Dear Reader, thank you first to my reviewers of the previous chapter: Cuthalion, Sued13, Princess-Rey-Tano, CT7567Rules, and Akira-Hayama. It is much appreciated. So, at this point in the "Chip" arc, I begin to take some poetic license, if you will. I just wanted to get more of the clones involved and add some other dimensions to what's going on. I hope you enjoy! Peace, CS
Chapter 112 Unexplained
"There is a dark place. No one chooses to go there, yet it has many inhabitants."
The Land Across the Sea
Milford Rymes
Rex had long discovered that one of his most critical roles in waging war was to have his general's back. Rex might always be first to enter the fray from among his brothers, but General Skywalker led them all. The general had made it his mission in every battle to clear the way for his troops to advance; and in doing so, he counted on his soldiers – primarily his captain – to cover his six.
Rex was good at it. He'd been with General Skywalker in so many battles that he could anticipate nearly every move, every need his commanding officer might have. Rex's diligence allowed his general to focus his attention forward and not have to worry about what was going on behind him.
At the moment, Rex had General Skywalker in his sights. The general was motioning 279th shield-bearers to take up positions in front of him as the enemy fire intensified. Rex could tell General Skywalker was studying the situation, trying to discern the best way to proceed.
Amidst the sounds of blaster fire, Rex heard a shout go up.
"Tup, no!"
Rex turned, recognizing Fives' voice. As his gaze swung round, he barely had time to process what he was seeing.
Tup stood behind General Tiplar, aiming his blaster director at her from almost point-blank range.
It could only be a false image, a mistaken interpretation of the scene. But in a split-second, all doubts were eliminated.
Tup fired, and General Tiplar fell where she had stood.
It went against instinct to break from cover, but Rex made a move towards Tup, who was now standing dazed and seemingly unaware of what he had just done. But Fives' beat his captain to the scene, tackling Tup from behind.
From the other side of the hangar, General Tiplee cried out. "Sister!" She dashed across the field of fire to Tiplar's aid.
With two Jedi now out of the fight, Rex could feel the tide swing on the instant. But more worrisome than an enemy surge was the heat he felt coming from his own general's person. Whatever else the Force was, one thing Rex could be sure of: when General Skywalker's emotions were inflamed, Rex could feel some . . . residue of the unseen energy that bound all creatures, all matter, together.
He felt it now, and catching a glimpse of General Skywalker's countenance, he confirmed what he had sensed. The general was furious.
And Rex was certain that General Skywalker, too, had discerned the change in the tide of battle, yet as the commanding general of the attack, he was not ready to concede the fact until he could ascertain whether the Republic forces could stem the turning tide.
"Hold your positions!" he ordered.
But no sooner had the command been given than destroyers rolled out.
"Destroyers!" Doom shouted. Despite having lost one of his dual generals, the commander hadn't missed a beat. He knew it was his duty to protect the fallen Jedi until she could be moved from the battle field. He did not know if she was still alive or not – he'd not seen the shot that had taken her down. He would worry about all that after they were out of the line of fire.
Anakin, on the other hand, knew there was nothing more that could be done in the moment. This battle was lost . . . for now.
"We've lost our momentum! Fall back!" he ordered. Then to Fives, "Fives, I don't know what's going on, but you're responsible for Tup. Now get him back to base. I want answers."
In the command center, Admiral Trench watched the retreat. He had seen the clone execute the Jedi general, and in his cold, analytical way, he found it intriguing, replaying the image several times on the view screen. It was a bizarre occurrence. Not an accident. It didn't seem pre-meditated. The clone had been deliberate in his actions but had displayed no sense of animus – only a determination to kill the Jedi in front of him. Very peculiar.
"The Jedi have withdrawn their forces," his tactical droid announced.
"Tsk-tsk-tsk," Trench clicked thoughtfully. "Contact Count Dooku immediately. I have something he'll be very interested in."
General Skywalker had ensured a rear vanguard was set up behind them in their retreat. Now, they had come to a safe space, and it was time find out what the hell had happened.
General Tiplee and the remaining 279th troopers were gathered around the body of General Tiplar.
It was now clear that Tiplar was dead.
Tiplee was distraught. "Why? Why would he do this?" she asked, looking up at Anakin as he approached.
Anakin was grave. This was the second time in a matter of weeks that a 501st soldier had killed a Jedi general. He was starting to wonder if something had taken hold of his troops. This would raise suspicions among the leadership and in the Jedi Council, and well it should. It was raising Anakin's own suspicions.
