GAR Protocol #1912
CLOUD PROTOCOL
Any clone that is the last of it's company is eligible for immediate reclamation by any company on scene. All clone assets are to be examined by a medic and declared fit for duty before being assigned into the field.
Further notes: Brothers Stick Together
Transcribed from Clone CC-4442-03's personal Datapad for the Jedi Archives


A dozen blaster bolts thundered through the narrow alley, making Jay flinch. He stayed as still as possible, hidden under a thin layer of concrete that fell. If he didn't move, the clankers would move on, and he could sneak by them. He waited as the footsteps of the metal droids echoed around him, and he focused on what he was taught; his experiences. He was designated clone number 4442-03, but had been called Jay ever since he scratched his armor by accident falling down a cliff after a bird scared him. He was always jumpy, but most times his brothers just teased him over it. He hated it when his paranoia was verified. As he waited for his hiding spot to be found, he thought of how he got here.

The day started as normal, his troop was to go through the city and make sure there weren't any Clanking rust buckets holding up the good citizens here. Basic stuff that most newbie troops were instructed to do. The planet hadn't been targeted by the Separatists yet, but he didn't question orders and neither did his brothers.

He should have questioned why a planet that housed only seven massive cities was just so important.

His troop made it down three blocks of Culla, the capital and largest city on the planet when their radio feeds blacked out, and the Separatists appeared. The clone troopers watched in horror as their ships, their brothers and commanders were ambushed in the atmosphere by three Providence class Destroyers, and countless droids. They had to watch as their ship and home was blasted from the sky, and fell.

His commander, a clone who went by Staff due to his preferred close quarters weapon, ordered them to the wreckage. They didn't make it fast enough to save anyone, but they did make great targets for the Clankers that came down to investigate.

It was a blur of combat back to the city, his troop picked off one by one even as his commander activated three detonator charges on his armor and threw himself into the Clankers. That was the only respite they got, even if it was only a few hours.

The footsteps had finally drifted away from him, their mechanized voices stating that there was no one here, and their bio-scanners had to be malfunctioning. Jay shut his eyes under his helmet and cursed himself for forgetting the bio-scanners. They were clankers. Of course they had those. It was a miracle they were stupid…

He crawled from under the rubble and swiftly moved to higher ground. If he could get to at least the balconies, he would be safer from the ground troops. It was brutal to climb up the sides of the buildings, but luckily he always carried two razor sharp knives on him and the buildings weren't made of durasteel but a poly-plastic. At least the first several stories anyway, he thought as he looked above him at the transition between the plastic and the hardier materials needed for the truly massive skyscrapers that made the skyline of the city. He crawled along the balconies, peeking occasionally over the railings. Every time he did, he swore.

There had to be thousands of Clankers, and at least a hundred Rollies. They marched in formation, sounding similar to drum-beats. Behind each section of the march, a tank was positioned. Looking ahead of them, Jay quickly figured out their target.

The capital building itself.

He fumbled for his radio, switching through the various channels swiftly, looking for anything other than static. Finally, he found a station that wasn't static, but was eerily silent. Looking that the readout, he saw that it was a designated channel for a Republic Op, but nothing else. He took a breath to speak, when he noticed the silence.

He chanced a look over the railing of the balcony he was on, and realized that the clankers had stopped, and they were pointing their weapons at a single figure.

The figure wore a hooded poncho, with his arms free. His torso was covered by a gray armor with a single plastoid plate that covered from his sternum up. The back was clearly more armored, yet seemed to be scaled plates instead of a solid single one. His hands were covered by gloves, that left his pinky and third fingers bare. His legs were covered in gray trousers, with plastoid plates covering his shins and knees. His belt was odd, with a metal band with some sort of symbol carved into it, and on each hip a tube sat, with a curved shape, that Jay realized swiftly was a lightsaber.

He knew as soon as the lightsaber was revealed, that he was looking at a Jedi. He didn't know this Jedi by sight, but he knew that any jedi facing down an army of clankers wasn't going to end well. He was about to yell at the jedi to run, and he would buy them some time, when he heard the sound of several ships cutting through the air.

He looked up and for the third time since arriving on the planet, his breath was taken away.

Several LAATs swooped into the city, flying gracefully between buildings, their colors, two black clouds that covered their drop panels, flying proud. His brothers had said before that some companies and legions customized their gear. It was a teasing thing that he still sported his pristine white armor. He knew that several were already famous, or infamous depending on the people you asked. Every Trooper wanted to join a specific company or even legion, simply because that was where the action was.

