The beaches on Rataka Prime had a great allure to them, secluded, quiet, and they seemed to shine like a highly detailed painting with splotches of silver. But one was currently stained with the presence of a few hundred battle droids patrolling the shore area and off-loading supplies from several MTTs and Platoon Attack Craft while a dozen AAT tanks and a few flights of STAPs circled around the transports.

Putting down his binoculars, Ghost started to visually scan the area with a wider point of view to see if there was anything of importance to zoom in on for his hidden position on a cliffside overlooking the enemy position that was one click away from their temporary base camp. Due to the lack of artillery and flak support, the droids clearly hadn't had the time to dig into the new base they were attempting to set up as a staging point for the resupply of separatist forces in the area that were carrying out the brutal counterattack Grievous had ordered in desperation after the disaster on Coruscant.

"Ghost, how is the view from up there?" his jedi general spoke from his comlink.

"It's beautiful General, you should come up here and see for yourself." Ghost replied.

"Must be quite the view, Ronin company is standing by and is in position, while my padawan has informed me she has finished placing the charges." Raeth replied.

"Copy that, I'll assist you when you start the attack." Ghost relayed as he prepared his weapons.

Hiding behind the hills surrounding the beach, Jedi General Raeth had just finished moving his forces into position to destroy the outpost before it was finished. The Flying Tigers clone legion had earned a decent reputation for taking on difficult assignments when necessary, executing them with efficiency. While not comparable to the legendary status of the 501st or 212th, they were still a force to be reckoned with. War record aside, the battalion was also well known for serving as an in-battlefield experiment by the Republic to see how normally birthed, but later modified, humans worked with the clones. Of course there were only three in the entire legion, but a larger test group could have proved disastrous had things not worked out. And of course the Kaminoans weren't fond of the GAR using soldiers that were not grown out of their vats, though they still made some profits with the minor modifications.

Jumping on an AT-RT, Raeth raised up his hand and closed it into a fist to signal the attack. Not a second later the clones poked their heads above the hills and let around a dozen rockets loose while Ghost did the same from his position. The projectiles screeched forward destroying 5 of the tanks and sending dozens of B1s and B2s into the air. The rockets were quickly followed by a hail of fire from clone snipers and other small arms while a squad of AT-RTs led by Raeth rushed to flank the droid's position.

Suddenly, 3 more AATs along with most of the PACs were destroyed instantly with the latter being unable to deploy any of the troops they carried. Meaning Raeth's padawan and a small squad of clone SCUBA troopers had just swam to a safe distance away from the blast radius, prompting them to detonate the explosives they had attached to the underside of the CIS vehicals.

Leaping over another laser blast from an AAT, Raeth and the other small walkers closed in on the remaining tanks, while picking off any droids they could with their laser cannons. Another blast tore the walker and clone riding it to pieces while a few laser blasts scored a hit on another ARF trooper. Fortunately the droid's luck ran out as the small walkers flanked the remaining tanks while Reath leapt from his walker to cut open the top hatch of the center tank and drop a thermal detonator into it, prompting him to leap away and start hacking away at B1s and 2s with his sapphire blade.

The remaining tanks were quickly destroyed as the AT-RT's laser cannons hammered into their weak points while a few of their drivers lobbed a few grenades at them. The last two remaining PAC's were hit by more rockets before they had a chance to deploy their battle droid complements while sniper and small arms fire eliminated the droid infantry that accompanied the tanks.

While the CIS vehicals were taken care of, there were still around two hundered droids on the beach that were now firing on the clone's position. Ghost proceeded down the hill to take out a small group of B1s to thin out the enemy, using his signature dual pistols to mow them down. Making every shot count, the dozen B1's didn't stand a chance against the lone ARC trooper. But as Ghost finished off the last B1, eight super battle droids started firing at him.

