Star Wars: Sins of the Father
Prologue
War! For 3 long years the GALACTIC REPUBLIC and the SEPARATISTS have been at odds with each other, taking cataclysmic losses on both sides in the name of bringing peace and justice to the galaxy through any means necessary.
While the JEDI ORDER attempts to remain steadfast as the protectors of the people, dissension slowly makes its way through their ranks, particularly in the mind of Jedi Knight ANAKIN SKYWALKER and his former master OBI-WAN KENOBI.
As the young SKYWALKER grows more disillusioned with the way of the Jedi, a figure from behind the scenes takes their chance to influence the Chosen One and set him on a path that will dominate his fate, as well as the fate of his bloodline….
The planet of Christophsis had been, up to this point, no stranger to warfare. Many a time during this conflict the Separatists had seen fit to mount at least a dozen different invasion plans to try and colonise the crystalline planet, with each attempt being averted by the forces of the Republic. This time however, it was different…
Smoke engulfed the usually bright blue skies, now grey and dull, as rain fell down upon the battlefield, making it difficult for the clone battalions on the ground to see out of their helmets and drenching them down to their black undersuits. Soldiers clad in their white armour, some adorned with blue markings and some with orange, scrambled to cover quickly to avoid laser fire from the opposing droid army as missiles flew through the air, striking down upon the destroyed pavement and scattering the stragglers who had failed to get out of the way in time, broken glass from the once tall and mighty skyscrapers strewn everywhere.
As the clone medics attempted to navigate the haze and the smell of fire, smoke and blood in order to get to their fallen brothers, Commander Cody, the leader of the 212th attack battalion rallied his troops to the front trench to repel the droid attack.
"Boil! Watch the left flank! Trapper, Wooley! We need more guns up here! Focus your fire men, we will not let these clankers through!" Cody barked through his helmet as he discharged 5 units with his DC-15A blaster rifle.
Over the course of the war, Cody had become accustomed to having to divert his attention between ordering his men around and focusing on the action; today though, he was having trouble doing both. The droid invasion had taken everyone by surprise, it had been almost 2 years since the last droid campaign on Christophsis and they hadn't heard a peep of Separatist activity around the system for months. That was until a week ago when Cody, the 212th and the 501st had just finished rounding up the remaining CIS in the outer rim sieges on the planet Anaxes when Generals Kenobi and Skywalker had been notified of a mass invasion, and just as they found themselves winding down from one battle, they were thrust into another as the 501st and the 212th were thrust into action once more, taking heavy losses as they were dispatched down to the planet surface to back the crumbling planetary defences.
Cody and General Kenobi had been coming down in separate LAATs when they were shot out of the air by CIS proton cannons, separating them from their original landing plan. Cody's battalion had luckily managed to sustain as few casualties as possible in the crash and had met up with some of the 501st who had also crash landed, led by the ARC Trooper Jesse. Together they made their way to the city limits, where the Christophsian military and other Clones Troops that had already been stationed on the planet were fighting a bloody battle against overwhelming odds. It had been there that Cody learned that General Kenobi's group hadn't checked in and had crashed into enemy territory.
That had been 3 days ago, and despite the crippling fear of potentially having lost his friend and leader, Cody's resolve did not waver despite the exhaustion. Many of his troops, his brothers, had been gunned down in the days since they arrived, but still they stood their ground, fighting to the bitter end in the name of freedom, for the Republic!
"MISSILES! EVERYBODY SCATTER!" a soldier yelled before multiple projectiles soared towards the clones, getting closer and closer. "TAKE COVER-!" Cody managed to belt out right before a giant explosion tore apart the barricade of the makeshift trench that separated the Republic forces from the Separatists.
"FALL BACK! FALL BACK!" Cody's strained voice managed to echo out as the clones started retreating back into the wreckage of the buildings, towards their command post, as the CIS forces began tearing their way into Republic lines.
As the enemy closed in, Cody prepared himself to be overwhelmed, but that did not come to pass. The feeling of a shockwave rippled through the air behind the droid forces, toppling mountains of B-1 and B-2 battle droids, and the snap hiss of a lightsaber sounded, a blue blade soared and arched through the sea of metal, slicing and cutting down anything in its path. As some of the smoke cleared, the figure of a man, relatively tall with greying-auburn hair and a beard, clad in a flowing brown robe stood, his stance alert and his lightsaber poised in a defensive stance, the rain apparently not bothering him.