There were few legions that were as action oriented as the 439th , specifically their Impact Company. He had only heard their names in whispers from his brothers. Whenever you heard the coms go off with the message, you were to take cover. Take cover and watch the show.

Because the Black Storm comes.

There wasn't any warning from the Jedi; no asking for surrender, no ordering the droids to retreat. Jay blinked and missed it. He hadn't seen Jedi fight before; all clones were educated in general attack patterns of the Jedi so that they could fight effectively together. But it was nothing compared to the real thing. The Jedi blurred forward, faster than even a blaster bolt covering the distance and tore into the lines.

The LAATs didn't hesitate either, unleashing hellfire as they lowered their altitude to allow the drop panels to open, and the clones to swarm out, adding to the fire. Within moments, Jay watched as the entire Impact Company was living up to its name.

He wasn't sure which ones set them up, but explosives swiftly started to thin the ranks of the Clankers; their tactical impact clear as the main targets were the tanks. Jay pulled his courage together and rose from the balcony, taking aim with his backup weapon. The small handcannon wasn't as accurate as his rifle, but it certainly could put down a few droids, especially from up top. He squeezed the trigger repeatedly, aiming for the operator of the tank that was closest to the jedi. The same jedi who was still tearing through the ranks of droids like they were paper, blaster bolts slamming back into their own ranks, and droids screaming in shock. Jay squeezed the trigger once more, the bolt slamming into the tank driver, just as the Jedi reached the tank.

With a leap, the jedi was on the cannon barrel, a flash of purple lightsaber, and then the tank was without its weapon. Jay categorized what happened mentally as Jedi-shit, even as the barrel was flung through the air and into the remaining clankers.

The Jedi then yelled at his men,"Set the charges! And someone get that trooper off the balcony!" Jay fumbled down the grapple line that was swiftly thrown onto the balcony, even as he fired haphazardly into the clankers. He was ushered further from the line, his escorts firing and pressing a spare rifle into his hands. He retreated, firing as he could with a clear shot. Soon he was behind a barricade, peaking over as he fired into clankers. He took a moment between shots to look at the skyscrapers, seeing several clones on the sides, firing down into the clankers, and placing what he assumed were the charges that the Jedi was speaking of.

The Jedi looked around as he absently deflected more blaster bolts from atop his placement on the tank. A sharp whistle came from the Jedi, and it seemed to be a signal, as every single clone started to move backwards, still raining down fire. As soon as the final clone had cleared the buildings that Jay saw were rigged, the Jedi seemed to flicker, and disappeared. Jay looked around, and one of his escorts grunted.

"Commander is right there Shiny." A gloved hand pointed to a rubble pile, showing the Jedi on top of it, with his hands pointing to the two buildings.

"Blow em!" At his command the explosives erupted, shearing the buildings. Yet they did not fall inward. Jay watched in awe as the two skyscrapers were directed, forced to fall on the clankers at the gesture of the jedi's hands.

As the dust settled, the Jedi walked towards him. Jay stood at attention as the Jedi flicked his hood back. Azure blue eyes and hair that looked like woven sunlight on a lean and extremely youthful face. Jay realized that they were following someone under the age of twenty. Someone who just casually just dropped two buildings on an army of clankers.

"CT-4442-03, reporting in Sir!" the Jedi looked at him with his bright eyes and Jay shivered. It felt as if he was being x-rayed by a mere look.

"What do you prefer to be called?" His voice was fluid, like water, yet solid enough to demand his respect.

"Jay. Sir."

"You are the last of your troop, and likely your company." The tone was sad, and Jay's knees buckled. The jedi held him up as his world spun. "Its okay Jay… you're with us now."

Jay learned the Jedi's name was Naruto Uzumaki. Jedi Knight and Commander of the Impact Company of the 439th Legion. He was selected specifically for the job according to all the troopers he talked to about him.

He was spoken of as if he was one of them. He was always respected, always acknowledged as he passed. It was never a formal attention, but always an acknowledgement. When he was eating with one of the clones that saved him, named Lash, the commander walked by their circle and all Lash did was wave. He asked why after the commander had moved on.

"I forgot you're Shiny. Commander Naruto doesn't care about formal salutes. You'll see." He spoke briefly before biting back into his rations, a signal he was done explaining. Jay followed suit, eating his fill swiftly before starting to clean his weapons.