The B2's were trying to regroup with their remaining forces by taking cover by the MTTs and the large amount of crates on the beach, but the ARC trooper had attracted their attention. Ghost fired away at his new attackers while running. Managing to take down two of them before being forced to roll behind a nearby rock. The super battle droids were firing everything they had at his position. Until a grenade was lobbed over the rock and tore 3 of the droids apart. Using the opening, Ghost poked his head out to start firing again only to see that one of the remaining B2s was the variant with a rocket launcher built into its hand that had just fired its payload at him. Having no time to doge, Ghost figured it was his end.

Until the rocket halted in mid air and then oriented backwards before it was let loose. The explosion caused Ghost to take cover again as sand pelted his head. He poked his head out from the rock to find none other than General Raeth exhaling due to the effort of redirecting the rocket. Giving each other a quick nod, Ghost got out of cover to follow his general in thinning out the remaining droids while Ronin company charged down the hill to eliminate the remaining droids while Cyclone company covered them from the hill.

Meanwhile, Ram and Jyn helped in leading the charge. The clone assassin deployed a smoke screen for everyone and used his vibroblades up close, while Ram shot down any and all droids trying to flank his brother using a DC-15A rifle. Having reached the outpost the two ran to the left side of a wall made up of crates the droids were using as cover before Ram dropped his rifle and unslung the Z-6 Rotary blaster on his back and lit up the line of droids behind the crates. The makeshift trench line of droids fell like dominos riddled with holes while Jyn carved up a group of B1s that tried to rush Ram.

While the two had cleared out a large portion of the remaining droids, three droidekas had rolled right by the troopers before activating their shields and opening fire at the troopers. Ram jumped over and behind a crate while Jyn rolled to the side and ran towards one of the droideka's flanks, dodging the laser bolts fired in his direction.

Fortunately droidekas were slow in using their three legs to orient themselves so most of the fire directed at the clone assassin hit just behind him. Two were focusing on Jyn while the other was keeping Ram pinned down. Using the side of a stack of crates Jyn propelled himself and rolled in between the two destroyer droids, got behind one and phased through it's shield. Twin vibroblades were impaled through the droideka's back before they were pulled sideways, bisecting the helpless automaton. Jyn had just been preparing to roll out of the way of the second droid, after it had just oriented itself to face him, until an emerald lightsaber blade impaled the destroyer droid through the back and head.

"Took your time commander." Jyn commented as Raeth's padawan used the force to throw half of the droideka Jyn dispatched into the final one. With the last destroyer droid dazed from the remains of one of its brethren smashing into it, the droid halted it's fire. Giving Ram enough time to jump out of cover and slide to the side of the droid and place a droid popper inside it's shield bubble.

After Ram had taken care of the last destroyer droid, Raeth's padawan raises her arm to her neck to answer her comlink, she was still wearing a wetsuit from diving a few minutes ago and her black hair was in three strand braid with her padawan braid on the side as always. Her skin was lightly tanned and her green eyes that were once unsure and nervous years ago had started maturing into a more focused gaze.

The frequency was Ghost's personal one and his voice was paired with the sound of blaster fire. "Commander Alicia, we've mopped up most of the droids but one of the MTTs just released a group of magnaguards. We need you here immediately."

She answered while breaking into a run towards the ARC trooper's position with Ram and Jan following her. "I'm on my way Ghost, keep them busy for me."

It only took under a minute to reach Raeth and Ghost who were currently dealing with 3 magnaguards with some help by a few clones. Unfortunately the feared jedi killing droids had been able to kill half a dozen clones judging by the bodies around them that had signs of electrocution.

Despite the fact that the IG-100s had lightspeed reaction times, the two dueling Raeth were unable to land a blow on the Duros Jedi. Their assailant would constantly backpedal to keep them at a distance and every attack with their electro staffs would come up just short, being blocked or batted away by the Jedi's blue blade that never moved more than necessary. It also didn't help that the droids had to dodge or block laser bolts directed at them.

Ghost and two regular clones were doing their best to riddle the magnaguard in front of them with holes, but the damned thing was just too fast with it's reaction time. While they had scored a hit or two it's tough armor soaked up most damage while the rest of their shots where either blocked by a lightsaber resistant staff or dodged. The droid had enough of twiring its staff to block laser bolts and propelled itself forward, quickly dispatching one of the clones helping Ghost, causing them to scream in pain from the lethal amount of electricity forced through their body.