"General Kenobi?!" Cody's bewildered voice sounded, and the man turned his head around to face him, his blue eyes twinkling despite his furrowed expression
"Sorry for the delay Cody, our signal array was damaged and we had no way of contacting you, I do hope I'm not too late?" Obi-Wan expressed, turning back to the CIS forces, who had started to panic, blocking and deflecting their frenzied blaster fire.
"You're right on time sir!" Cody replied just as a group of clones appeared through the rubble of downed structures, heavy artillery equipped as they fired on the enemy, driving the droids back. Seeing this, the previously retreating clones doubled back and joined their brothers in repelling the enemy.
Together Obi-Wan, Cody and the remaining clones pushed back their enemy as a squadron of Republic bombers streaked down from the atmosphere and pelted the droid forces with torpedoes, bombarding them and streaking back up as the clones cheered from the ground.
Obi-Wan deactivated his weapon and moved back to Cody, who had assumed a seating position on a nearby rock with other exhausted clone troops, who had started being tended to by medical officers.
"Well done Cody, for fighting it out as long as you did, I know you must be exhausted, I'm sorry I couldn't get to you sooner"
"No worries sir" Cody replied, taking his helmet off as his face slipped into a look of sorrow
"I just wish I hadn't lost as many as I have"
Obi-Wan reached out a comforting hand to his shoulder "I know my friend" his voice soft and understanding.
"Heard off of Skywalker yet?" Cody asked
"Nothing since the first day, we managed to contact Captain Rex before the communications array short circuited, but we have heard nothing since" Obi-Wan replied gravely.
Cody's mouth set in a grim line "So we're on our own, for now"
As Obi-Wan went to reply, Jesse bounded up to the pair "General, Commander, we managed to hot wire the communications array back together, we've got an urgent message from General Skywalker!"
Wasting no time, Obi-Wan strided over to the makeshift holotable and activated it. As it sparked to life, a blue hologram of a young man with long hair, a scar over his right eye, clad in a brown robe came through, his once youthful and vibrant demeanour now world weary.
"Master, if you're receiving this, we need you on the north side of the capital as quickly as you can" Anakin began, his expression clouded by noticeable anger "Count Dooku has landed planetside and is holed in the City Hall, his forces guarding the entrances".
Cody glanced over at Obi-Wan, seeing his expression remain neutral, arms crossed with one hand poised stroking his beard, although his eyes betrayed his alarm at hearing Count Dooku, leader of the Separatist movement, was so near.
"I don't have enough troops left to storm the place" Anakin's message continued "So I'm sending these coordinates over to you, finish whatever you're doing wherever you are and get over here, I'm not letting him get away this time"
On that note, the message finished and the holotable deactivated. Without missing a beat, Obi-Wan asked the nearest clone "Do we have their coordinates?"
The clone nodded "Yes sir"
Obi-Wan turned to Cody "Are you ready to move?"
Cody stood at attention "Sir yes sir, as soon as you give the order"
"Good, get everyone who is able and gather everything you can find, weapons, ammunition, vehicles, provisions, anything. We move out in 0200, go!" Obi-Wan commanded.
As Cody left, Obi-Wan stood around the holotable for a few moments in silence, pondering, worrying, worrying about Anakin. Ever since Ahsoka had left the Jedi Order and the incident with Fives, Anakin's trust in the Jedi Council and the Republic had diminished greatly. Although he tries to hide it, Anakin was never any good at quelling his emotions, wearing them on his sleeve, and while that is not an inherently bad quality, as a Jedi Knight, he was at great risk of going down a path he might not emerge from.
As Obi-Wan pondered his old padawan learner, he could fathom how right he'd be, and how it would affect events to come…
A/N: Thank you for reading the first chapter of Sins of the Father. It has been a long while since I've written anything but I've had this idea knocking around for a few days now so I decided to go with it. This is a sort of rewrite of Revenge of the Sith but with a twist, as I wanted to do a what if story about if Anakin had turned earlier and how Obi-Wan would react. I also plan on having some elements of crime/mystery like an espionage thriller so stay tuned for that! I'll see you in the next chapter!