Chapter 122: Plan of Dissent
"The wise man leads, the strong man follows.
Recap: Invasion in peril! Republic forces struggle to take Umbara, a hostile planet completely enshrouded in darkness. Jedi General Pong Krell, Commander Sark, and Captain Rex lead a battalion against a constant attack by a brutal enemy. Krell's aggressive and reckless strategies backfire, killing many clones. Despite the Jedi General's dangerous tactics, Captain Rex's and Commander Sark's squad successfully capture a critical airbase. This further fuels the mistrust of Krell's leadership, dividing his men.
The clones were securing the airbase they had recently captured as they were taking in the custody of any Umbarans remaining. General Krell was walking about as he was flanked by Dogma and another clone.
"The insurgents have stepped up their attacks, sir," stated Dogma.
"They want their base back. We cannot let our guard down for a moment. Have all Umbaran security re-configured and locked down. Interrogate the prisoners if you have to, but I want this base under our complete control, and I don't want excuses." said General Krell to the clones.
At that moment, Captain Rex and Commander Sark made their presence known.
"Sir, there's a transmission from General Kenobi," stated Rex.
"I'll take it in the tower," replied Krell as he left for the tower that oversaw the airbase.
Tup walked with them before he saw Fives and Claude working on a fighter they took as he walked over to them.
"Hey, how's it coming?" said Tup as he removed his helmet.
"Tricky piece of hardware," sighed Fives as he was under the fighter, tinkering.
"I'm amazed by the technology these Umbarans had access to," stated Claude as he touched the pad in his hands and ran configurations.
"Krell's got Jesse stacking ordnance," stated Tup.
"Poor guy," said Claude as he handed a tool to Fives while paying attention to the program on the pad.
"I'm still waiting for Krell to thank us for handing this base over to him," grunted Fives as he twisted the wrench.
Tup had a similar expression as his buddies as he looked up at the tower Sark, Rex, and Krell were in as a distant boom was heard. The two clone commanders and Jedi entered the top of the tower.
"Where is he? General Kenobi, do you read me?" said Krell as he walked to the middle of the room where the hologram of Obi-wan appeared.
"Congratulations on your capture of the Umbaran airbase, General. It's refreshing to have good news," said the Jedi Master.
"There will be time for celebration when we've taken that capital," stated Krell.
"Yes. Well, I'm afraid that's going to be more difficult than anticipated. Their attacks have increased, and their long-range missiles are forcing us to retreat from our positions," stated Kenobi.
"I was hoping we cut off their arms shipments and supplies when we took this airbase," said Krell as he crossed his arms.
"It seems they're receiving new arms shipments directly from a supply ship orbiting..." static hissed as Kenobi cut off.
"General Kenobi?" said Krell.
"We've been having difficulty transmitting..." said the Jedi Master as his voice faded in and out. "They must be jamming our signals."
"Can't we destroy the supply ship?" said Rex.
"We're trying, but with little success. Their fleet outnumbers ours, and the extra ships we were promised have not yet arrived," stated Obi-wan.
"We'll just have to take that capital regardless of the missiles," said Krell as both clones looked at him. "My battalion will meet you at the rendezvous coordinates."
"We cannot expect..." said Obi-wan as he was gone.
"I'm trying to get him back, sir," said a nearby clone working away on the controls to reconnect the signal.
"Don't bother. The enemy is jamming our transmissions. We are on our own." said Krell as he ignored trying to contact Obi-wan and went forth with his plan.
The three exited the tower and walked among the airbase.
"Have those containers searched and all weapons prepped and loaded. Have the battalion ready to move out in 12 hours. We're advancing on the capital." said Krell to both clone commanders to relay the others.
"Sir, shall I try to get a message to General Kenobi?" asked Sark.
"Shouldn't we coordinate our attack, especially in light of the recent threat?" Rex said, backing up Sark's claim.
"General Kenobi has his hands full, same as us. We need to throw everything we have at them now!" said Krell.
"We'd be marching into a blast zone, sir," said Rex.
Just then, an explosion went off in the distance as all three turned to look at it. Where the bomb exploded was close to the airbase as it seemed the enemy was also trying to retake the base they lost.
"Blasted insurgents," grumbled Krell before looking down to address both clones, "I realize you two haven't agreed with all my strategies, Captain and Commander. But you two are smart enough and loyal enough to obey my orders. Now, prep those troops!" With that, Krell left as Rex and Sark went to do their job.
Soon Rex and Sark were in a hangar as they talked with their close men about what went down with the developing situation.