Ghost knew that the droid's reaction time meant it would jump out of the way of any grenade or volley of fire it couldn't block. It had to be surrounded and overwhelmed. Fortunately, his chance came when Raeth's Padawan attacked one of the guards dueling Raeth with a falling avalanche strike while Ram scored a hit on its kneecap with his rifle. Jyn rushed the magnaguard in front of Ghost from behind forcing it to turn around and block a two-plane stab with both ends of its staff. Knowing not to waste his shot, Ghost aimed one of his pistols at the droid's head. The shot hit the top of the magnaguard's head while some fire from the reg beside him hit the back.

The two jedi killing combatants, though that function was still unbenounced to most for the biological one, were a blur. With the damage taken the magnaguard was slowed, allowing Jyn to match its speed. Jyn's quick slashes and stabs were still unable to get past the droids defenses, but the same went for the IG 100 who was also occupied with taking fire from Ghost and the regular troopers. It was too much when another few rounds blasted the droids head completely off. With the droid stunned for just a second Jyn locked one of his blades underneath the electrostaff and pulled up while the other was plunged into the red orb in the center of the chest.

Now that he was only facing one opponent Raeth switched from Soresu to Djem So, constantly counter attacking after blocks or parries. The strategy bore fruit after turning a wing block on a horizontal strike into an overhead blow that was able to force the staff down with the lightsaber tip passing through the droid's forearm after angling the blade down. With his opponent now missing an arm Raeth battered away at the droid with combinations of diagonal and overhead blows that would sometimes change to horizontal or underhand swings.

A heavy horizontal swing was too much for the droid to stop as it was rendered off balance and had it's staff twisted out of a guard. While it had stepped back enough to avoid a killing blow Raeth swung his blade to the other side diagonally, and sliced off the remaining lunging forward and slicing the droid from the shoulder to its side.

Alicia was never the best at lightsaber combat since she was more interested in honing her force powers and negotiation skills. But her master had drilled her hard enough to be proficient in Form III while picking up some offensive moves from Form V. Her tight defensive blade work was able to stop any strikes from the electrostaff from hitting her, but she was struggling to keep up and she knew she couldn't win the fight by only being defensive. Fortunately Ram's DC-15A struck again, with the laser bolt hitting the droid's shoulder from the side.

The magnaguard clearly didn't like this and decided to lunge at Ram. Fortunately Alicia was able to send it flying while midair with a force push. It didn't do much since the droid perfectly oriented itself to land upright but it gave time for Ram to once again bring out his Z-6 rotary blaster and start offloading laser bolts on to the droid. The magnaguard responded by jumping behind a nearby crate before picking it up and throwing it at Ram. The trooper raised the repeating blaster to absorb most of the blow, but was still sent onto his back. The IG 100 then lunged at Alicia who sidestepped then ducked and raised her lightsaber to redirect a thrust before rolling backwards.

Ram's assault was able to get a few hits on the droid's legs as it was slower in advancing. Taking her master's advice Alicia let the force guide her blade, intercepting all the strikes against her and warning where the next blow would come. After about a dozen blows from the droid as well as another shot from Ram hitting it's elbow joint, she saw her opening. Instead of stepping back with the next strike she dropped down, allowing the staff to pass above her head while her green blade sliced through the droid's leg. The IG 100 fell to the side before Alicia impaled it through the back. The three magnaguards had been finished at relatively the same time without anyone suffering major injury.

"Well done Alicia, defeating a magnaguard at your age is not an easy feat." Raeth stated as he deactivated his lightsaber and walked up to her.

Alicia deactivated her lightsaber as well and clipped it into her belt. "Thank you master, I guess all that hard training you put me through is finally starting to show major results."

"I know it's not the way of the consular to focus much on lightsaber combat, but too many perish from not being ready for combat and only learning enough to get by, and in this time it is even more necessary".