"I'm about to find out," he replied quietly. He walked into a room that was off to the side, and here he saw Tup sitting on a shipping crate, his wrists in binders behind him, his head hung low, appearing barely aware of his surroundings.
"How's he doing, Rex?"
Like his commanding officer, Rex had been immediately struck by the fact of this being the second execution of a Jedi by a 501st trooper. But despite the horror this raised in his mind, he could not allow such concerns to crowd out the urgency of the immediate situation. But the truth was that Rex had no idea how to answer his general's question, and he admitted as much.
"I'm . . . not sure, General," he replied haltingly. "Looks like he just snapped." He went down on one knee and put his hand on Tup's shoulder. "Tup, can you hear me?"
"Y-yes, Captain," came the wavering reply. As he spoke, he glanced up and made eye contact briefly.
Rex saw complete and utter blankness there, still he pressed, "What happened?"
"What do you mean?" came the perplexed response.
"Do you have any idea what you've done?"
Something in his captain's words triggered a reaction, and suddenly Tup's eyes rolled in his head, his head began lolling forward and back, side to side. He began murmuring, "Good soldiers follow orders. Good soldiers follow orders." Over and over again. He seemed to have completely lost awareness of the situation.
Kix, who had been in the room the entire time, keeping an eye on him with Fives, scowled and crouched down beside him. "What is he talking about?" He put a gloved hand on Tup's face, trying to get a look into his eyes to see if he could possibly discern anything there.
"I have no idea," Fives replied.
Kix waved his hand in front of Tup's face. Tup was not seeing him.
And then, as if falling under a spell, he stopped his swaying, his eyes narrowed as he took in the sight of General Tiplee between Kix's splayed fingers, and he uttered hatefully, "Kill the Jedi."
He sprang to his feet, knocking Kix aside and lunging towards Tiplee. But before he could make contact, she used the Force to throw him back against the wall. And she showed no indication that she was inclined to free him.
Anakin began to fear she might go too far. "We've got to get him back to the medical bay before he hurts anyone else," he said forcefully.
TIplee gave a single, curt nod and released him.
He fell to the floor, and Kix and Fives moved to his side, both worried about what could have caused such a breakdown.
"Rex, Kix." Anakin summoned the two of them back out into the main room.
"Kix, I want you to stay at his side until we get him back to the ship, and then I want you to stay with him there," he ordered.
"Yes, General," Kix replied.
"Sedate him if you have to," Anakin went on.
"I will if it's safe for him," Kix replied. "I have to make sure he's not suffering any injury or condition that might be aggravated by sedation."
"Fine," Anakin replied. "If you can't put him under, then keep him restrained. The binders don't come off. We can't afford another Jedi killed at the hands of their own troops." He turned to Rex. "This is the second one in the past few weeks, Rex. This doesn't look good."
"I . . . can't figure it out, General," Rex replied. "I've never seen anything like this. I mean, I . . . I know why Dogma did what he did. But Tup just seemed to completely fall apart."
Kix interjected in a reserved manner. "General . . . I have to point out . . . Tup said, 'kill the Jedi'." He paused. "He looked right at you, General, but he only went for General Tiplee. And he would have had a chance to kill you during the battle, but he chose General Tiplar."
Anakin realized that this was an observation worth considering. But not right now. Right now, it was crucial to get off the station.
"Make sure you tell the doctors that," he said. "Get him back to landing bay 44 Interior. I'll order a medevac to be waiting. Rex, Fives, and I will follow later. We've got business to finish up here first."
"Yes, General."
The image of Count Dooku appeared on the screen. Admiral Trench showed the minimum requisite amount of deference. But the truth was he despised Dooku. The count's only skill was his manipulation of the Force. He had none of the admiral's intelligence, tactical or technical brilliance.
"Count Dooku. The Republic Forces are in full retreat," Trench reported.
Dooku was perceptive. Even across the distance, he could sense there was something more behind this communication. "But this is not why you have contacted me, is it?"
"No, Count. In truth, the Republic had pushed my droids to the breaking point when they suddenly turned and fell back. Tsk-tsk-tsk. It seemed that, at the height of the conflict, a clone turned on his Jedi general and . . . tsk-tsk-tsk, executed her." He felt a strange thrill speaking those words.
This was an interesting report, but not necessarily newsworthy. "Intentionally?"
"I saw it with my own eyes," Trench vouched. "I have studied clones and fought against them in many battles. This action is unlike anything I have witnessed in their behavior as soldiers."
"So, there is a traitor in their midst. It's rare, but such things have been reported in the past." Dooku was nonchalant.