"Those missiles have 100 megaton yield. We won't even make it to the delta," stated Fives.
"What can I do?" responded Rex.
"We've tried to reason with him. Those are the orders," stated Sark.
"Great. Another suicide mission," scoffed Richochet as he was prepping and cleaning his blaster.
"The capital is too well-armed," said Jesse as he was at a nearby console.
"Why does it seem like he has it out for clones?" asked Claude as he was working on a machine and had a wrench in his hand.
"I think you're all overreacting. Obviously, General Krell knows what he's doing," said Dogma, as he had faith in the Jedi. "Do you really think he doesn't care if he loses men?"
"We're not saying that," responded Jesse, "But I do think his desire for victory has blinded him to the fact that there are lives at stake. I've never seen a General with these kinds of casualties."
"He's out of control! He's not acting like the other Jedi. He has no respect for us." stated Fives.
"Listen, I don't agree with him either, but I don't have a better plan," said Rex.
"What about using these starfighters to destroy the supply ship?" asked Claude.
"Our fleet has been trying. The Umbarans have it as protected as the capital," said Sark.
"But we've got their access codes and their own hardware," said Fives as he walked over to where Jesse was.
"You were able to crack it?" asked Rex.
"Mmm-hmm," said Fives as he punched Jesse in the shoulder, as both laughed. With Claude's help, the two could hack into the enemy's network.
"We can sneak right past their blockade and get where our ships can't," said Claude.
"If we take out that supply ship, then we cut off arms to the capital," said Richochet.
Sark and Rex put their hands on their chins as they began thinking about the plan. General Krell was in his tower as he was looking at a hologram of the map. The door opened as Rex and Sark came in and saw the Jedi deeply thinking.
"Sir, with all due respect, might I suggest another option to help us secure the capital?" said Rex.
"What would that be, Captain?" asked Krell.
"Our men have cracked the Umbaran codes. With the starfighters, we can sneak past the supply ship's defenses. We take it out. We cut off the arms to the capital." said Sark.
"And who do you propose would fly these starfighters? Are your troops now pilots?" responded Krell in a sarcastic tone.
"Our men may not be pilots, sir, but they are able to learn and adapt quickly. A few of them have already demonstrated that," said Rex.
"I'm afraid I can't afford to waste any clones on frivolous adventures. We're going to need everyone to take the capital," stated Krell as he, once again, ignored the plan that was suggested by the pair.
"Sir, incoming. Sector delta. Long-range missiles," said the nearby clone on the console.
The hologram Krell was watching then morphed as it showed the airbase and three dots heading in their direction. As he marched to the window, the Jedi turned and had his hands behind his back. He saw the missiles as they landed in the jungle a few meters outside the base's perimeter. Krell had an expression that was concerned.
The clones were getting ready to get some sleep. With the attack of the capital coming up, they need to get as much rest as possible. Sark and Rex entered the compound as the men saw them.
"The assault on the capital will continue as planned," stated Rex.
"So that's it? We just march into those missiles?" said Jesse.
"Oh, there's another option," said Richochet as he nodded to Fives.
"We go ahead with our plan and suffer the consequences," said Fives.
"You would be court-martialed," said Rex as he sat down on the table in the quarter and put his helmet down.
"If it were up to us, and we had the time and the training, we would say, "Do it." But it's out of my hands, and the truth is, you are no pilots," said Sark as he leaned against the wall next to Rex.
"Come on. If Hardcase can fly one of these things, we all can," stated Claude.
"Yeah, he wasn't really flying. More like avoiding crashing," chimed in Tup, "We'll be blasted out of the sky before we get anywhere."
"Not if we're in their fighters. No one's gonna be shooting at us," said Fives.
The door opened as marching in was Dogma.
"Here comes Dogma," said Jesse as he cleared his throat for all to hear as they silenced themselves, knowing that the clone was too loyal to Krell, he would be against their plan and possibly rat them out.
"Uh... What's going on?" asked Dogma as he saw them silent and looking away.
"Er... Nothing," said Richochet as Dogma merely looked at them with curiosity.
Rex and Sark then got up and left through the door as Fives went after them.
"This is about more than just following orders," stated Fives.
"It is. It is about honor," responded Rex.
"Where is the honor in marching blindly to our deaths?" questioned Fives.
"It is not our call. We are part of something larger. We're not independent of one another." replied Sark as Rex agreed with that statement.
"I'm sorry. I cannot just follow orders when I know they're wrong. Especially when lives are at stake." glared Fives at the two commanders.