Lightsaber combat had many forms, both aggressive and defensive. Alicia had originally wanted to learn form six, but Raeth knew that the consular definition of learning Niman wasn't so much learning it as it was taking a crash course in learning the bare necessities of combat and moving on. If Alicia really wanted to learn this form, it would take her around ten years, two for each of the first five forms since Niman was a combination of all the forms before it.

To be fair, taking time to master a form detracted from the consular's job as a negotiator and mediator. Plus a skilled consular could make up for it with their focus on force abilities, but Raeth would rather give his padawan a better chance at survival. Form three or Soresu's defensive nature was perfect for such a purpose. While it had mixed results in dueling, it would at least help keep her alive long enough for backup or for her to rely on the force before she mastered it.

"Gather the men, we must head to the separatist command station to find any further intel on Grievous's plan and move from there" Raeth tells Alicia.

"Right away master." Alicia ran off to go find her favourite trooper.

The padawan made her way to the center of the assortment of large crates where Ronin company had gathered to rest for a few minutes and tend to the wounded, the troopers not busy patching up their brothers stopped what they were doing and saluted her. Alicia saluted back and joined them, she treated them like human beings rather than just products, but the question of what would happen to them after the war always loomed over her.

"Is Ghost around here?" Alicia asks a trooper.

"Beats me Allie, he'll appear out of nowhere as usual. Count on it."

"Well, you guys might want to gather around the droid command centre over there. Master Raeth will be doing a debrief once he finishes cracking open the command center's computer."

The troopers nodded and proceeded to the briefing as instructed. It also didn't take long for Alicia to feel a gentle tap on her shoulder, prompting her to spring around and unhook her lightsaber though not igniting it. But instead of a separatist assassin or droid it was only Ghost. The ARC had just finished a perimeter sweep after helping earlier to destroy the magnaguards, he took off his helmet to greet his commander.

"Commander, the area is secure. Looks like the clankers are on the run again."

Sighing in relief and annoyance, Allie responded "Good work Ghost, but if you sneak up on me like that again, I might accidentally attack you for real."

Ghost chuckled, he loved to sneak up on her from time to time to help keep her senses sharp. Sometimes she would sense him, usually when she wasn't overthinking something or when immersed in a datapad studying various topics such as historical disputes and the cultures of various planets.

"Shouldn't your precognition tell you if you're in danger though?"

"Are you a danger to me Ghost?"

"Uhh, no. I would never deliberately harm you."

"Then that's why. I always felt comfortable around you and the clones, the best soldiers the galaxy could ever ask for. Plus the force doesn't always detect every danger, it takes a lot of training to refine its senses and some are born more gifted than others."

The ARC trooper smiled, Alicia treated him and his fellow soldiers like they were family. Raeth was much more reserved and very professional, but he never viewed them as objects and didn't shy away from giving some wisdom or encouragement. He also did enjoy speaking with them in bars during R&R. The Jedi were noble warriors, always willing to put their lives in danger for the safety of the innocent. Ghost then thought back to his training on Kamino. While the ARC trooper training program was unforgiving and grueling, it refined many important skills and senses, including how to think independently to be a much more creative and deadly fighter. Allie still had a ways to go before her training was complete, but she was more than a match for him and many of the clones.

Two squads of Ronin company have made it to the meeting area, while the others are still busy with a perimeter check. General Raeth and Captain Sturg were discussing the latest incoming report they will be going over as well as how the battle went. The jedi general spotted his apprentice with Ghost along with a few other troopers joining the group. With a nod from Sturg, Raeth held a datapad and decided to first do the debrief.

"Great job as always gentleman, Rakata Prime is secure and officially back in Republic territory. The other companies have reported success in destroying the other pockets of droids and our fleet is mopping up the remaining enemy forces in orbit. With one of the Separatist's resupply stations destroyed, enemy forces in this sector will be spread thin on spare parts and ammunition. Therefore that should help ease off the load of republic troops suffering any attacks in the Mid Rim. We've also stopped the confederacy from gaining any Rakatan technology and a transmission just came in stating that General Kenobi has successfully killed General Grievous. The war is almost over, with luck we can all have a nice drink on Coruscant once the Seps are completely dealt with."

