6-W-2-601-4-14Inf-C2-3A-Delta stood awaiting the arrival of their new general on Space Platform 9. Delta Squad was a very standard clone squad, comprising eight privates, a corporal who stood as the second in command, and a sergeant commanding the infantry squad. Every member was trained to standard specifications as none had shown any aptitude for a particular specialized role or any talent in leadership beyond what was needed to convey orders to their fellow squadmates. To an outside observer, the ten troopers would appear to be a cluster of perfect soldiers, all standing quietly by as they waited for the Sheathipede-class transport shuttle designated Lapiz Cutter to land and unload the Jedi who would lead them in in the coming conflicts. On the squad's private channel, it was a different matter.
"Anyone know anything about the Jedi we'll be following?" Private CT-7756 asked.
"No," Corporal CT-5864 responded. "There was no briefing on the individual Jedi outside of the current high level leadership of their organization. And each one of them got a specially selected Legion or Battalion."
"So, no rumors at all?"
"Shut it!" Sergeant CT-3012 suddenly ordered, "They're here."
The back of the Lapiz Cutter descended and a small figure stepped down the ramp. Bipedal with two arms, from what could be seen, and wearing a robe adorned with details not found on reference images of the standard Jedi robe. Those details should mark them as a high ranking member of the Order, based on what Sergeant CT-3012 understood of general social norms.
On the other hand, The Jedi Order seemed to have less of a strict command structure compared to the Grand Army of the Republic, so it was possible the markings indicated that their position was somehow outside of the standard chain of command, similar to a pilot or some other form of warrant officer. The coloration of the Jedi's skin, combined with the light colored fur on the scalp, limited the number of possible species their new superior could be to a small number of near-human to human species. Their diminutive size led to the Sergeant categorizing his new general as most likely being a near-human species.
A good soldier follows orders, regardless of what their CO was. Taking a step forwards, the Sergeant saluted the General, quickly followed by his squad. "Welcome to Kamino, General. We will lead you to the debriefing."
"I am not a General," the Jedi stated with a tilt of their head, a serious gaze sweeping across the ten clones present.
"What have you been informed of?" the Sergeant asked. They had been briefedg that some of the Jedi might not be up to date on their new ranks in the GAR, as the situation was currently very flexible.
"Grand Master Yoda told me to come here. Other than that, I have not been informed of anything."
"Well, General, I cannot say much about the current conflict, but I can answer a few questions as we move to the meeting hall. Starting with that, the Jedi are now Generals of the Grand Army of the Republic."
"The Republic doesn't have an army."
"They do now. The Republic is now at war with a Seperatist movement."
"What sparked the conflict?"
"I don't know. Shouldn't you know?"
"I was at a party when I got called and haven't been told anything yet."
"Right, well, we haven't been told much yet either. Just that we were to meet our new General here and lead them to the meeting room."
"Let's start there. As far as you know, I am your new general."
"Correct."
"And your name is…?"
"Sergeant CT-3012, leader of Delta Squad Platoon 3A, Company-"
"I think that is enough. I am Jedi Padawan Tanya Degurechaff. It is good to meet you and your Delta Squad, Sergeant CT-3012."
"Padawan? That is like a Jedi cadet, right?"
"Yes. I am still learning. Master Labooda believes I am ready for most of the Trials, we are just waiting for medical clearance."
The conversation died away as Tanya was escorted to a meeting hall where she was greeted by a tall, gray and spindly alien. One of the native species of the planet, the Kaminoan were the primary sentient species of the planet as well as the cloners who had produced the Army. Tanya had to explain to the Kaminoan representative that, as a Padawan, she was not given purview into any decisions the High Council may have made. That, as she was still in training, she was only focused on preparing for her Trials to become a Jedi Knight.
Tanya was given a crash course in the Army and the Clones as she waited with the Kaminoan for the other Jedi to arrive. Being so much closer to Kamino than the bulk of the Order had ensured that Tanya would be the first to arrive, and had given her some time to ask questions and try to understand the situation she was about to be thrust into.
Jedi Knight Obi-wan Kenobi and his Padawan Anakin Skywalker had been captured by a rogue element that declared independence from the Republic and were set to publicly execute the two Jedi. This rapid escalation had led to Chancellor Palpatine gaining emergency powers, which he had used to institute a new Republic Army. A Grand Army of the Republic, or the GAR, as it was officially titled.
An army of cloned soldiers being led by peacekeepers with no experience running a war of any scale, let alone a galaxy-spanning civil war.
After a brief tour, Tanya was brought to a space pad to be taken to one of the warships in orbit over Kamino. More Jedi were beginning to arrive and someone had decided it would be best to shuffle the Jedi onto the ships for transport to speed up the process of launching the reinforcements.