"You will if you support the system we fight for," glared Rex at his man.
"I do support it. I do!" shouted Fives as he swatted away Rex's hand, "But I am not just another number! None of us are!"
"Fives, where are you going?" shouted Sark as they saw the clone turn his back and walk away.
"To round up some pilots," responded the clone as he left the pair.
Sometime later, Fives was with some of his buddies as they were testing out the fighters.
"All right. Okay, there. Try that out. It should be a little easier." stated the ARC trooper.
"I got it," said Hardcase as he made the ship hover in the air. It soon began to wobble, "Whoa!"
The ship was now wobbling as it was taking out some nearby crates when its wings crashed into it. Fives ducked his head as the fighter zoomed by him.
"Hardcase, what are you doing?" shouted Fives.
"If I knew, I wouldn't be doing it!" responded Hardcase.
"Look out!" shouted Richochet as he and everybody hit the deck to avoid being swatted by the fighter, toppling over even more stuff.
"Great. This can't get much worse," sighed Fives.
"Uh, you sure about that?" said Claude as he was behind Fives and looked at him with a worried look.
As if on cue...
"Sir, there appears to be a disturbance in Hangar 9-4," said the clone behind Krell as he saw a flashing red light on his screen.
"Trooper, what's going on down there?" asked Krell as he shoved the clone out of the way.
"Hey, hey, I got this," said Fives as he pushed Claude to the side.
"Trooper! Report, trooper!" shouted Krell.
"Er... Yes, sir. Everything's fine in the hangar, sir. Nothing's out of control down here." said Fives with a nervous tone.
"Then why have the alarms been triggered?" questioned Krell.
Fives began to stutter as he looked at Claude for some help to which the clone reminded him that he said he had this under control. Fives was now cursing to himself before coming up with an excuse.
"It's just a drill, a safety drill, sir," responded Fives.
"Safety check occurs at 0600. Who authorized this drill?" said Krell a bit louder.
"Uh...We are decrypting the alien hardware, sir. Standard operating procedure." said Fives, not helping his case.
It didn't help that Hardcase was still toppling stuff over in the hangar.
"That didn't work," said Hardcase as he squeezed his hand, which triggered the guns to fire. Now everybody ducked back behind their cover to avoid being shot at.
"Who is this? What's your CT number?" asked Krell. "Trooper, identify yourself!"
"Okay. How about this?" said Hardcase as he knocked over the other fighters. Unfortunately, he backed up into the hangar door and squeezed his hand as, this time, the bottom weapon charged as an electric ball formed. "No, no, no, no, no." The weapon was fired as it headed for the other door. "That's gonna leave a mark."
True to Hardcase's word, the ball collided with the door and disintegrated upon impact. The alarms beeped as Krell and the clone looked out of the window. They saw the hangar below them as the doors had been blasted from the outside.
"I'm going down there," growled Krell.
"Got it. I got it. It's easy. Just level your hands." said Hardcase as he finally figured it out and eased the fighter to land gently.
"You couldn't figure that out sooner?!" yelled Richochet as he and the boys popped out from their cover.
"What, are you crazy? You could've gotten us killed. Not to mention ruining our hopes of flying this mission!" said Fives.
"It's a malfunction. No harm done," said Hardcase.
"Explain this. Now!" said Krell as he appeared and demanded an explanation.
Fives was now trying to come up with a lie as Hardcase quickly spoke.
"Sir, we were decrypting the enemy craft when what appears to be an enemy booby trap went off."
"A booby trap?" said Krell, not fully buying what was said.
"Yes, sir. The fighter went haywire, and had I not been able to get control of it and aim the missile at the doors, something worse might've happened," explained Hardcase as he had his hands behind his back and stood straight to not show any weakness.
"Is this true?" asked Krell to Fives.
"Yes, sir. That is what happened, no doubt," said Fives as he chose to go along with the lie. He looked at Sark and Rex as the two were behind the Jedi, and they knew their men were lying to cover their asses for each other.
"Well, Captain Rex, Commander Sark. Looks like I was correct. The Umbaran fighters are dangerous and not fit for flight." said Krell to both commanders as if scoffing at them.
"But, sir, we now know how they work. We just need practice!" said Claude.
"Lock down these fighters. I don't want anything else exploding," said Krell as he walked away. Rex and Sark looked at their men as they shook their heads and walked off.
"Nice work," said Fives as he lightly shoved Hardcase. "Now we know how to fly them, and we won't be able to get near them."