The clones cheered, the three year long war was about to come to an end. After many years of losing countless brothers, jedi, and civilians. The galaxy could finally rest, no more violence, no more needless death. Alicia began to work on how to crack open the command center's computer as Raeth joined her to see just how much data the enemy had gained on the Rakatans. A trooper then came up to Sturg and informed him there was a transmission awaiting his attention, it was for the captain specifically. Sturg nodded to Raeth, then walked away from the briefing area to view the transmission.

While Raeth and Alicia were working on cracking the computer, Ghost was chatting alongside Ram who was checking his weapon, discussing what they could do on Coruscant, party all night or find a soul mate to settle down with. Their conversation was brought to a complete halt when their comlinks received three words that would change everything. From their helmet radio, it repeated one directive, "Execute Order 66." All the clones in the room received the new order. All independent thoughts or motor commands ceased to have any effect, all faces and eyes adopted a dark emotionless look. All helmets taken off were slipped back on, safeties were turned off and blasters readied. Some exchanged glances nodding to one another, as all blasters from the clones behind the unsuspecting jedi were raised.

Blinking his eyes open Ram awoke with a groan, moaning in pain as he sat up from a bed in the recovery ward. A nurse steadied him by his shoulders telling him to take it easy. While Ram kept it together for a minute or two allowing the nurse to check his vital signs, he started to breathe harder and tears leaked from his eyes as the memories of what had happened on Rataka came rushing back, now able to be fully processed.

"I killed them. I-I killed THEM! General (sniffs) I-I didn't mean to." Ram shouted out loud.

"Trooper please remain calm, we just removed your inhibitor chip. Lay back on the table so we can check your aggression levels." A nurse reassures the clone.

"I need to see Ghost please...I must tell him about the...m-m-mission." Ram sobs as he laid back down.

Ghost and the rest of the group were waiting outside the recovery room. From what Kesis heard during the operation, Ram muttered one single phrase from time to time; "Good soldiers follow orders." The medical staff also didn't know why Ram would keep repeating these words over and over again. Ayn was a bit creeped out, it was if all the clones were brainwashed to just carry out their directives. The doctor from earlier then came over to inform everyone on the latest news.

"The operation was a success. However, he has become emotionally unstable, muttering about how he killed someone. Our theory is that Ram is diagnosed with PTSD, the chip must've blocked off some memories to keep him calm. Although we can't be certain until we observe him more. He also requests that the ARC trooper meet with him urgently."

Ayn and Kesis nodded then looked at Ghost, who complied and followed the doctor inside. The royals waited outside as it was the clone's privacy. Kesis sensed however something was indeed out of place, these chips could be a dangerous asset to their new bodyguards. It could possibly jeopardize the security of herself and her family. Ghost walked in to see Ram hooked up to a monitoring machine, with a nurse observing his vital signs.

"Hey, how do you feel?" Ghost asks.

"Much better...but I..remember everything. Including...that mission." Ram replies.

"What mission?"

"Y-you know the one, the one in our nightmares. The one that never ends. I...I remember what we did."

"What are you talking about Ram.."

"When we..had to kill the Jedi for treason...against the Republic.

After hearing Ram's sentence, the ARC's inhibitor chip again found him too emotional. Ghost gripped his head and growled. He tried to remember what happened, but any attempt was futile as the chip blocked off his thoughts. He remained monotone as he spoke.

"CT-1572-46, you are to resume active service when released from medical care. Don't be late."

All Ram could do was look helplessly as his friend exited the room again. Ayn was the first to approach him while Kesis was still consulting with the doctor.

"Ghost, are you ok? How is Ram?" Ayn asks.

"He's fine, he will resume active duty soon." Ghost replied.

"You didn't answer my question fully, Ghost. Are you feeling fine?"

"That is not related to my mission parameters."

The trooper tried to dismiss the princess, but Ayn knew all too well he was hiding something at this point. She held his hand, caressingly it gently. Ghost was shocked for a second, but slipped his hand out of her grasp. Ayn frowned, her bodyguard was emotionally closed off.