"Tsk-tsk-tsk-tsk. Not a traitor. This was different. It seemed . . . "
"Yes, Admiral?"
"It seemed as if the clone couldn't help himself, as if he was . . . entranced."
Now, this was a curious turn. And possibly dangerous. Dangerous to the plans of Dooku's master. This merited looking into. But still maintaining his indifferent exterior, he said simply, "Thank you, Admiral. I will take this under advisement."
Kix was flummoxed.
With all the Justice's assigned doctors tending to the wounded coming up from Ringo Vinda, he'd been relying solely on the assistance of a medical droid; and even then, he was limited in what he, as a field medic, was permitted to do.
For the past two hours, he'd ordered every test he was authorized to order. He'd examined and examined again. He had even poured through the databanks, searching for any historical reports on the symptoms Tup was exhibiting. Yet, for all the tests that had been run, there was nothing out of the ordinary.
Having determined it was at least safe to administer a mild sedative, he'd kept Tup in a sort of twilight state, but now that all the tests were over, he was slowly bringing him back to consciousness. And there was no denying, he was concerned about which Tup would emerge from the sedation.
"Wh-where am I?"
Kix adopted his most soothing voice. "You're in the med bay, back aboard the Justice."
"How did I get here?" Tup sounded groggy, disconnected. But it was not the kind of disorientation that came with the fading effect of the drugs; Kix noticed that right away. It was as if Tup's memory had fully failed him, an occurrence that usually only accompanied a traumatic injury and loss of consciousness. And that had not happened to Tup. He had sustained no injury and had remained fully conscious through the entirety of the execution, and now he was behaving as if he'd just come out of a coma.
"We brought you here from the battlefield," Kix replied.
"What happened—why—why am I tied down?" Anxiety was now creeping into the confusion in his voice.
But before Kix could reply, the door to the med bay opened and General Skywalker entered, followed by Captain Rex, Fives, and General Tiplee.
Tup, seeing Fives, began to strain against the straps holding him down. "Fives? What's happening to me?" he asked desperately.
"You don't remember?" Fives asked carefully, stepping up to the exam table.
"No."
Fives breathed deeply, bracing himself. "You murdered General Tiplar."
Tup looked horrified. "What? No. That's not possible." His voice was filled with disbelief as his struggles increased. "I would never—I could never—"
Fives grabbed hold of his arm. "Tup. You did." He could not tell if Tup believed him or not, but his reaction was one approaching panic. He was frightened, upset, fighting to free himself and possibly endangering the others in the process.
"I don't—I don't understand. How could this happen? What's happening to me, Fives?" He was clearly losing his hold on self-control, working himself into a frenzy.
The medical droid administered a sedative, and Tup drifted back into semi-consciousness.
Anakin rubbed the back of his head in confusion and upset. It pained him to see one of his own troopers in such a state, especially when the reason behind it – and thus, any treatment options – was a mystery.
Rex interrupted his general's thoughts. "What do you think happened?"
Anakin gestured to Kix and in a voice that betrayed his frustration, he demanded, "Did you check all of his scans?"
Kix, understanding what General Skywalker was feeling, replied professionally and evenly. "Well, all of his scans are clear. As far as I can tell, this is a combat-related stress. It seems he's had some sort of breakdown." Even as he spoke, he thought of his own moment of "combat-related" stress, his own "breakdown." Yet, not even when he'd been at his weakest had it ever crossed his mind to turn against his leadership with lethality. Still, it seemed to him that Tup had not made a conscious decision to kill General Tiplar. Something had gone haywire in his head, and now Kix had to call it like he saw it.
To which, Rex, not without expectation, chastised, "Kix, you should know better. We were designed to withstand any stress."
Kix would have disagreed with him face-to-face, except that he was not sure the captain even truly believed his own statement to be true anymore. Umbara had shown the captain that the descent into depravity was only a single battle away, and no one was immune.
But if Rex wasn't buying the mental breakdown explanation, neither was Fives. "I agree," he said with certainty. "We've been through a lot together. He doesn't seem to remember what happened. It's like he's sick . . . or drugged."
Kix was circumspect. "Well, it could be a virus, a toxin. A new kind of biological warfare. I can't be certain."
Anakin, wary of the other occupants of the med bay – and not convinced that Tup was truly insensate and not hearing their conversation, spoke in a low voice, "Let's talk outside."
The group filed back into the hallway, at which point Anakin spoke what was on his mind. "You mean the enemy could have made him do this?"