—
A secret army commissioned by the High Council conveniently ready just in time for a war to be kicked off? Something about this stunk.
There were many aspects of the Jedi Order I disliked; their methods of recruitment and the indoctrination of children into their religion gave me a few cult vibes, the teaching and use of mind control set my nerves on edge as it represented a violation of a person's sanctity of self no matter how useful of a tool it could be, and their naivety to how the world actually works and is moved by money, not morals.
For every issue I had with the Order, none of them had shown any indications that they were planning anything like this, so violent and so massive. Master Labooda seemed to enjoy ancient history and archeology, not conflict. Master Windu was admittedly hard to read and I had not spent much time with the man, but I had a difficult time seeing him setting up something as wasteful as a war years in advance.
Indeed, nobody I knew in the Order gave me the impression of being a warmonger. Maybe they had kept that side of themselves away from padawans such as myself, but I felt like something else was happening behind the scenes. Whatever it was, though, I could not afford to focus on it right now. I needed to get my head in the game. We were about to go into combat and I did not want to die.
The ship we were going to be transported on was a Venator-Class Star Destroyer. This meant nothing to me as it was a bunch of nonsense words. The clarification that it is a Cruiser-Class of ship was far more helpful. Cruisers are heavily armed and armored multi-purpose warships that are among the largest ships of the line just behind battleships in size. The scale of these ships for galactic combat was frankly hard to wrap one's head around. The best comparison was to a town or city in terms of population between the crew and transported troops. A ship this size required internal transportation methods to quickly traverse both the verticality and the length of the ship to get to stations.
The ship was so massive that I was thankful to have Delta Squad escorting me again. The room we would be meeting in was a large room with a tactical display in the middle of the room. As the first representative of the Jedi Order on the ship, I needed to set an appropriate impression of the Order as a whole while I waited for the other Jedi to come in. Thankfully there was a very easy way to kill three birds with a single stone. I took position off to one side and set to meditating while keeping myself afloat.
Meditation allowed for my perspective of time to slip while the modest display of power and calm would give the appropriate impression of how the Jedi liked to be viewed. It also allowed me to calm my nerves and organize my thoughts for the coming fight. I prided myself on my ability to think rationally and come to reasonable solutions to problems without letting my emotions get the best of me. I was not too proud to admit I was scared, as any reasonable person would be in going into an active battlefield, but that was no excuse for letting that fear control you.
So I sat in the air, clones passing through the room and slowly being joined by other Jedi who joined me in meditating until we were all gathered together.
—
Master Jedi Tiplar, a yellow skinned Mikkian with a blue tattoo on her forehead, entered the meeting room along with her sister, Tiplee. Tiplee had shorter tendrils in her head with a matching blue tattoo on her forehead, a matching mark from a shared moment of youthful rebelliousness, and red skin. The pair noticed a small blonde with a Padawan braid mediating in mid air against a wall. An impressive feat for a learner.
"That is Labooda's Padawan?" Tiplee asked her sister.
"I believe so. Looks like she has done a good job training her Padawan."
The twins moved to a separate wall and watched the other Jedi arrive in the meeting room along with clone troopers passing by or through the room until Grandmaster Yoda arrived.
"Much to discuss, we have," Grandmaster Yoda began, taking a central position in the room. Tiplar joined the Jedi in forming a loose circle around the display in the middle of the room. To have the Grandmaster arrive with two other Council Members showed how serious this was. Tiplar was a little excited she might get a chance to see Master Yoda in action, as he had been a mentor for everyone in the Order for hundreds of years while rarely going on missions himself.
"Yes," Master Adi Gallia said. "As you all may have heard by now, the Republic is at war with a collection of planets calling themselves the Confederation of Independent Systems. They have captured two of our own and are threatening to kill them as part of their opening salvo. In addition, we have strong reasons to believe that all the leaders of this separatist movement are concentrated on Geonosis. Master Windu will lead a strike force to rescue the captured Jedi. We will help with the cleanup and ensure the capture of the separatist leadership to bring this war to a swift end."
A snort was heard and all heads turned towards one of the shorter Jedi in the room. The Padawan that had arrived first.
"Thoughts to share, you have?" Grand Master Yoda asked with a grin. "Listen to them, we will."
The Padawan bowed, her concern clear on both her face and in the Force. "My apologies, Master Yoda. It is just that I find the thought that we could end a civil war so quickly to be foolish."
"And what makes you think you know so much?" Master Pong Krell asked from his position off to the side, where the large Jedi stood with his four arms crossed.
"Military history, she reads," Master Yoda said with a grin. "Study this, she has."
