Eyo Cloaked Writer here, here is the second part of this story. It is a re imagined Clone Wars Episode 119 "Storm over Ryloth", I hope you enjoy this next instalment :)
How did it come to this…
I remember it like it was yesterday, even though it was years and years ago. More recent than my Accelerated aging would suggest. The fall of the republic I served so well, the slaughter of so many good men.
And woman.
And children.
I do not refer to the fall of the Jedi; not yet at least, but to the war as a whole.
I invaded dozens of worlds. A handful of them our own, to free them from the Seppies. I saw the people smile and cheer at us, believing that the white helmets would lead to peace forever, that the men in white would forever keep the evil at bay.
Now, don't get me wrong. I wish we could do those things, but we could never keep the droids away forever. I wanted to help them, as best as I could.
So I did.
I helped them, I belayed orders to have our troops transferred to the far flung reaches of the galaxy using my unique authority, we remained as long as we could.
They were concerned at first by the sudden loss of white helmets and appearance of black ones. But the smiles soon returned. We helped their buildings, we gave them food. We gave them peace. I returned just in time to read my new dispatches. To The Temple, to slaughter all the Jedi.
I remember the screams. Not of the clones of the 501st, nor of the Jedi Master's in their gasped last breaths as Lord Vader's icy blue blade cut them in two. I remember standing above her, so innocent and kind. A mere youngling, with tears in her eyes. Her name was Aria
"General" she had pleaded, "Help me,"
Help me.
I lowered my blaster, my maskless face locking eyes with hers. Brown met yellow, human met alien. My finger was closed around the trigger, but I couldn't move.
How did it come to this…
Ryloth, 22 BBY, The Clone Wars,
Anakin Skywalker stood on the bridge of his new flagship. He had to keep himself in place using the force in order to restrain himself from launching towards the controls and the computer systems to get the new ship fixed just as he liked it. It was just like the Resolute, just too… uniform.
"Sir, General Kenobi and General Windu are ready for you sir, and General Shard just dropped out of hyperspace, and is awaiting your transmission" A Clone officer said behind him.
As if on cue, five Venator-class star destroyers slipped from hyperspace onto the battlefield. However, these were not the familiar light grey and maroon of the regular ships, but an unregulated charcoal black that blended to the stars like cortosis. General Shard was as unorthodox as he was, but the General had the luxury of being a Privateering fleet, not necessarily a Navy fleet, but more lax on regulation. Oh how he envied General Shard at how he managed to get such a lucrative post.
He tore himself away from the viewport and marched towards the holo pod in the center of the bridge tower. The shuddering images of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Mace Windu stood calm and collected. Kenobi's hand rested on his beard in his token stance of tact, while Windu had his arms folded across his chest, a grim frown upon his face. A third image of General Shard's Clone Commander took it's place alongside the Generals. He was covered in gadgets that would be befitting of an ARC, with some that Anakin didn't even recognize. He had his hands folded behind his back, his face obscured by his helmet. From the discoloring of the hologram, Anakin could guess the Clones of the 300th attack battalion wore a more muted armor than the standard white, perhaps a deep green, or maroon.
"I'm assuming you have a plan, Anakin?" Obi-Wan asked, gesturing to him with his other hand, looking expectantly to him but with a heavy look of playful doubt in his eyes.
"As a matter of fact, I do,"
"Gentlemen, we have Twi'leks to save. Spare your bickering until after we have Wat Tambor in custody,"
"Thank you, General Windu." Anakin continued.
"My strategy is to let the starfighters run straight to the command ship, with the capital cruisers drawing fire from the escort Munificent class fighters-"
"Excuse me sir, but the General has a differing strategy he has given me to suggest," The Clone Commander said, cutting the Jedi off and straightening his back even higher and looking to Anakin. Anakin looked questioningly to the other two Jedi Generals, who in turn looked at one another. Clones were never so forward to cut off a Jedi General. It was Obi-Wan who finally broke the silence
"Very well. Go ahead, Captain…"
"Commander, sir. Commander Tusk," Tusk replied, bowing his head to General Kenobi, before continuing with his plan.
"Our ships carry a post-experimental weapon that can easily overwhelm their ships, and instead of leaving them as debris, leave them as assets to the Republic,"
"Post-Experimental?" General Windu asked doubtfully.
"Yes sir. We encountered a pair of Separatist fighters patrolling near Ukio on our way from Kamino, on which we tested our weapon in a small skirmish, and are eager to see how it affects the Trade Federation Battle spheres,"
"How about a mix of the two strategies?" Anakin suggested, hunching over the pod and pointing to the holomap, where small triangles were moving to symbolize ships in motion.
"I'll send my Padawan's squadron into the battle to engage their fighter's, while you use the weapon on the escort ships. If things go wrong, say… we lose too many fighters, then you can use your new weapon on the sphere," Anakin said, looking up at the holograms watching the strategy.
