Chapter 5
The Invasion, the Rescue and the Force
Bracca
Two men were working on slicing a panel off of a torn up Venator. One was wearing armour underneath his cloak and the other was wearing a uniform of a rigger in the Scrapper Guild. These two came to Bracca as part of an invasion to keep the Separatists out and now, they are in hiding. Those two are Cal Kestis and Sergeant Fiver. Fiver attempted to save both Jaro Tapal and Cal during Order 66 but unfortunately, only Cal and him survived. Fiver now sported a grey beard with short grey hair but had a helmet with a voice synthesizer since his voice was very well known to be a clone's voice. His phase II armour is worn out but still was a better protection than the stormtrooper's armour while his clone helmet was hidden in his backpack in case they needed to make a quick getaway. Cal was wearing a cloak over his rigger uniform but had his master's lightsaber hidden on his back.
The two hid on Bracca over the last five years. After slicing off a panel, they and a Abednedo called Prauf headed to the top of the Venator they were working on to secure the cables. On the top, the three secured the cables and were about to go until they saw an Eta-Actis Class starfighter that had crashed. Seeing the derelict starfighter, Fiver and Cal had memories flashing through their head both good and bad. Just as they were about to leave, the cables had snapped. This caused them to slide down the chopped off Venator. Cal had his leg caught in cables and had managed to catch Fiver with his hand. Prauf wasn't lucky. He tried to cling on but his hand slipped, causing Cal to use the Force to slow him down to set him on the barge beneath. The three managed to escape death but Fiver was extremely worried now.
"Sir, we need to get out of here…now!" said Fiver in a worried tone. Cal nodded and the three set off to a train.
Later on
The train stopped which woke Cal from his nightmare. In his nightmare, Cal saw his deceased master and the squad that tried to help him before his very eyes. Having woken from the nightmare, the commuters left the train and were escorted out by special troopers called Purge Troopers. These troopers wore all black Phase II armour with a unique beehive helmet with red visor. They were intimidating. As the commuters lined up, Fiver prepared his hidden DC-15A carbine that was hidden behind his back, ready to fire. Suddenly, two more figures appeared. One of them wore a cape and a helmet and the other was a big alien with two horns coming out of her chin. These were the Inquistors; Second and Ninth Sister.
"Is this all of them?" asked Second Sister.
"Yes, Second Sister" replied one of the Purge Troopers.
The Second Sister approached the line and started to speak to them. "We seek a dangerous fugitive. This is no common anarchist but a devotee of the treasonous Jedi Order. Turn yourself in or everyone present shall face summary execution."
The Purge Troopers cocked their weapons and aimed them at the line. The commuters were afraid. Prauf began to step forward to speak. Fiver and Cal tried to stop him but he kept moving forward. "I think it's time someone came forward…. I….I've been working on this heap a long time. Way before the war. We refit and rebuilt ships. Best in the galaxy. Then came the Empire. And engineers….Became scrappers. The workers….Just started getting worked. But we all know the truth…We're just…Too afraid to say it. To the Empire..we're all just expendable."
Second Sister stepped forward and said, "Yes…You are." Just as she said this, she stabbed her lightsaber into Prauf's chest, killing him.
Cal shouted, "NO!" He brandished his lighsaber and brought it down on the Inquistor but she activated another blade, revealing her lightsaber to be a double bladed one.
"Look at this…a Lightsaber." She said as she pushed his away and force pushed him into the Ninth Sister's hand. But just as the Ninth Sister was about to say something, an explosion happened that caused many to tumble and fall. Fiver was about to bring out his carbine when he fell. Looking up, he saw three Venators in the sky. They all fired blue lasers at the scrapyard, avoiding areas that had abandoned AT-TEs and LAAT/is.