Master Yoda knew the specific reading interests of a singular Padawan? Was that the reason she had been invited into the mission? Tiplar would have thought it was because Sar Labooda was here and her Padawan was with her. Looking around, Tiplar noticed Labooda was not in the room at all.
"Thank you, Master Yoda," the Padawan said before turning to Pong Krell. "As Master Yoda said, I have a bit of a hobby of reading historical documents about various military engagements. One thing that is easy to find occurring repeatedly is the hubris of generals early on in engagements predicting quick easy victories. A campaign here and be home by Life Day. A small war there, be victorious in six months. Put down a rebellion there in a week or two tops. And every time, they are proven wrong as the war ends up dragging on for years. To think we could, after a thousand years of relative peace, be able to contain and end a war in a single strike is idealistically optimistic at best."
The Padawan was confident in her assessment of historical fact and seemed assured that the pattern would continue.
"And how long would you say this war would go on for?" Master Oppo Rancisis of the High Council asked while stroking his large and wild white beard with his taloned fingers.
"People do not remember how bad war can be. They do not remember the lives that will be lost. That combined with this being a civil war with individuals who likely feel this is the only recourse they have left to address their grievances, I would say five years is optimistic. Ten to fifteen is what I would be preparing for and planning around."
Tiplar felt the wave of shock pass through the Jedi at the pronouncement from the calm Padawan giving this saddening news in such a blunt manner. Curiously, the clones did not feel shocked, but seemed to have an air of agreement wafting off of them.
Master Yoda's ears were down and he gave a soft nod as he acknowledged the point. "True your words are, I fear. Other thoughts, you have?"
"I know it is too last minute for us to get armor for the coming battle, but it might be a good idea for us to get a few practice shots with blasters now so we are not fumbling around with them on the battlefield."
Pong Krell snorted. "You want us to give up our lightsabers for some blasters? Give up tradition?"
Krell was right. The traditional weapon of the Jedi was the lightsaber. It has been used since antiquity. So long have the Jedi used the lightsabers that it was hard to say whether the Jedi picked up the lightsaber before or after the Order was founded.
The Padawan felt annoyed and took a deep breath before turning to the Grandmaster. "Master Yoda, permission to speak freely?"
Yoda's ears perked up and a smile that looked far too mischievous came to his face. "Speak freely, you may."
Tiplar knew that look. She knew that look and felt a shudder of fear go down her spine. Grandmaster Yoda was a great Jedi, no doubt about that. Wise, powerful, and a leader that was able to show the Order how to be the best they could be.
Grandmaster Yoda was also someone you had to be careful around as his methods could prove embarrassing. Tiplar could easily imagine a young Yoda having been a prankster, a little trickster that raised all kinds of trouble for the Order before his wisdom mellowed him out. Him giving that look and permission to speak freely meant someone was about to have a very bad day, and a Tiplar had a sinking feeling it was not going to be the Padawan.
Instead of addressing Krell, the Padawan turned to one of the clones that was standing in the room. "Soldier. What is the effective range of the blaster you have strapped to your back?"
Tiplar tried to figure out the relevance of the question. What did blaster range have to do with not using the lightsabers?
"Effective out to three hundred meters, sir. Optimal range is within one hundred. Capable out to even greater distances with rapid losses in effectiveness."
The Padawan turned back to Pong Krell and put on a falsely sweet voice. "And what is the range of your lightsaber? Because my range is about to the tip of my blade. Oh, about a meter, meter and a half maybe. I haven't measured lately, but it certainly seems a bit on the short side."
Tiplar still wasn't seeing the point. The Jedi have been using lightsabers in combat against blasters for millennia.
"What does that have to do with tossing our tradition away?"
The Padawan ignored Master Krell's question and turned to the clone trooper again. "How quickly can you switch targets after taking one down?"
The clone held up his hands as though miming shooting different Jedi. His aim passed over Tiplar and arrived at Tiplee where he paused briefly and mimed taking a shot before moving on. "Half a sec, I believe."
"And what about you getting into range, Master? How quickly can you run three hundred meters to get in close enough to hit something over the head with your lightsaber? For me I could probably do it in about a minute if I was focused only on running. Which if we say it takes someone with a blaster a full second to aim and shoot at an enemy, would be about sixty enemy combatants we could have shot in the time it takes to get in close enough to smack them over the head."
Pong Krell folded his arms and glared at Tanya.
The Padawan took on a pose of her hip cocked to the side and head tilted, like a curious young civilian girl, finger tapping her chin and a mocking smile on her lips. "Oh my, I seem to have ignored your question. Well, if this ship was to have engine issues, would you try to fix it with your lightsaber due to it being the traditional tool of the Jedi? Or would you get a spanner or something designed specifically to help fix the engine?"