"You have the go ahead from us, just make sure that the fleet is neutralized, we need control of the air in order to land our troops on the ground," Obi-Wan said solemnly, before his hologram flickered and vanished, followed momentarily by Mace Windu, before he said in a passive voice:
"May the force be with you, General Skywalker,"
The only hologram remaining was that of Commander Tusk, whose image approached General Skywalker.
"Commander… is there something else you need?"
"Not a need sir, but a request from General Shard,"
Anakin braced himself for it. He was likely going to get the good ol' pre battle do-it-by-the-book-and-stay-on-the-bridge-or-so-help-me-I'll-beat-your-skull-in-with-a-lightclub talk he was so used to by other Jedi Masters. He was used to it, as his unorthodox procedures had gained him a reputation that far preceded him. But instead, he received something unexpected.
"Well, not a request, more of an invitation. He would like to invite you to have front row seats to our new weapon in action aboard his command ship, Fragment," he said.
Anakin couldn't help but grin. He would get to explore the new vessel and see things blow up? A quick mental tally confirmed it wasn't his birthday, nor a major day of celebration for the Order. It was just his lucky day.
"I would love to go. Admiral, do you think you can hold things here?" Anakin asked his longtime friend, Admiral Yularen. He nodded and couldn't help the small smile that crept onto his face either.
"Go enjoy yourself sir," he said, chuckling lightly.
Anakin turned back to the Hologram of Commander Tusk.
"Please tell your General I will be with him shortly, I need to speak to my Padawan Learner before she goes of to battle. It is her first time leading a squadron after all," he said, walking away from the Hologram.
"Will do, sir," he said, before snapping to attention, and flicking into thin air.
Anakin continued towards the hangar at a brisk walk, envisioning the enjoyment he was going to have on the bridge of the Fragment. Now that he thought about it, General Shard's ships all had names suggesting they were pieces of something else. Chunk, fragment, and he thought Splinter were names of a few. Come to think of it, Shard was a unique name, a very unique name. He was surprised he hadn't noticed him in the Jedi Temple. He shrugged it off.
"I probably saw him in passing and simply never noticed" he said to himself, reading some inspiring talk he would tell his padawan learner. However, the thoughts couldn't piece together, so he simply approached her as she sat in her starfighter and did what was natural for him as both an instructor and a big brother figure to her.
"Hey snips, this is it! Your first command, don't be nervous."
"I wish everyone would stop saying that!" She exploded, flopping back into her flight chair.
He internally sighed, here we go...
Anakin walked briskly towards the docking hatch, with Captain Rex at his side. He was wearing his helmet, and therefore Anakin could not see his face, but he sensed a great deal of animosity coming from him. No, animosity wasn't the correct term. Nervousness? Giddiness?
"Captain, you seem nervous. Is everything alright?" He asked the Clone, concerned if he should be aware of something.
The Captain's head lurched to face him, and he heard a sharp intake of breath through the helmet's vocalizer.
"Ah, no, sir," he started, but then looked towards the floor, looking sheepish, with a hand behind his head.
"It's just... General Shard has a bit of a reputation from us Clones, and... well I'll just go out and say it. I am both honored and thrilled that you allowed me to accompany you sir." Rex said, his voice now positively glowing.
"It's not a problem Rex," Anakin said, chuckling.
"But what makes General Shard so special? He has only been involved a few battles, much less one like this," Anakin said questioningly. He didn't mind that his Captain enjoyed tracking the works of other Generals, but it surprised him that it was one involved in only obscure skirmishes in the outer rim territories.
"Only a few battles in the heart of Separatist territory, the Battle of Molavar, the Hypori Skirmish, and a small raid on Nime City on Roon," he reminded his General.
"Commander Tusk also mentioned Ukio, that's a fresh Separatist Convert! He must have smacked them down just as soon as they got their ships! Not to mention..." He trailed off, looking forward.
"What?"
"He's... well you'll see when we meet him, sir." The Captain said, snapping to attention as noises began to whisper their way through the docking bay doors.
Anakin was puzzled, but he turned to face the doors as they opened. He was shocked to come face to face with a Clone Trooper, Helmet doned and standing at rigid attention, with a DC-17m blaster rifle held across his chest. He wore Phase I Clone armor, and a belt filled with advanced gadgets. The armor, however, was uniquely colored. The white plastoid armor was the color of charcoal, with a muted maroon breastplate, and similar red markings surrounding the T visor. He was one of seven other Clones, six of which were similarly dressed and in straight lines lining the corridor. In the center of the two columns was Clone Commander Tusk. He wore armor similar to his brothers, but with a Commander's pauldron the same muted red color, and stripes down his arms that ended in a selection of gadgets. He could see a flame thrower, a Vibro-blade, and an electric current cable. With the size of the boxes, there was enough power in those to light a city block. He also had an antenna, similar to Rex's, and he also possesed a pair of red Jaig Eyes, and a black Kama with a red fringe.