"Really? Bobby-trap? You couldn't come up with something better like, I pushed a wrong button, and the whole thing went haywire." stated Richochet, as at least with that lie, they would still have the fighters.
"Oh, come on," said Hardcase as he took a seat and felt like his pals were making such a big deal out of nothing, "That won't stop us. It's just procedure. We can sneak in and be out before Krell knows anything."
Some slow clapping was heard as it belonged to Jesse as he approached them along with Claude.
"I thought the plan was to destroy the enemy ship with the fighters, not blow up our hangar," Jesse said.
"Look, I agree we should go through with this. So, are you four volunteering to be my pilots or what?" asked Fives as he looked at the four clones around him.
"I'm in, regardless of the consequences," said Hardcase.
"Anything to get away from Krell," said Richochet.
"Flying these fighters beats blindly walking into a bunch of missiles, so I'm in," said Jesse.
"Then, we just need a plan," stated Claude.
"Already got one," said Fives as he began to explain, "General Skywalker blew up a droid control ship when he was just a kid. And he told me the trick was hitting the main reactor from the inside."
"As a kid, I found that hard to believe," said Richochet, as he knew Anakin had exceptional piloting skills, but to have them, even at a young age, was almost impossible.
"Oh. Well, that won't be so tough," stated Hardcase, not thinking much about it.
Rex and Sark were outside with some men as they were scouting the area around the airbase. They wanted to see if there were any nearby enemies as they were about to depart soon.
"I want a full perimeter sweep," instructed Rex to the men.
"Be on high alert!" stated Sark.
The pair then turned as Fives, Hardcase, Jesse, Richochet, and Claude approached them.
"Fives, what are you doing out here? You all should be in the barracks," said Rex.
"I found my pilots. We're going after that supply ship," stated the clone.
"Are you out of your mind?" shouted Sark, especially knowing that the men he trusted chose to agree with his plan. He and Rex removed their helmets to personally address their closest men. "It's a suicide mission, not to mention against orders."
"It's the right thing to do," said Richochet.
"We have to try," added Claude.
"It sounds like you intend to go through with it," said Rex.
"If you're going to try to stop us, we need to know," asked Fives.
The only response that both clone commanders gave was a sigh.
"We can't help you when you get caught," said Rex.
"I understand, sir," said Fives as he and the others turned to return to the hangar.
"Boys... General Luna and General Storm won't be happy to hear this," said Sark.
"Then... tell them it was an honor to serve them," said Richochet.
"Tell General Luna we're grateful she chose us as her clones. And tell General Storm that he's gonna be a great Jedi," stated Claude.
The clones left as Rex and Sark turned in the opposite direction. They prayed that their friends knew what they were doing as they stepped forward. The group of five soldiers all boarded the fighters as they started them up and prepared to carry out their mission.
In the barracks, the clones were napping, knowing to get as much rest before the mission. Dogma was snoring when he opened his eyes, and to his surprise, he saw that neither Fives nor Jesse was in their bunks. He turned and saw the top bunk above Tup, that Hardcase wasn't there either. He looked across, and Richochet and Claude were absent.
"Hey. Hey, Tup," whispered Dogma to his comrade. "Wake up!"
"What? I'm trying to sleep," groaned Tup.
"Where are they?"
"Who?" asked Tup.
"You know," said Dogma as Tup opened both eyes and had a look, "Don't tell me they're going to disobey orders."
"Well, I didn't say that," responded Tup as he saw that Dogma used his expression to conclude that the group was going on a secret mission without Krell's permission.
"You know we have to tell the General," said Dogma as he jumped down from his bunk.
"No. No, no, no, you can't," said Tup as he suddenly sat up and was hoping Dogma wouldn't get his friends into trouble for doing what they thought was right.
"We have to tell him. If we know what they're up to and keep our mouths shut, we'll be complicit in their insubordination. Do you really want to be court-martialed?" asked Dogma to Tup.
Tup merely had an expression as he debated whether to protect his friends or risk his own life.
Rex and Sark were doing some last-minute maintenance. They entered a different hanger when a clone in front of them noticed something behind them.
"Look, sir!" shouted a clone as he pointed behind the pair.
They turned, and at that moment, five fighters were shown lifting into the air as they all turned and took off in formation. The two clones ran out as they were going to inform Krell of what was happening. As for Sark and Rex, they had unpleasant looks on their faces as they saw their friends getting in trouble.
Fives and his friends flew in the air as they struggled to control the fighters.
"These things are trickier than I imagined," said Claude as he struggled to keep the fighter steady.