He didn't see any more combat, as all the clankers attacked the capital. The commander scuffed and said of course. It was only a typical assault pattern by the Separatists; to eliminate all Republic forces and forcefully convert the capital. It had worked on several planets already. It wasn't until he was on the company's ventator that he met the Captain of the Impact Company.

Taps wasn't a normal trooper Captain. On his left thigh, a holster of a pistol was found, his right held a knife. Slung on his back were two rifles, one a long range, high impact rifle with modular capabilities and the other a hand cannon with a longer barrel mod. His armor was marked with three black clouds, and his helmet was on the console beside him as he swiped through a data pad. When Jay was deposited in front of the him, Taps merely glanced at him.

"Newbie. Reports say you are the only survivor of your company. How many of the scrappies did you take out?" Taps continued to read the reports from the data pad even as Jay tried to understand what the captain was asking.

"Scrappies sir?" Jay finally asked.

"Scrappies, clankers, boltheads, tinmen, pick a name newbie. How many did you take down? And was it one for each of your fallen brothers?" Taps looked up, and Jay could only see in his mind's eye every single time one of his brothers fell, and how he would take down one or two, only for three to take their place. Taps smiled, a vicious grotesque thing.

"Yeah, I know that look newbie. Scrappies took my troop too. Geonosis, first three minutes. We repelled down, and shit got hot real quick. One brother thought blowing an arm off was enough to stop 'em. He learned the most important lesson." Taps looked around the room, full of various clones he commanded. With a roar he asked,"RULE ONE?!"

"WE ALWAYS DOUBLE TAP SIR!" The room responded, and Jay nodded, understanding intimately what the Captain was instructing. If the threat wasn't eliminated, then the threat existed. And no threat could exist towards his brothers.

Taps looked at him as the room replied to his rule, gauging him, sizing him up, and then making a decision. "Crew, it seems this Newbie understands rule one. Lash, Torque, take him to med bay. Once he is clear, tuck him into bed. Come tomorrow, we will find out if we got another cloud in our storm boys."


Naruto crossed his arms as he assessed the Company's next move. He was standing over the Pit as his men called it; it was the command center and essentially the cockpit of the ship. Under his position, over a dozen worked to ensure the ship was well maintained and on track. He was gazing through the gigantic floor to ceiling screens that showed space in all its glory. His thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of the captain of his company, Taps. The clone walked up beside him and joined him looking out into the vastness of space. The two were silent for a moment, before Naruto spoke softly so as to not bother the work below him.

"How is our newest cloud?"

Taps looked at his commander with a raised eyebrow. Naruto ignored it, knowing that Taps would want to vet him for himself before confirming his placement in the company.

"Unvetted, but otherwise as fine as we can suspect. Newbie lost his troop; the brothers he grew up with. It ain't easy to move on from that."

Naruto nodded, his mind flashing momentarily showing Jiraiya's head as it flew. "Loss is not easy no. But we are more than our failures Taps. You know that just as well as I."

"True boss. Any failure that you can walk away from is a learning experience…. But not all learning experiences can be survived." Taps watched as one of his command entered the command center, a datapad in hand. He was silent as the clone limped to Naruto, presented the datapad and limped away.

Once they were alone again, Taps continued. "I don't think we can keep this up boss. We don't have a high casualty rate, but we are exhausted. It's the twentieth mission in the last month. The crew are running on fumes." Naruto nodded, having observed similarly.

"I can't request any time. The Council, they can't swing it through the Senate. Speaking of casualties. How many?" Naruto braced himself.

"None this time. We have a few minor injuries; grazes, shrapnel damage on some armor, and maybe one shoulder separation. We got the Doc lookin' at that one, but I'd guess he'd be fine in a few days." Taps crossed his arms. "It's not the physical that worries me boss. Some of 'em…" he trailed off, his words going unsaid. Naruto knew exactly what he meant as he and Taps were in agreement.

Eventually, even hardened soldiers become numb to what they were doing. It had only been six months since Geonosis, but in that time over two hundred different conflicts had occurred between the Separatists and the Republic across the galaxy. Of them, Naruto and his company had responded to forty three. They needed time to rest. A period of longer than three days between fights or they would start losing more than just the few that they had until this point.

"Start every shift training. Every crew's shift is modified by an hour for the training and it is mandatory. You run the evening training; focus on cardio. Most of our casualties are from lack of movement. I'll do morning, and take them through the whole of the ship with some highspeed cardio. It should ease some of our stiffness as well. Midday will be heavy. We don't have the supplies for a complete bulk-up."

