting. Lara-Le exited the shuttle followed by Mighty's gurney. "Greetings, Master Shinobi. The Chancellor is waiting inside" Julien said as they headed inside. Mighty started to shift "Charmy... the mission... Issac". They entered a large surgical room where Solaris was waiting with two clone guards. "Master Lara-Le, it is good to see you again. I trust you've kept this matter extremely confidential" "Of course, Chancellor". Mighty was placed on the operating table in the middle of the room. Solaris stared at him "So this is the clone who has caused so much alarm?". The table went up so Mighty could face them "No, no, you drugged me. She-" "There, there, soldier. Don't strain yourself". Mighty was looking around the room weakly but then saw Solaris "Sir" "Guards, let him down, please" Solaris ordered, and they did so. "Now, trooper, what brings you before me?" "The Chips, Chancellor". Solaris looked confused "Chips?", Lara-Le stepped forward and handed him the chips "These were removed from both clone troopers. Clone trooper Mighty claims they are the cause of the problem".
Elise shook her head "Those are inhibitor chips, which are placed in clones to make them less aggressive and more compliant to orders. I tried to explain this to the clone that they are placed in them for his own good, but he removed his chip nonetheless". Mighty turned to her "Our own good? This thing they put in us malfunctioned in Clone Trooper Charmy. I removed his and analysed it. There were signs of rapid decay" "And we're positive this has nothing to do with a virus?" Solaris asked. Elise shook her head "No, we still do not know for sure what caused CT-0395 to kill. We only know that his chip failed, and now this clone has removed his own chip, which makes him a risk to himself and others". Mighty was getting frustrated "I'm not at risk. Sir, they're covering something up. I know it. If it's not them then it's a Separatists plot. They use this chip against us to make us more violent than less. That's why Charmy killed General Tiplar!". Solaris looked sceptical "A Separatist plot from before the war even started? That seems unlikely. Don't you agree, Master Lara-Su?" "It does, Chancellor. It seems very unlikely". Elsie stepped in front of them "It is absolutely impossible. What we have here is a single malfunction to one clone's inhibitor chip caused by a virus, Separatist's plot or not". Solaris stared at Mighty and smiled "Perhaps it would be best if clone trooper Mighty and I discussed this without your presence". Lara-Le turned to him "Chancellor, I must object" "Please, Master Shinobi. Trust me. 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". Lara-Le reluctantly nodded and left with Elise. Mighty stood to attention for Solaris who walked up next to him "Now, where were we?" a sadistic smile formed on his face.
The others were waiting outside for a short time before they heard a thud "No! Let me go! Guards!". They ran inside and saw Mighty taking out one of the guards before taking his blaster and pointing it at a downed Solaris "No! You!" Mighty said angrily. Lara-Le pushed him back and he quickly ran out the other side of the room. Lara-Le ran to Solaris "He tried to kill me. It was so sudden. You were right, doctor. He must have gone mad without his chip". Lara-Le ran after Mighty. Solaris smiled "You have done well, Elise. I trust you will keep these safe" he handed the chips to her and she smiled "Of course, Chancellor". Mighty ran downstairs "Mighty, stop" he heard Lara-Le at the top of the stairs. He reached the bottom and ran into the main office of the tower. The drug began to kick in and he was feeling disorientated. He saw the blast doors at the exit began to close. He saw Lara-Le behind him, he just managed to jump through the doors before they closed, and he managed to escape. Mighty ran through the streets of the city.
At the Shinobi Temple Shadow was in the war room with Lara-Le and holograms of Rob, Merlin, and Blaze. Shadow shook his head "I can't believe Mighty would try to assassinate the Chancellor" "Elise feels a virus corrupted the clone's inhibitor chip, which has led to this behaviour. ARC Trooper Mighty believes he's the victim of a plot, Separatist or otherwise". Merlin examined the hologram of Mighty "All security and clone forces on Mobotropolis have been ordered to join the manhunt. The Chancellor has been moved to his Senate quarters, and the perimeter has been secured. However, Shinobi involvement has not been requested". Shadow glanced at him "That's a little odd, isn't it?". Blaze was troubled "We must discover the truth" "If there is a plot involving the clones, we must get to the bottom of it" Rob said. Merlin nodded "We will investigate quietly, undercover. We must make sure this clone is not killed". Shadow sighed "I'll handle this investigation. Mighty was part of the 501st. he's one of my men. If Fang and I find him, he'll trust us" "Be wary. Since he removed his inhibitor chip, Mighty may no longer be the man you once knew".
Mighty was in an ally feeling incredibly sick from whatever Elsie gave him. He could hear robots searching for him in the streets. He took out the shifting inhibitor that he took from Soleanna and quickly injected himself. He turned back into an octopus and walked out of the ally without any trouble. He saw a hover taxi dropping someone off and quickly got in "Hey, pal. Where to?" the pig driver said. "Take me to 79's", this surprised the driver "The clone bar? Oh, you're a clone, huh?", Mighty erratically nodded.