"I hope this is a good idea," said Jesse as he turned his head to look at Fives.
"Well, it's better than Krell's plan," said Fives.
"You know, I'm only doing this because I don't like him," responded Hardcase.
"That's reason enough," stated Richochet.
"I'm just doing it for fun," chuckled Hardcase as he laughed.
The five fighters soon made it; to their surprise, it was a sight to behold.
"Whoa! What the..." said Fives.
The scene before the group of clones was the supply fleet that Kenobi mentioned; however, it was currently under attack by Republic space forces as they were blasting the Separatist ships.
"Try to fly steady. We're going in!" instructed Fives to the men as they flew right into the heart of the battle.
The group was now in the middle of the action as they witnessed some Umbarans aiming at their allies and shooting them out of the air.
"I'm really not liking this," stated Hardcase.
"Easy, Hardcase. Don't get an itchy trigger finger," said Richochet as he saw that his friend was waiting to shoot something.
The group flew ahead as some Umbaran ships flew behind them. Jesse looked behind him as he saw the enemy leave them be and go off to another section to attack.
"Looks like they think we're Umbaran, all right," Claude said as their plan worked.
"There's the supply ship! Follow me!" shouted Fives as he led the way.
"Let's do this!" said Hardcase as the group headed straight for the supply ship.
In the meantime, Rex and Sark were in a hangar as they reviewed some inventory on their touchpads. They were soon approached by General Krell.
Captain, Commander!" shouted Krell as both turned to look at the Jedi, "My flight officer reports the launch of five starfighters. I thought I ordered those ships locked down.
"Sorry for the confusion, sir. We authorized the recon of the delta in preparation for your attack on the capital," said Rex.
"You took it under your own authority to launch such a reconnaissance?" asked Krell.
"Oh, yes, sir. I'm sure the report will make your strategy more effective," said Sark as he helped to back up Rex in covering for their friends as much as possible.
"I want that report as soon as they are back," demanded Krell as he seemed to buy the lie the duo told him.
Once Krell left, Sark and Rex turned and saw Dogma and Tup. They could see the pair was up to something as they looked to intervene.
"Hey, where are you two going?" asked Sark as the pair ignored them and kept walking.
"We asked you a question, troopers!" shouted Rex.
"We are going to speak with the General, sir," said Dogma.
"Regarding what?" demanded Sark.
"A personal matter," answered Dogma.
"Why don't you tell me? And I'll report it to the General," said Rex.
"On second thought, sir, it's not important," said Dogma as he and Tup turned around and walked away.
"Yeah, that's what we thought," said Rex as he and Sark managed to avoid their friends getting deeper into trouble as they used their authority and power to scare off Dogma from ratting them out.
Speaking of their friends, they were just about to enter the supply ship. The quintet entered as they were flying into the hangar.
"Okay. Break time is over. Get back to work." shouted a B1 droid to his comrades, slumped over after lifting some heavy crates. He was then smacked in the face as the five fighters zoomed by.
"Hey!" shouted another B1 droid. He saw another fighter fly by as he caught a glimpse of the clones inside them. "Intruders!"
The droids in the bridge were contacted as they were informed of what was spotted.
"Uh... Sir, there are clones in the main hangar," responded the B1 droid at the controls to the tactical droid.
"Impossible. The probability of that is 10,003 to 1," explained the tactical droid as he didn't believe what he was told.
The droids in the hangar were shooting at the fighters as they zoomed along the corridor. Soon the doors in front of them sealed.
"Why do they have to go and do that?" mocked Hardcase as he fired up his missile of electricity and fired.
It hit the door, and upon impact, it disintegrated. However, a part of the blast caught Hardcase's fighter as one of its wings was on fire, but he could still fly. The crew still continued on their course.
"Uh, sir, we have confirmed that there are five commandeered starfighters heading toward the main reactor," said the B1 droid.
"Strengthen our defenses," said the tactical droid as he stood up.
"Reactor core locked, prepare missiles," said Fives as he had the others prep their weapon. "Fire missiles!"
The five of them shot out their respective missiles as they were heading for the reactor.
"Activate ray shields," said the tactical droid.
"Roger, roger."
The ray shields came on just in time as the missile bounced off them, leaving no effect.
"Ray shields. Hit the deck!" shouted Fives as he got all of them to halt and turn around.
The group was now firing at the droids looking to take them down.
"This may have been a bad idea," responded Richochet.
"Intruder alert!" said the droids as they kept whaling on the clones and their fighters.