Taps scowled, nodding along as he made notes on a spare datapad that he pulled from his pouch. "We should modify sleep rotation then as well. If we don't have a ton of nutrition packs, we need more sleep to compensate." Naruto nodded, looking at the purposal on the datapad.

"Agreed, we will add three hours to fourth shift for more sleep then. We will mitigate with the first three shifts being five hours instead of six. That gives us some wiggle for sack time. Standard shift ops, On-call the shift before, On-Deck shift of, Sack time Shift off. Fourth is Skelly and Maintenance." Taps nods making more notes. Once he was finished writing, he puts up the data pad.

"We need to do a supply run as well. Doc sent a report about how much medsupplies we need, I have a report about how much we need more charges, and the mess has a report about nutrition packs. We need a restock boss." Naruto scowled and then sighed.

"I agree. I'll talk to Plo Koon, see what the Legion has. If necessary I'll stall us for a few days for a supply vessel." Both looked towards the Captain of the ship, a natural born officer who was barking orders to one of the clones that was learning how to navigate the ship. Taps scuffed.

"Better you handle that than me boss. If I hear another grumble about how working the bridge is a hassle, I may ask for some captain on captain training." Naruto chuckled weakly.

"Now now… no need for that. Just get our troopers up to scuff. I don't want them just going through the motions anymore. I'll have Plo do a council intervention. I think I maybe able to get us a week or two of rest if I use the restock as an excuse."

Taps gave a small salute and swiftly went to update the schedules. It would take effect as of tonight, and if the crews weren't informed someone was going to throw a fit.

Naruto strolled from the bridge to a meeting room off the side, quickly activating the holocom that was installed in the table. Dialing up the connection he waited until his former Jedi Master appeared.

"Yes Naruto?" Plo Koon asked as he held a small communicator in his hand. Behind him, Naruto could see several clones going through some wreckage of droids.

"We saved the capital, but the clone garrison and ship were completely wiped out. We found one survivor and I'm adding him to the company. Should be a fine addition." Plo Koon nodded and waited for his former padawan to continue. He wouldn't have called him just for a mission update.

"I'll be blunt sensei. My troops need rest and supplies. What do you got for me?" Naruto got straight to the point. Plo sighed, and looked over his shoulder at his men. They were likely in better shape then Naruto's company mainly due to the lack of skirmishes they had engaged in. Naruto was simply in a hotter area of the system than he, even if the battles were of a smaller scale. His legion of troopers had only engaged in four battles in the last month, and were largely operating at full strength. Naruto's had the most battles of any company in the last month with a staggering twenty, with a near perfect success rate. They had earned some rest.

"I will speak with the council. Will fifteen days suffice?"

"Give me two weeks sensei. I need it for restock as well." Naruto bartered. Plo Koon looked back over his shoulder as a Clone waved to him.

"Fine, I will get you your two weeks rest. I don't have much to spare supply wise. Call in a resupply drop and get you some more troopers. Train them up. I will ensure that you aren't bothered unless a major event occurs. Goodbye Naruto." Plo quickly cut the connection to talk to his clones and Naruto smiled.

Three days later, Naruto was over looking the transfer of supplies onto his ship, along with the transfer of twenty new clones. Beside him, his second newest clone Jay stood aside Taps as he directed traffic. Jay was fighting a smile as Taps yelled at one of the droids to 'turn the container around so it can be dropped safely, you half-baked processor!' As the final clone exited the ship, Naruto gestured towards Jay.

"You are on babysitting duty. Teach them the shifts, and make sure they train. They are your squad, and you will be leader 4 Jay." Jay froze slightly. When he was asked to join the Captain and Commander while he was in the mess, the rest of the boys did the stereotypical oooh you're in trouble. Never in his wildest dreams would he think he was being made into a squad lead. They weren't special; squad leads were often switched around variously to ensure that all clones had leadership experience, but he was still a 'shiny'. He stood at attention and saluted the Commander.

"I won't let you down sir!"

Taps twisted and looked back at Jay, his face in a stern expression. "I know you ain't waiting for further orders Newbie. Go teach the damn newbies!" Jay quickly obeyed, striding infront of the crew of twenty new clones. Jay cleared his throat as the clones conversed amongst themselves and ignored him.