The taxi landed by a platform next to the side of a building that had a bar entrance. Mighty stepped out "Hey, you paying for this ride or what?" the driver asked him. Mighty walked past a group of drunk clones "Ah, bill it to the Republic" he yelled back to him. The drunk clones laughed "Bill it to the Republic. Good one, brother!". "Lousy, cheap clones" the driver yelled as he went away. The clones laughed and started throwing their bottles and the cab. A lemming clone put his arm over Mighty's shoulders "Come on, brother. Let's go inside". They entered the bar and it was mostly full of different clones and very few civilians. Mighty looked around and saw Cat and Jet at the bar drinking. He saw Cat get up and head to the toilets. Mighty followed him to the room and saw Cat at the sinks "So I guess the 501st is back on Mobotropolis?" "Oh, yeah, we just got back from Shanazar. The strangest thing happened out there". Mighty walked up to him "Yeah, I know" he walked over to Cat who turned to him and felt a familiarity "You part of our battalion?" "Yeah, and I found more answers on Soleanna than I bargained for". It took a moment for Cat to get what he was talking about but his eyes opened wide and he stepped back "Mighty? What's going on? They say you tried to assassinate the Chancellor, and your infected with the virus that killed Charmy".
Mighty felt pain in his head and leaned against the sink "I don't have time to explain. This inhibitor won't last long. All I can tell you is… is that I'm being framed. All of us, even the Shinobi, are in grave danger". Cat didn't understand "But wh-what can I do, Mighty? How can I help?" "I need to talk to Fang, or… General Shadow". Cat sighed "Won't be too hard, they've been tasked with finding you. Just turn yourself in". Mighty grabbed his shoulders "No I'll never get to them. You don't understand. What I'm mixed up in, it goes all the way to the top. The highest levels are involved in the conspiracy. I have to talk to General Shadow and Fang directly, alone". Cat tried to calm him down "Look, I can contact Fang, but I can' guarantee he'll bring the General" "Well, good, good. Thanks, Cat. I appreciate it. Here. Here are the coordinates". He pressed buttons on Cat's wrist device "Make sure he meets me there" "Good luck, Mighty". He quickly walked to the bar and saw guard troopers enter holding a hologram of his armadillo form. He knew his disguise won't last much longer and quickly got outside. He saw an Extreme Gear board waiting at a space and quickly got on. He then got a familiar feeling and realised he was turning back to normal. He quickly left but little did he know a police robot beetle spotted him and followed. Mighty flew down one of the cities shafts to the lower levels and went to the platform of a warehouse. Mighty landed but then fell to the floor feeling his vision was getting fuzzy. He with great struggle stood back up and slowly walked towards the entrance of the warehouse.
In Solaris office he was waiting with Geoffrey who's commlink activated "Sir, the fugitive clone has been spotted by one of our probes in sector I-9", Solaris smirked.
Later a transport carrying Shadow and Fang arrived at the warehouse "Well, these are the coordinates Cat gave us. Let's hope Mighty is inside". Fang sighed "I hope he knows what he's doing" they entered the dark warehouse and Shadow ignited his lightsaber. They cautiously walked further in "Mighty? Mighty, we're here. Come on out. We just want to talk to you". Fang took out his pistols and switched them to stun. Eventually once they got deep enough into the warehouse "General Shadow. Thank you. Thank you for trusting me. Have you come without troops?". Shadow and Fang both thought he sounded deranged "We have" the former answered. "Put down your weapons, then" Mighty told them, "I don't think so, Mighty" Shadow answered as he and Fang went back-to-back. "Please, sir! Please, I'm unarmed", Shadow looked to Fang and nodded. He deactivated his lightsaber and Fang stepped over to a crate "Alright. I'm putting my pistols down" he did and went back to Shadow "What're we here for, Mighty?". They could hear Mighty sigh "I need your help" "I know you do. We know you're not well. It's been rough for you these past couple days" "I'm not crazy! Please, please, just hear what I have to say". They followed the voice "We're here to help you, Mighty. Just come with us. Let's take you back to the Temple" a ray shield suddenly formed around them "No!" Shadow banged his fist against it. Mighty stepped out form his hiding place looking terrified "I just need you to listen to me. Please". Shadow crossed his arms "I'm not really sure we have any other choice".