It was General Tiplee who answered. "It's a possibility. There have been rumors the Separatists have been trying to develop an anti-clone virus."
Anakin was not stunned by this information. Everyone in the GAR was well aware that one of the greatest weaknesses of having a clone army was its vulnerability to a targeted biological agent. With all the clones having the same physiology, and despite having enhanced immunity, if the Separatists ever managed to develop a weapon that could attack that physiology, the war would be over and very quickly.
"But if Tup was exposed, hundreds of others would have been exposed, too," Fives put forth. "Why has no one else been affected?"
"Maybe others have been affected but not to the same degree," Rex offered.
"Different levels of exposure, perhaps?" Tiplee added.
Kix needed to stop the guess work. Treatment could not be predicated on what anyone thought was wrong with Tup. And the longer Tup stayed here on the Justice, the less the chances of finding out what was really ailing him.
He owed it to Tup – and to his professional ethics – to say as much. "We aren't equipped for this type of situation. He'll have to be taken back to Kamino. Only then will you have your answer."
Anakin considered. "Where is Major Hypes?"
"He's performing surgery," Kix replied.
"Has he had a chance to examine him?" Anakin again.
"No, General," Kix replied. "But I don't think he'll have anything different to say than what I'm saying now."
Anakin stepped up and put his hand on Kix's shoulder. "I believe you, Kix. But I don't want to send him off to Kamino without a doctor examining him first."
"Understood, Sir. Most of the docs on board are busy with other patients right now, and . . . I don't think you want to settle for a medical droid," Kix replied. "But I would strongly recommend making a decision within the next standard rotation. You know my opinion: he needs to get to Kamino."
"Is his condition life-threatening?" General Tiplee asked.
"I don't know," Kix replied. "It's beyond my ability to assess. Even if it's not life-threatening to him, we've already seen . . . it's deadly."
Anakin nodded curtly. "Meet back here in one hour. Fives, Kix, stay here with him. If you can line up an exam with one of the docs, do so. Rex and I are heading to the planning room. We've got to update Sector Headquarters on the status of the battle. General Tiplee, I think there are things you want to take care of."
"Yes," came the reply. "I will join you shortly."
The group split up.
Rex and Anakin headed for the planning room.
"This is going to be a big problem for us, Rex," Anakin began right away.
Rex nodded his understanding. "I think you're right, General. I'm not sure we even have an explanation to offer."
"No explanation that will satisfy the Council, at any rate," Anakin replied. "The GAR leadership might see things differently, but . . . I already take enough incoming from the Council over the way I run this battalion." A pause. "First, Umbara and now this. They're going to start looking closely at us. They're going to believe something has to be wrong. And maybe they're right. How do we end up with two dead Jedi—even if one is a traitor—at the hands of our own men in so short a period of time? And what about what Kix said? Why didn't Tup try to kill me? If he was fixated on killing a Jedi, I was right there in front of him."
"I have no answers, General," Rex replied. "I can only say that you had nothing to do with what happened on Umbara. That was all my fault—"
"I'm responsible for every man in the battalion, Rex, even when I'm not physically with them," Anakin interrupted. "What happened on Umbara was due to General Krell, and I would never blame you or any of the men for doing what had to be done." A pause. "But this . . . did we miss something? Was there something going on with Tup that we didn't see?"
"Well, if we missed it, so did Fives; and Fives has been with him almost every waking moment since Umbara," Rex replied. "If Fives didn't see any trouble, there's a good chance it's because there wasn't anything there to see."
"That makes it even more bizarre." Anakin shook his head, perplexed. "If he was fine all this time, what could have sent him over the edge so abruptly?"
"Hopefully, the doctors will be able to determine that, Sir," Rex said. "I agree with Kix. We need to get Tup to Kamino . . . as quickly as possible."
They came to the briefing room and entered.
General Kenobi was already there with Cody. Also present were Admiral Yularen, Jedi General Shyfa and Commander Ki'weya of the 808th but without Captain Top. And, much to Rex's surprise, Jedi General Secura and Commander Bly. He had not known the 327th Star Corps had even been brought into the battle.
Attending by hologram were Masters Yoda and Windu, along with the commanding officer of Sector 6 Headquarters, General Strom.
Yoda opened the meeting. "Of General Tiplar's death, heard we have. A tragic occurrence, it is. Condolences to General Tiplee."
"It was . . . tragic, Master," Anakin agreed. "General Tiplee is handling Tiplar's final affairs at this moment. She plans to join us later."
"What happened?" Master Windu asked, his manner grave.