"ATTENTION!" He bellowed, instantly silencing each and every clone in the room. "Since you lot think that this is a vacation, you can double time with me. I am your squad lead, my name is Jay. Now, form up and go." Without looking back he turned and started to run towards the corridor that led to the mess. Looking over his shoulder at the still forming up clones he called, "If I reach mess and count to ten, anyone not in the room is doing press-up till Im done eating!"

In moments, the clones had cleared the room and Naruto looked at Taps. Taps smiled and wiped a fake tear from his eye. "They grow up so fast boss." Naruto just laughed.


Taps grimaced as he looked over the recording of the latest session with the new squad four. "They are so shiny its blinding." He muttered as one took a stun shot to the chest not bothering with moving at all for the last twenty seconds of combat. Jay, the squad lead, was moving cover to cover as Taps had taught. He wasn't firing, but he wasn't getting hit either. He sighed as he paused the playback and made a decision.

The captain strode towards Squad 4's quarters, easily entering the room full of resting and sleeping clones. The only one awake was Jay and one Taps remembered as Mass, due to him being bulkier than the average clone. Taps snapped on the light and yelled "NEWBIES!"

Every single clone in the room snapped to as much attention as possible. Jay looked at him with wide eyes, and Mass froze in his flexing in the mirror. Taps documented that moment for later purposes, and barked, "Five minutes. Training hall." Turning on his heel he made his way to the training hall, mentally counting down the time.

It was six minutes and four seconds when the first clone, one named Zig entered the room panting with his armor on crookedly. By ten minutes, every single clone in the squad was ready, with Jay in front.

"That was pathetic." Taps said as he pulled his spare pistol from its holster on his leg. Each clone tensed and several even raised their weapons half an inch. "I was watching your training earlier, and all of you are so shiny it hurts to look at ya. Luckily, Boss got us some time to fix that. So that's what we will be doing." Raising the pistol, Taps blasted Jay in the chest with a stun shot, and rolled to the left, effortlessly dodging the return fire. Firing twice more, he took out another two clones before surging forward and engaging in a swift melee.

Elbow, knee, fire, headbutt to the junk, sweep the legs, fire fire fire, roll back, grab rifle and let it take care of a few, throat chop and then fire. Taps tore through the newbies with his pistol as if he was a scythe through wheat. When he finally stood up from his crouch fully, every single newbie was on the floor either groaning or unconscious. He slapped the few that were shot with a stunner into consciousness.

"Get your asses up. We go again." He clapped his hands together. "This time, act like a fuckin' squad, before I put your asses down." As they formed up, Taps opened fire again. This time, several clones moved out of the way and returned fire. Taps rolled backwards, behind cover. Fire continued to hammer the area, and Taps knew that the squad was prepping to surround him.

"Good shit! Suppression is the name of the game Newbies! It doesn't matter how many you got, if you want push forward, Suppression is the way!" He called as he pulled his handcannon off his back and took aim to the left side. As soon as a trooper's leg was visible he blasted, easily throwing back three clones and darting through the opening.

The training lasted several hours, with the squad rapidly improving to the point that finally they hit Taps. When they woke him up, with slaps to the helmet, they were quickly yelled at.

"Who shot me!?" Mass raised a hand, only to quickly put it down when Taps slapped his helmet. "Always put double tap newbie. But good shit."


It was the final day of the rest period and Naruto had announced that all company members had the day off, if they all were present at eleven hundred in the main training hall. As he suspected, every single member was present, several sitting long the walls, with some doing light workouts as Naruto strode into the room. He stood in the middle and clapped his hands twice, getting the attention of the company.

"Impact Company. Today we are gonna do some personal spars. You can pick any opponent." Naruto smiled as every trooper looked towards each other. Squad one, full of only eight ARC troopers looked at each other and then smiled menacingly at Naruto who smirked in response.

"Who wants the first fight?!"

Three of squad one jumped up and strode forward, the company growing silent at the sight. Cash, one of the best marksmen in the company, Zen the calmest trooper and Ham, the one with the worst jokes in the company. Each walked into the circle and made it clear that they wanted a piece of the Commander.

"Really boys? Three on one?" Naruto quipped as he lowered himself into a fighting stance. The three clones did the same, with one reaching behind him to pull a blaster,king aim and rapidly letting loose a shot. Naruto rolled under the shot, slamming a knee into the chin of Cash, instantly knocking him out. Grabbing Zen's shoulder as he threw a punch, he twisted his weight, throwing Zen into Ham and landing lightly on his feet. "It totally wasn't fair for ya."