Jocasta Nu, Venator Class Star Destroyer
On the bridge of the flagship, there were many clone officers working. One of the clones wore Phase II armour with a shoulder pauldron with brown colours and brown paint all over his armour and helmet. This was Commander Blade of the 224th Division. This division was composed of clones from the old 224th as well as new clones that were bred in their secret base on Mimban. They recently won their battle against the Empire's own 224th Imperial Division on the same planet after a surprise attack caught them off and forced the Empire to abandon Mimban. Now they've been ordered by the Supreme Commander of the Grand Army of the New Republic, Cody, to raid Bracca and retrieve Clone Wars era equipment.
Blade looked out the window and ordered, "Send out our Y-Wings. Make sure to leave the areas where our LAAT/c can pick up the AT-TEs and LAAT/is. We'll deploy on the ground soon."
Another clone officer nodded and went to one of the terminals. During the bombardment sent by the Venators, Fiver leapt to his feet and put his clone helmet that was in his backpack on to replace his scrapper helmet. Running towards Cal who was still in the Ninth Sister's hand, he caught him forcing the Inquistor to let go as they free fall to a speeding train. The two tumbled around, groaning from the impact of falling through the roof of the train carriage. A couple of stormtroopers heard the noise and moved to investigate but Fiver shot them down very quickly with his carbine. As the two moved up the train, shooting and slicing through stormtroopers, they saw an aerial battle between TIE fighters and ARC-170s. These Republic fighters have been extensively modified to have greater firepower and shield. Just as they were watching the battle, a S-161 Stinger XL Luxury Yacht came by the train and a woman came out on the landing ramp.
"We're here to help!" said the woman.
Fiver shouted, "Who the heck are you?"
"No time! Keep moving! We'll pick you up when we can." Said the figure before heading back inside the ship.
Cal and Fiver moved forward, shooting and slashing at every stormtrooper they encountered until a complication happened. The train suddenly stopped and churned as each carriages fell. The two survivors slid downwards until the ship they encountered earlier came back and opened the ramp. They managed to catch the ledge until Cal slipped and fell.
Fiver yelled out, "CAL!"
Fiver climbed up and got ready to help his Commander out. As the ship descended to where Cal was, Fiver saw he was fighting the Second Sister. However, before their fight could continue, a BTL-B Y-Wing fighter/bomber came by and bombed the area without knowing there were two force-sensitive fighters having a duel. Fiver stepped out of the ship and helped Cal up, dragging him to the ship. Looking behind him, Second Sister was walking towards them. He pushed Cal into the ship and turned around to fire his carbine at her. But she either deflected them or dodged them. Just as she was about to jump onto the ship, the door shut in time before she could cut Fiver down. The ship managed to take off even with the Second Sister's attempt to sabotage the controls through the use of the Force.
Cal still had his lightsaber lit and Fiver said, "Cal, it's safe now. You can turn the lightsaber off."
Cal nodded and did that. Turning to the woman, he asked, "Who are you people?" Both Fiver and Cal sat down on a couch with Fiver taking his helmet off and setting it down on the table.
"My name is Cere Junda. And this is my Captain, Greez Dritus. The woman you fought was an Imperial Inquisitor, a Force user hunting down Jedi survivors. You two are very lucky to be alive." Said Cere as she explained.
"Why did you help us? And how do you know so much?" Fiver asked still gripping his carbine. He didn't fully trust them yet so until he and Cal gets more information, they would stay at an arm distance away.
"We tracked Imperial communications. We heard that Inquisitors were heading to Bracca but also a fleet of rogue Venators were about to raid the planet at the same time so we made our move when the invasion hit." Explained Cere looking at Fiver.
"So you are after the kid!" shouted Fiver as he pointed his carbine at the two.
"That's gratitude for ya!" said Greez as he put his hands up along with Cere.
"Look, I get it. You two have been surviving on your own for so long that it's impossible to know who to trust. But this….this is something bigger than just surviving." Said Cere who also had her hands up.
"Oh yeah? And what's that exactly?" asked Fiver in an almost sarcastic tone.
Cere looked at Cal and said, "Like rebuilding the Jedi Order."
Fiver and Cal were shocked to hear that. They thought they alone survived the Purge. Fiver lowered his carbine in awe as Cal asked, "You too? Anybody else survived? The Jedi Council? Anyone?"