The clones shot the droids down, but their ray shield protection bubbles started to take massive damage as the screens in front of them flashed red.
"Our shields are sure taking a beating," replied Jesse as they couldn't hold out for much longer.
"We can't turn back now!" said Hardcase as he parked his fighter and turned off his ray shield bubble. "Cover me!"
"Hardcase! Get back on your ship!" shouted Fives as he saw the clone get out of the fighter and begin to run as the droids kept on firing.
"Trust me! I've got a plan!" said Hardcase as he began to detach one of the missile launchers from the fighter and guided it by hand into the reactor room. "This is for the 501st! Don't wait for me!"
"Hardcase! No!" yelled Fives as he knew what the clone was planning to do. The others knew as they saw their comrade about to enter the reactor room; they were also trying to tell him not to go through with it.
"You've disobeyed enough orders today, sir. Follow this one. Get out of here!" shouted Hardcase as he entered the reactor room with the missile launcher.
"If I know Hardcase, we'd better leave," said Jesse to the others.
They all sighed as they began to move. Hardcase was now walking through the corridor as he turned the corner and entered the reactor room. He then threw the missile launcher forward as he turned to see his friends taking off.
"Live to fight another day, boys. Live to fight another day," said Hardcase as he closed his eyes as the missile launcher collided with one of the reactors.
Upon contact, the room went up in smoke as Hardcase gave one last smile. The explosion was now trailing behind the four remaining starfighters as they were looking to escape the supply ship.
"Come on. Come on!" shouted Fives as it was right on their tails.
The explosion soon engulfed the four of them. Soon four ships exited the supply ship as they zoomed out. The main ship was now destroyed as it would help Obi-wan and his forces. Down on the ground below, Rex and Sark were walking with Tup when a distant explosion sound was heard. They all turned to look at the sky as they saw it.
The clouds opened up as four fighters were shown flying away from it. Rex and Sark smiled as it seemed their friends had proven successful in their mission. The fighters landed in front of them as they got out.
"They did it," smiled Tup as he was glad to see his friends were successful.
The trio approached the clones as they removed their helmets.
"Where's Hardcase?" asked Sark as he saw they were missing someone.
As they looked at their commanding officers, all four clones gave sad expressions.
"He didn't make it," said Fives.
"We couldn't have done it without him," responded Jesse.
Rex and Sark put their heads down as they took a moment of silence to honor their fallen comrade and his sacrifice to get them this victory. Soon the door behind them opened as a group of clones approached them.
"General Krell would like to see them in the tower," stated Sergeant Appo.
That alone got everyone to make faces. They soon made it to the tower, and they all entered.
"You want to see them, sir?" asked Rex.
"Indeed," said General Krell as he kept his back turned. The four called clones looked at each other with questionable looks. "It seems they have accomplished a very brave act. Unfortunately, they've also committed a serious crime by directly disobeying my order.
"With all due respect, sir, the order to attack the cargo vessel was ours," said Sark as he and Rex were willing to take the bullet for their men, "If there's a punishment to be given, it should be directed toward us. We're their commanding officers."
"General, sir. Captain Rex and Commander Sark are attempting to take the blame for actions that were clearly mine."
"Fives!" shouted Rex as he was trying to get his friend to stand down and not try to suffer some serious punishment.
"I request that his admission of guilt be denied and full blame placed upon me," said Fives as he continued to take the fault.
"Oh, do you? You willfully countermand my direct order, and now you have the audacity to request who should bear the punishment of your insurrection?" stated Krell as he poked Fives. "Let me be clear about the punishment for the treason committed by ARC trooper 5555, CT-5597, CT-1031, and CT-1101. They will be court-martialed; they will be found guilty. And they will be executed!"
Krell got in the face of Rex and Sark as he shouted in their face. Both felt sad as they watched their most trusted men being persecuted.
"Make no mistake. For crossing me, you will pay the price," said Krell.
The four put their heads down as there was no way for them to get out of this one.
Author's Note: An act of heroism has resulted in a severe consequencefor disobeying orders. But also, the mission couldn't be a success without the sacrifice of a fellow comrade. So the numbers that were mentioned for Luna's clones do have some meaning behind it. For Sark, 1221 is referring to the date of the winter solsticewhich is the shortest day of the year and the longest night of the year. For Ricochet, 1031 is referencing the date of Halloween, and for Claude 1101 is referring to Hispanicholiday that's celebrated, the Day of the Dead. As always, leave a review expressing your thoughts and comments.