"Well boss, maybe you'd like to go another round." Taps said as he pulled his knife from its sheath. A long trench knife with attached knuckle duster that was made from some form of metal that was able to repel blaster bolts. Naruto ducked the first swipe, pulling one of his lightsabers, lighting it and making a swift swipe. Naruto's eyes widened as the knife knocked the saber aside, and he paid for his surprise when the knuckle duster slammed into his hip, forcing him back.

The company cheered as their captain got a hit off on the Jedi who smirked and rushed forward. Taps fired three stun shots from the hip with his pistol before twisting around to avoid the deflected shots. He brought his knife up, forcing the lightsaber blade to one side and shifted his weight to jab when he felt a fist slam into his armored torso, followed swiftly by an elbow to his helmet that cracked the glass. A sweep of his legs and he was on his back, a purple blade at his throat.

"Damn boss…. Coulda been gentle with me." Taps groaned as the lightsaber flicked off. Naruto grinned and helped his captain up.

"Gentle? We both know you like it rough Taps." The company laughed and clapped for their captain. The company continued to spar against each other, and Naruto stepped back smiling. He knew come this time tomorrow, each of them would be back to combat, and this light hearted atmosphere would carry them forward. He didn't know how right that was until he received a message from the Jedi Council the next morning.

"Knight Uzumaki. We assume that the rest period has been successful?" Masters Mundi and Saesee Tiin were the only council members present physically in the chambers, with every other member attending holographically. Naruto stood alone in the briefing room, and nodded in response to the question.

"Yes, Impact Company should be operating at peak efficiency. What would the council like for us to do?"

Saesee spoke, his voice a deep baritone that commanded respect. "Intelligence has been gathered that state there is a new dark sider aiding the Separatists. We are sending the complete file, but the summary is that it is a woman, who has some form of Jedi Training. Tactically reckless, yet effective, she has blockaded the western sector. Blocking any of our Republic supplies from reaching the entire west wing of the conflict." Naruto nodded, glancing at the updated map dictating the war effort. There were two main fronts. The western front dealing with ensuring the safety of supplies and resources for the war effort, and the outer and midrim war that was being done over dozens of planets and peoples to fuel the two armies. Naruto was currently engaged in that midrim war, with the capture of several planets being countered by his company.

"I see. You want us to do what exactly? My company specializes in elimination of an opposition, but if you want us to force this lady out of a the sector in a space battle, we don't have the experience." Naruto shrugged, calculating that of the 300 in Impact company at most ten would be able to form a solid space combat squad. They weren't meant for space combat. That was Plo's job.

"No knight, your role will be that of ground based assault. The current plan is to utilize Master Plo Koon's legion to force the blockade to disperse. Numerically and militarily, the Legion should be capable of that. However, they do have a secondary method of blockade beyond a physical one." Ki-Adi-Mundi spoke as he pulled up a diagram showing two planets in orbit around a third smaller one. "This is Tritris. A tri-system of planets with extremely intense magnetic fields. On the middle planet, Trit, there is a magnetic field dampener, installed by the Order and the Republic millenia ago. It is the only thing that is keeping the magnet field from pulsing through out the entire sector. Should such event occur, travel through the sector would become essentially impossible."

Naruto clicked his tongue against his teeth. That isn't incorrect. A strong enough magnetic pulse would act similarly to an EMP going off. If it wasn't strong enough initially, a repeated burst would be more than enough to turn any ship that travelled through the sector, even at hyperspace, into floating scrap. Of course, you could shield against it, but it would take time. Time that war never offered.

"That. That my people can stop."

"We are counting on it Knight Uzumaki."

Later on, after accepting the mission,Taps and Naruto were looking at a map of Trit, with the highlighted location a blinking beacon.

"I don't like it boss. Only taking a small crew is risky." Taps folded his arms after hearing his commander's plan.

"I agree, its risky. But we have to do it. We are only getting a single small ship through, even with the massive distraction of Sensei attacking. You will be with me, as will a select crew. Keep most of squad one on ship; they are the best pilots. We will leave Doc in charge-" Taps muttered about how the Captain of the ship wouldn't be happy about it, making Naruto scowl before continuing. "and be in and out in under thirty hours."

Taps sighed, and tried a different approach. "How do we know that they will even go for this objective? I mean, it would be easier just to retreat from the sector and save resources. Especially since the blockade has already been successful for the last two weeks." Naruto listened as he stared at the blinking dot that represented the magnetic dampening station. His mind however was going over the file he had read about his enemy and the aspects of her personality that he knew.