Mighty limped forward "I was framed because I know the truth… the truth about a plot, a massive deception" "By who?" Fang asked. Mighty paused for a moment as if he were struggling to remember "Well, there's a sinister plot in the works against the Shinobi. I have proof of it. I can prove that everything that I know is true beyond a shadow of a doubt!" "Then show me the evidence" Shadow told him. Mighty began clutching his head "The evidence? The evidence is in here. It's in here. It's in all of us, every clone. Organic chips built into our genetic code to make us do whatever someone wants, even kill the Shinobi. It's all in here". Shadow glanced and Fang before looking back "Let's just get you some help first. Then we can review everything. It'll be okay, Mighty. We'll sort this out". Mighty eyes began to shift "Ah, you don't believe me!". Outside Republic gunship arrived at the platform, Geoffrey loaded his blaster "We're closing in on the target. Everyone be ready". Back inside Mighty was leaning against a crate, "Mighty, we are listening to you. We only want to help" Fang said. Mighty stood back up clutching the back of his head "How do I know you're not tricking me? The Chancellor will try to kill me. I promise you that!". Shadow was confused "The Chancellor?". Mighty nodded "Yes. He's in on it! I don't know to what extent. But I know he orchestrated much of this. He told me in the medical bay!". Shadow looked angry now "He told you? When you tried to assassinate him? You've gone too far, Mighty. The Chancellor isn't capable of what you claim" "He is! I swear to you, General. Please, you have no idea-" "Stand down, soldier!". Mighty turned around and saw Geoffrey and other clones running towards him weapons raised "Stand down! Get on your knees!".
Mighty backed away terrified "No! No! No! Stay back!" he looked and saw Fang's pistols on the crate. Geoffrey knew what he was thinking "Don't do it! Don't do it, soldier!". "GET AWAY FROM ME!" Mighty reached for the pistol "Mighty, no!" Fang yelled. Mighty raised the pistol and Geoffrey fired a shot directly at his chest. Mighty gasped and dropped the pistol, he looked down at the hole in his chest. He began to choke and fell to the ground "Mighty!" Fang yelled banging his fists against the shield, "Get this ray shield off!" Shadow ordered. One of the clones fired at the emitter shutting it down. Fang kneeled down next to Mighty "Brother. Call for help! We need a medic!" he said to the others. Mighty was breathing heavily "Fang…. This… It's bigger than any of us, than anything I could have imagined". The other clones circled their dying brother. Mighty tried to lift his head "I never meant to…". Mighty whispered in his ear "I only wanted to do my duty" he gasped and began to fall back. Fang shook his head "Mighty. Stay with me, Mighty". Mighty's eyes opened slightly "The mission… The nightmares... they're… finally… over" he fell back, and his eyes closed. Fang's eyes opened wide in shock "Mighty? No, Mighty. Come on, Mighty, don't go!". Shadow lowered his head solemnly and stayed silent. "Stay with me. Stay with me. Mighty! Mighty! Don't go... Oh no" he placed Mighty on the floor. Shadow walked over and put his hand Fang's shoulder.
Blaze, Merlin, Lara-Le and Shadow were sitting in Solaris' office. Shadow was resting his head in his hands still upset over Mighty's death. Solaris stood in front of him "A tragic situation indeed". Merlin sighed "About the clones' breakdowns, have we discovered any new evidence?" "I've had my own personal doctors examine both bodies. It appears Elise did miss something in her examination". Blaze stared at him "Your doctors found another cause?" "A parasite. Native to Shanazar. Probably in the canteen of water they both shared. It caused the chips to decay once the parasite had taken hold. It is very rare. However just to be cautious, we have prepared an inoculation for every clone trooper in our army". Merlin sat back "So I guess it's over, then?" "Yes, we can finally put this whole wretched situation behind us. We must direct our attention back to the war at hand. Each day we grow closer and closer to victory".
Later Fang was onboard a Republic cruiser looking inside a locker. He took out a case with five medals inside. He stared at them and sighed before leaving with the case in his hand.
Lara-Le entered the medical bay of her cruiser where Isaac was working. He walked over to her "Master Lara-Le, it's good to see you" "Hello, Isaac. I hope you're comfortable in your new position". Isaac nodded "Of course. Especially since if I had stayed on Soleanna I would have most likely been dismantled or wiped". Lien-da smiled "I suspected something like that. It's good to have you aboard" "Thank you. I was wondering how Mighty is? Did he manage to convince the Chancellor?". Lara-Le's was emotionless "I'm sorry, Isaac but… Mighty didn't make it. He's dead". Isaac's head slowly dropped down "Oh. Was he at least successful in our mission?". Lara-Le gently nodded "Yes. We discovered a parasite that infected Charmy and were able to create an inoculation. Mighty saved his battalion". Isaac gave a robotic sigh "I suppose that is something. I'm glad to have met him". Lara-Le smiled "You did the right thing helping him, Isaac" she then left to let Isaac work.
Dimitri was at his desk speaking to a hologram of Elise "Lord Dimitri, have you received the inhibitor chip that you requested?" "I have indeed. You have done well". Elise bowed before cutting off transmission. Dimitri had the chips in his hand and kneeled on the floor. A hologram of Mephiles appeared "Our plan has gone undiscovered, Master. The clone in question is now dead, and the Shinobi still suspect nothing". Mephiles nodded "Good. Destroy all evidence. When the time comes, no one will be able to stop our plan to execute Order 06" he began to cackle.