Tiplar could see where this was going now, and it was a good point, but the Padawn didn't leave the point hanging.
She stood up and dropped the act, putting on a more serious demeanor with a frightening ease. The ability to change the way she talked and acted could prove useful in infiltration missions, even with the way she wore her emotions on her sleeve, broadcasting them out into the Force and on her face. "The lightsaber is a tool. A badge of our status as Jedi and an effective weapon in close combat. It can be used for many things, but it can't do everything. And in some situations another tool would be more effective. If we are going to be going into a warzone, I would feel a lot better with a blaster in my hands and my body behind cover rather than running recklessly towards the enemy positions in order to maybe hit something with my lightsaber. I am not asking you to give up your lightsaber, but I am suggesting we all would do well to take a blaster with us."
Tiplar reached to where her own lightsaber hung at her hip and thought about what the Padawan had to say. She had relied on it so often in so many situations, but had she become too reliant on it? Of course a Padawan would be the one to not be as closely tied to how many uses the lightsaber has and see the value in other objects with similar purposes.
"Hmm, point made," Master Yoda said.
"Yes. A point very well made," Master Rancisis agreed. "I believe it would be best if we all had the appropriate tools." He looked to one of the clones. "Would you kindly arrange for some blasters to be set aside for us Jedi?"
"Sir!" The clone saluted and left the room, followed by two other clones.
"I don't like this," Master Pong Krell said, grumpy over the Padawan's voice being taken so seriously.
"Liking something is not important," Tiplar said, feeling the comforting presence of her sister next to her. "The Padawan is correct that having blasters on us would be beneficial. The right tool for the job."
The Jedi in the room were not happy with the idea of having to use such uncivilized and cruel weapons, but a majority of them were accepting of it.
"Tell me, Padawan Degurechaff, are there any other insightful observations you would like to share?" Master Rancisis asked, adjusting himself on his snake-like tail to better look at the Padawan.
Padawan Degurechaff looked uncertain as she looked around the room before pausing as she looked at one of the clones. "Perhaps we should ask the clones if they have anything they wish to share? Any thoughts or observations they may have."
"What could a clone tell us?" Pong Krell asked, being very dismissive of the idea.
"They have been trained for this. They have been taught specifically how to fight and strategize for the coming battle. I can give you some historical examples, but I do not know where to begin in figuring out what is important for a battle. They would."
Krell huffed, but did not deny Padawan Degurechaff's assertions.
"A good observation," Master Rancisis observed before motioning to all the clones. "Please, if any of you clones have anything to say, please step forwards."
One of the clones with a large shoulder and yellow markings on his armor stepped forwards. "Sir!" After being acknowledged, the clone activated the tactical display. "I believe it would be good to go over the planet we will be fighting on and the likely areas the fighting will be taking place."
The meeting continued with what was known about Geonosis being gone over thoroughly. The clone would explain aspects of the planet and questions would be asked. Tiplar felt she learned a lot about how to plan a battle during the meeting and left knowing that there was a lot to learn from these clones she was about to lead.
—
The rifle I was handed felt very large in my hands. Despite my interest in military history in both this and my last life, I never held a real gun in my hands. I had done a bit of airsoft for fun, but from what the guys from the JSDF said, real guns were significantly heavier than what I was used to using. I couldn't say how the blaster rifle I held compared to the firearms in my last life, but it was significantly heavier than the airsoft guns.
With some Jedi help, the clones set up both a firing range and a small obstacle course for us to practice with blasters in one of the hangers. There were four triggers, switches, or knobs on the blaster as standard. An on/off switch, a safety switch that kept the trigger from being able to be pulled, the trigger that actually fired the shots, and a regulator that adjusted the power of the shots. Testing the rifle, I found the kick of the plasma bolts screaming out of the blaster to be very manageable, hardly any worse than I remember the airsoft guns being. Going through the obstacle course, I found the Force gave useful nudges for my aim, instinctively adjusting my shots to better hit the targets setup around the course.
Indeed the worst shots among the Jedi were just off the bullseyes of the targets while the clones had shots on target, but more spread across the surface of the targets. The difference was incredibly clear between having the ability to access the Force and not.
"Arriving in the Geonosian System in ten minutes," a voice said over the intercom system. A flurry of movement began as the obstacle course was broken down, the crates moved back into place and strapped down quickly with the help of the Force before everyone moved into position.
"General Degurechaff! Over here." I heard a clone calling me. Hurrying I got into the transport ship with my blaster over my shoulder. The side doors closed and I was left alone in a dimly lit ship with the blank faces of the troopers.
"Alright men, I hope you are ready," I said as I felt the ship come out of hyperspace. "Because things are about to get very bumpy."