"She won't quit. She never has."


Quinlan Vos paced on the encrypted Holofeed that he shared with his master. He grit his teeth as he ran the order that his master just stated through is mind once more. "You want me to do nothing?"

Tholme was a man with a scar over his left eye, a cybernetic implant visible within the socket. His right leg was cybernetic as well, thought you would never know given the pants that the jedi preferred. His hair was black as pitch, and a mind that put most of the Order to shame. Quinlan knew that if his master was ordering something such as this, he had a reason, he just couldn't see it.

Tholme sighed, exasperated at his former padawan. When it came to the Work, Vos was largely unmatched. But even he had issues seeing the bigger picture. "She isn't an asset any longer. She cannot be dealt with accordingly. Dooku knows of our existence, and already operates to counter us. We cannot jeopardize other operations and security to deal with this."

Vos nodded, as his face smoothed. His mind went through the various scenarios that he was aware of were occurring by their various influences. Largely attempting to keep the conflict between the Jedi, Galactic Republic Army, the Separatists and the Sith was their main objective. If the enemy brought in a group even as small as three remaining Mist-Weavers, the entire aspect of the war would shift. Of course few Force Groupings were as dangerous and versatile as the Mist-Weavers, but the concept was still applicable. He still didn't see why he alone couldn't go, as his former student would be easily handled by himself. His master of course knew what he was thinking; twenty years working together meant that his master knew exactly what was going through his mind even when on a hololink.

"Don't be an idiot. I have another mission for you and your company. It seems that someone thought that placing a bounty on four of the Senators would be a great idea. While the threat has been neutralized, I need you to find out who placed the bounty. We know it wasn't the Separatists, as their money never went to funding the operation or placement." Tholme's eye narrowed, his mind racing with possibilities. The forerunners of course would be the Sith, but the likelihood that they wouldn't funnel the effort through the Separatists was low. Unless there was another play involved… at which point the Head of the Shadows knew that it was massively important to investigate. Knight Uzumaki would be more than capable of foiling the former asset's scheme.

Tholme only selected the best as possible Shadows after all.


She looked at the map that the sensors were constantly updating. If this information was correct, and it likely was considering the sensors had been checked twice for tampering, then they were about to be engaged by an entire legion of the Republic. She frowned as she did a mental calculation.

At best, depending on the legion, she could hold the blockade for a further three days. If she knew the Jedi however, they would send a capable legion. Meaning she would be forced to break the physical blockade in under twenty hours. She flicked her eyes to the tri-system of Tritis. The center planet did contain a massive Magnetic dampening station, and should it be destroyed, she would ensure that this path through the sector would be unusable for at least several months. Her personal ship and the command ship of her deployment were all shielded, knowing that she was in the sector, but the Republic? They wouldn't have bothered. The only other two sectors with fields that would require it had dampening stations mitigating the issue or were not Republic space at all.

She frowned as she looked at the various files for possible legion interruptions. Of them, the 501st would be a hassle, yet manageable. She was certain that she could hold off Skywalker and possibly his master as well if necessary for her droids to do what was necessary to blow the station. Another possible legion was the 439th and that would be the worst case. Other possible legions included the 200th led by a Master Dung and the 808th which was the best case scenario. While the 200th would not be ideal, with Master Dung having trained to masterhood Pong Krell, a fellow besalisk jedi with a brutal reputation, the 808th was led by a relatively new knight and her padawan jointly. She hummed as her mind raced with different tactics for each encounter.

After several moments of thought, she discarded the files on all legions except for the 200th and the 439th legions. Both of those had capable space combat units according to data, and a truly skilled jedi combatant. If the Jedi knew of her backup plan, they would assign the strongest jedi available to stop it.

She took the two files on her datapad and walked to the bridge of the ship while ignoring the droids that stood at attention as she passed. Finally, she reached the bridge, and walked up to the tactical droid that was in charge of general strategy and conflict. The droid looked at her, its yellow observational plates taking in her appearance. She handed it the datapad, and watched as it quickly interfaced with the device.

"We will likely be attacked by one of these two legions. Either way, the role of the blockade is to survive as long as possible, regardless of casualties. I will be taking my ship and a detachment of droids to the tri-system as soon as they arrive from hyperspace." She spoke swiftly, knowing that they only had hours to prepare, and she still needed to sleep before the conflict.