Cere replied, "The Jedi Council is gone but I did hear that there were survivors leading clone armies that had rebelled against the Empire during the Purge. My guess is that they are busy making trouble for the Emperor."
Cal's shoulders sagged a bit but he was a bit relieved to hear that there were other Jedi survivors. Fiver wasn't too sure how to process the information. The fact that there could be other brothers who removed their chips as well was a welcome news. In his eyes, this could be his chance for redemption.
"Why don't you two get some rest? We'll talk more later." Said Cere as she went to the cockpit.
The two tiredly went to the cabin and took the bunk beds. They fell asleep fast.
Inside Fiver's mind
Fiver stood in the hallway of the Aldebo Brave and looked around, confused. He walked towards one of the open doors only for them to shut. Fiver recoiled back in shock and looked around. As he looked behind him, to his horror, he found his brethren all with holes in their armour and helmet.
'Why didn't you save us, brother?!'
'Look at us! Why didn't you come back for us?!'
'You failed to save us and General Tapal!'
Fiver put his hands over his ears trying to drown out the noise, but the noise got louder until he couldn't take it anymore.
"NOOO!" shouted Fiver as he woke up from his nightmare. He looked around and remembered that he was on Mantis. As he calmed down, he saw a smoking hole on the wall and realised that he accidentally fired his carbine. Setting his weapon aside, he got up and walked out of the cabin to see Cal playing on an instrument. He sat down on the couch and enjoyed the music.
"That song…." Said Cere as she came around the corner. "I wrote it….Years ago…You touch an object and witness events. You feel its history."
Cal put the instrument down and said, "It's an…echo in the Force from the object."
Fiver smiled as he remembered that whenever Cal touched his armour back in the Clone Wars, he would tell him what he was doing when he was in Kamino.
"Not many Jedi have that skill." Said Cere as she sat down next to Cal.
"How would you know that?" Questioned Cal.
"I was once a Jedi but not anymore." Answered Cere.
"Do I know you?" Cal asked.
"No. But I knew your master and General. Jaro Tapal. He was a true guardian of the Republic." Stated Cere with reverence.
Fiver replied this time, "He was a hero. But wait, if you survived, what happened to your clone troopers?"
"Some of the clones were able to save me and my padawan but they gave their lives to protect us from their brainwashed brethren. I'm not ready to talk about it yet." Said Cere with sadness in her eyes.
"I understand, ma'am." Said Fiver as he leaned back on the couch. Cal pondered a bit and said, "Look. Something happened to me during the Purge…Fiver…he saved me but in the process….my connection to the Force is damaged. When I meditate…I lose control….it's like I'm back in the moment when Fiver tried to save us…"
"You survived, Cal. So did Fiver. And you two are not alone. Not anymore." Said Cere as she got up to the cockpit to help Greez out with landing the ship since they were nearing their destination.
Fiver looked at Cal and asked, "What's the plan, kid?"
Cal looked at him and replied, "For now…we'll follow Cere. If what she says is true, then we have to give it a try."
Fiver nodded. He stood up and proclaimed, "I'm with you till the end. Doesn't matter if General Tapal ordered me to do so but you and I…we are team…For General Tapal, let's restore the Jedi Order!" With that, he left to get his helmet and carbine ready.
Cal stood up with a smile, happy to have his long time friend sticking with him. He got ready for the ship to land with Fiver following him with his helmet under his left arm and his carbine in his right hand. Their adventure is about to begin.
That's that for this chapter! What did you guys think? Obviously, I won't be doing the whole game but I will do Kashyyyk, Darthomir, a bit of Borgano and Zeffo, and Fortress Inquistorious. So look forward to all that! I think this would span at least 4 chapters since the Kashyyyk one will be a bit lengthy in writing but let's see how that goes. Also I made the decision to make a few changes as you can see such as the mention of Mimban and the 224th Division. This division is known as the Mud Jumpers and they got a shoutout in the Clone Wars cartoon. We'll be seeing more of them later on in the story. Anyway, please read and review and I'll see you next chapter!