"Welcome to the home of the 300th, General Skywalker, Captain Rex," Tusk said, nodding to them both in turn.
"Please follow me, the General is eager to begin."
He turned on his heel and marched down the hall, likely towards a lift. Anakin and Rex followed suit behind him, and the columns of troops all turned on their heels and followed them in turn.
Anakin suppressed a sequel every time he turned a corner, seeing completely non regulation but ingenious contraptions sticking haphazardly from control panels. TT-8L/Y7 Gatekeeper Droids secured restricted areas, with all sides under surveillance. He suppressed a smile, noting that the General seemed to be keeping a notice on Captain Rex's exploits on the Rishi Moon. He let the smile creep onto his face when he thought of both Commanders researching one another.
He almost ignited his lightsaber and started chopping when he turned a corner and saw a column of battle droids marching towards him, only stopping when Commander Tusk seized his arm in a vice-like grip. A droid broke off from the column and aproached them, and Anakin saw he was carrying a durasteel crate of yellow and green fruit. The Droid was painted a similar charcoal black as the Clones, but it looked more like it walked through a spray of the paint, and it had a large lone of the same muted colors traveling down the right shoulder to the end of the torso. Gaps in the paint revealed it to have been formerly a Commander.
[Question: Where would you like these provisions, Commander? General Storage, or in the Mess Hall?] The droid asked in a monotone voice.
"Just take them to the mess," Tusk said offhandedly, releasing Anakin and folding his hands behind his back. The droid nodded and fell back into line, emitting a series of chirps and whistles that likely alerted it's companions of their new direction.
"Apologies for grabbing you like that, sir," Tusk said in a low voice.
"We just reprogrammed them and got them working a few rotations ago, even longer to get them painted. And that's not touching on adding in software to let them do that clicking..." Tusk said, moving at a brisk pace to allot for lost time.
"How did you get them to do that? I've seen the behavior in Vulture Droids, but not in ground units. Did you duplicate the programming?" Anakin asked, rushing to stand next to the Commander.
"That's exactly what we did, we just added a few more bells and whistles, in addition to duplicating the programming," He chuckled to himself, "Clicker is gonna like you, General. He is in charge of reprogramming and re purposing these guys."
Anakin finally broke. He fell to his knees in utter bliss at seeing all of the modifications the ship had undergone. To begin, the first 'room' he entered had been completely redone. Two computer pods stood where the hollomaps would be, while the hollopod was larger and more oblong. Furthermore, the catwalk of the bridge was longer, and the gunning trenches contained double those of the regular Venator-class Star Destroyers. There was a figure looking out at the planet on the catwalk, but the door shut before he could study him further. As soon as he entered, he was greeted by the polar opposite of Commander Tusk. A second Clone Martial commander stood facing a hologram of the battle. He turned to face us as we entered.
He wore similar armor to Commander Tusk, with Phase I Clone armor painted as black as space, but instead of having deep maroon accents he had muted blues on his armor and helmet around the visor, and on the tip of his antenna. On the left side of his helmet was a Mandoloran Diamond, a more modern symbol, but none the less a symbol of combat and honor. He also wore a black Kama with a light blue fringe.
Anakin was stunned at the sight of two Clone Marshal Commanders under the command of the same General. But then again, this was an unorthodox group of clones, and the fact of it being a fleet of privateers did mean that while it was more lax on regulations, it may need to be more harsh on discipline.
"General Skywalker, an honor to have you on this bridge, the same to you, Captain," the second Marshal said with the utmost respect.
"Thank you, Commander..." Anakin offered, outstretching his hand in an invitation to shake it.
"Ah, Captain, sir. Captain Clicker." He said, shaking his hand.
He jutted a thumb over his shoulder towards the closed door currently separating the bridge and the strategy room.
"The General is waiting for you, he's out on the catwalk and is ready to command his forces."
The doors hissed open, and Anakin was gifted to a surprising sight.
No Jedi Knight stood on the bridge, but an unprecedented third Clone Marshal Commander!
He turned to face them, and they were met with an imposing sight. His armor was not the same as his brothers, wearing experimental ARC Phase II armor, but all the color the darkest black with additional shine, but with flashy gold stripes sticking out on his helmet and on his body. He was covered in just about every gadget you could name: The wrist weapons of Commander Tusk and Captain Clicker, and the additional Kama of Captains Rex and Clicker, as well as Tusk, but with a gold fringe. However he had a small visor, with an infrared scanner, as well as reinforced shoulders under a pair of bright red and orange pauldrons over each shoulder respectfully. Not to mention built in blasters on his wrists. His elbows looked harmless, but the armor separated in a vicious point, as did the knees and tips of the boots. Upon his back was a Jet Pack, and a Missile Launcher with several different missiles armed, from heat-seeking to concussion. He turned around slowly and deliberately, finally facing them with an eerie calmness.
"Ah, Skywalker. Welcome aboard the Fragment."
General Shard was a Clone?