"Farther intelligence compartmentalized. Assets shall be allotted accordingly. Does flagship survival play a factor for mission success?" The droid asked as it handed back the datapad once its download of the file data was complete.

She gave a half smile to the droid, "Of course not. As I said, my ship will be with me. Your role is to occupy the enemy as thoroughly as possible. Do you understand droid?"

"Affirmative. Mission parameters acknowledged. Should the forced retreat of the legion be possible is it a optional objective?" The droid questioned, only for her to shake her head.

"I wouldn't bet on that outcome being possible. The legion would outnumber us two to one in the space. We have only held the blockade as long as we have due to the Republic not throwing a whole legion at us yet." The droid acknowledged her orders, and she swept from the room to her quarters. Looking at her single pack, already prepared, she settled onto the mattress and shut her eyes.

If she was lucky, she would get a few hours of sleep before the nightmares started.


Yoda sat on midair as he meditated. His mind was calm, and his connection to the Force was solid and surging through is body. Often, he meditated to clear his mind or to gain a measure of peace. Living for close to a thousand years forced him to take measures most would never think of in order to cope with the memories of existing. There was much in the galaxy that he had not seen before, but there was much less than the average lifeform.

However, today he meditated on a question. A question he posed to the Force as he sat. Previously when he had done so, it was to ask if cloned life was life. A question that went unanswered for decades until recently when the Force decided to allow him to connect to these wonderful clones. While they were clones of an individual whose choices he disagreed with, they were not their original. They cared for life, and the Republic regardless of what some of the Senate thought. He had seen it when a trooper cried over the corpse of a young Togruta he wasn't fast enough to save. Seen it as survivors of a conflict honored their brothers. Seen it when one asked him to wear armor so that he was protected. The Force made him wait for his answer, but it always delivered.

Yet again, he posed a question to the force. Inwardly, he hoped for a swifter response from the force, but he offered that hope upwards into the connection anyway. Unrequited hope festered into resentment, a path to the dark side. Yet even he held a tether of hope for the question to be answered.

How else was he to stop more war from destroying the peace that he sought throughout nearly a millennium if he did not know the cause? Was his apprentice correct and the system they served corrupt beyond saving? Was it just the Sith that were the cause, allowing their darkness to fester through the galaxy as a virus? Was it inevitable that there be conflict in the galaxy? All these could be solutions, but Yoda did not possess the knowledge to decide upon any of them. He only possessed the ability to ask the one power that held the knowledge. He offered it to the Force, and waited as his mind drifted, directed by the Force.


AN: So, here is chapter 11 and the start of the next mission for Naruto and the Impact Company. Now, to explain a few things. This is an experiment in POV for me, so let me know if it worked. I liked writing from the clone's perspective simply because they see the world differently than any Jedi does. I have read a ton of the star wars lore, and the clones were some of the best aspects of the Clone War era to ever be made. Partially because Mandolorians are by definition badasses, but also because they each had an aspect of their humanity exemplified further. The issue is, in canon, the senate do not see them as anything more than assets, as read by the blurp at the top of the chapter with their protocol. Yet the Jedi know the truth; they live and breath and feel.
As for the OCs, sorry they are staying. I love Taps, Jay is fun, and Doc... well Doc is another story and fun in his own way. We see how good Taps is this early in the war, and we know its canon that the longer the trooper survived the more badass they became. I assume that to be the case since the only main character who happens to be a clone is Rex who I think has the most droid kills in the entire Clone Wars series? I think I remember reading that on reddit somewhere. Anyway, I am digressing. Clone POVs are likely staying mainly because I love it.
We also see the introduction to the newest villain and she will be long term. We also see the introduction of a character from Legends that most don't pay much attention to, but was a major inspiration to this story in Tholme. Tholme was, in canon, a covert ops based jedi during the clone wars who was crippled by Dooku, which led to him assigning his former padawan to infiltrate his organization, leading to Vos Falling. In Legends he is expanded on further by making him survive Order 66 and work with the Rebellion, briefly, before leaving his jedi life behind him. He later dies of old age after being a badass and decimating a storm trooper crew who were treating someone like scum. As we know, the story is called Shadows and Shin'o, and it is because of the organization that Tholme led known as the Shadows in legends canon. Their role here will be made more clear as the villain is exposed. Maybe.

Next chapter will be out fairly soon, it is coming together nicely. Until then,
Zero