Kesis knew there were more pressing matters at hand however, "Ayn come, I want to learn more about how the chip's removal affects them. Ghost you can stay here until we are finished talking with Ram."

Knowing it was little use to try and get through to Ghost, Ayn followed her mother and the doctor into the recovery ward and up to Ram's bed.

With a sad but hopeful look Ayn asked, "How are you feeling?"

"Alive, which is enough for now."

"There doesn't seem to be any threatening signs to his health other than that he is experiencing immense stress and angst. Whether this is because the chip is no longer regulating his behavior and emotions or something else remains to be determined." Stated the doctor while going over a chart of Ram's brain activity and other vital signs after surgery.

"IT'S NOT THE DAMN CHIPS REMOVAL IT's...(sigh)." Taking a breath Ram shakily responded, "W-e-ll I hope it isn't tha-t as well. It's what the chancellor ordered us to do using the chips."

Looking at Ram with both intrigue and fear at what his answer would be, Kesis asked, "What were you ordered to do?"

Taking a shaky breath Ram answered, "All of the clones and us were ordered to kill our Jedi General and Commander. It wasn't just us, every single clone in our galaxy was used to wipe out all of the Jedi, regardless of age. It was claimed that they attempted to assassinate the Chancellor to overthrow the Republic. But even if that were true, I know Raeth would have never been involved in a plot like that let alone his 15 year old apprentice. On Coruscant, our galactic capital, the Jedi temple was sacked and all of its inhabitants were killed. I...doubt that even the younglings were spared."

The three Sianians were shaken up by what Ram said, Ayn even shed a tear. But Ram had to continue.

"After the temple was sacked, Palpatine declared himself galactic emperor. That made all the emergency powers granted to him during the clone wars permanent as well as a lifetime position. While the senate was kept intact, I remember mass arrests of senators who opposed him and the new order, labeled as traitors or separatist sympathizers. After the war we mostly spent time guarding vital infrastructure before cleaning up remaining droid holdouts until we ended up here and well...you know the rest."

The Sianians were all disheartened by Ram's story, Ayn especially given how she regularly visited orphanages.

Kesis now had a more complete picture as order 66 in the database files that Cadelle had given her were very vague and glossed over the immediate changes with the switch from the republic to the galactic empire. It was undeniable that order 66 had caused most of Ram's distress, but there was still the possibility that it could also be the fact that the chip was also meant to hold back extreme behavior. If that were true, she would be faced with a double bind. Keep the chips in and have the clones continue to be like droids that could be easily turned and used against her and her family at any time. Or remove them and be faced with troopers whose mental health would deteriorate and likely become violent while a solution was looked for.

"I thank you for sharing this with us Ram, for now we will monitor your health and psyche for at least a few weeks to see if removing the chips has any adverse effects. Until then you should rest and relax while you are kept under evaluation."

"With all due respect, Queen Kesis. I don't think I will be able to relax given what has happened and the fact that my brothers in arms are still under the control of those chips."

"That may be so but there is nothing we can do about that until we know that the removal of the chips won't cause harm."

"My brothers could turn on you in a second if ordered! Even though you've had your guardsman tailing us since we got here, it is still a risk! Those things degrade us to something worse than cannon fodders; they rob us of our sentience as well! Making us no different than the mindless droids we fought against for three years! Can't you at least remove them from Ghost and Jyn?!"

While slightly shocked that Ram had noticed that there wasn't any blue guardsman in the open alongside them, Kesis was about to answer but was cut off by the doctor. "We do need at least ten subjects for a viable test group before expanding that number for the next set of removals to account for other variables."

Taking a minute to think and letting out a breath, the Queen agreed. "Very well, we'll remove the chips from all of the non-regular troopers under my command since we can't measure them against anything and 10 or so of the regular clones after the fundraiser tomorrow."

The royals left the room while Ram was lost in thought. It is good that Ghost and Jyn would have their chips taken out along with a few others in order to experiment if the chips removal were really harmful. However, thousands of troopers would still be left with the chips in their heads. And all Ram could do in the meantime was wait to see if his sanity has degraded, having no regrets as he was doing it for the safety of his brothers.