"One of our 501st troopers just . . . lost it," Anakin explained. "He'd given no sign that he was going to do something like this, and then he didn't even remember doing it."
"And where is that trooper now?" This again from Windu.
"He's in the med bay, under sedation and in restraints. We're waiting for a doctor's exam before deciding whether to send him back to Kamino or—"
"No one's examined him yet?" This from General Strom.
"My medic has," Anakin stated. "But the medical staff are busy trying to save the lives of men who were injured in the fighting. We've taken some pretty heavy casualties—"
Here, Admiral Yularen felt it incumbent to come to the defense of his medical staff.
"General Skywalker is right," he stated authoritatively. "The first priority is to treat those with the most serious injuries. By the time Tup was brought in, the entire medical staff was fully engaged with other injured personnel."
"What about the med teams on other ships? The Justice isn't the only ship in that battle group," Strom pointed out. "You've got at least three other flag ships there."
This was, in fact, the truth.
None of the on-scene leadership had thought about checking with the other ships to see what their availability was for treating the injured.
And . . . Tup's actions, while horrific, had not seemed to place his own life in imminent danger. There hadn't seemed to be any great urgency in treating him that would have moved him up ahead of those with life-threatening injuries.
"I will send out an inquiry to them immediately," Yularen replied, motioning to his adjutant to get on it.
There was further discussion of what might have caused the breakdown, then the topic turned to the battle itself. Nearly two hours of briefing followed. And when that was over, Master Yoda requested that the room be vacated with the exception of Generals Skywalker and Kenobi.
This, Rex feared, was the dressing-down which General Skywalker had anticipated. Just how severe it would be remained to be seen.
As he turned to leave the room, he felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see his general looking at him with intensity. "Go back down there and stay with him." There was something unspoken in the way General Skywalker stared at him, as if a certain measure of distrust had taken seed. Tup was a 501st trooper, and the commanding officer of the 501st wanted to make sure that no one spirited him away in the rolls of bureaucracy.
"Yes, General."
When Rex left the room and entered the hallway, he saw the Commander Bly was waiting for him.
"Rex," Bly greeted him with the cool professionalism that had been the natural outgrowth of his personality ever since ARC School.
"Bly, I haven't seen you since Maridun," Rex replied.
"Seems like a lifetime ago," Bly stated. "Where you headed?"
"Back to the med bay," Rex replied. "I need to stay with him until a decision is made where he'll be going for treatment. Join me?."
"Sure, for a little while," Bly replied. "General Secura is doing some kind of drug deal for weapons and ammo."
"A drug deal?"
Bly smiled, something Rex had rarely seen. "She has a way of getting what she wants, and we're low on a lot of things. Since we're here and joining in on this battle, she's gone . . . bartering. I think your loggies will have a hard time resisting her."
"As long as she leaves some for us," Rex replied. He paused with trepidation. "Though I'm not sure how much longer we'll be out here. We were barely back up to 50 percent strength to begin with. Now, after this thing with General Tiplar . . . and after what happened on Umbara, I wouldn't be surprised if we get called back to Coruscant."
"It's that bad?"
"Don't you think so?"
Bly shrugged. "Osik happens in a war zone. If everything were neat and tidy, it wouldn't be war."
Rex was reminded how easily Bly was able to boil things down to their most basic, simple formulation. And he was grateful for that.
After a few seconds, Bly spoke again in a low voice. But now he sounded apologetic and even somewhat miffed. "The truth, Rex . . . is that we're here to relieve the 501st."
"What?" Rex stopped walking.
"We got the OPORD three standard rotations ago," Bly went on. "They've kept it on the down low. Everyone knows we're coming to join the fight. They just don't know that you all will be leaving in the next few days. I'd guess that's what is being discussed right now back in the briefing room."
"I don't—I don't believe it."
Bly attempted to soften the blow. "Well, you did just say you wouldn't be surprised if they recalled you guys," he reminded him. "And it may have as much to do with your numbers as with anything else. Let's face it: the 501st has been going non-stop for almost a year now, and fek, even clone troopers need some rest."
But Rex was already dissecting the timeline and was not interested in platitudes, however kindly meant. "Three days ago . . . that means they had already decided to recall us before Tup murdered General Tiplar." A pause. "This is about what happened on Umbara," he grimaced. "They're going to make sure we don't miss our court date – my court date."
"Well, they're giving us overlap," Bly stated. "Two weeks."
Rex gave a vague nod, then looked Bly directly in the eye. "Do you know who made the decision?"
"The OPORD came from the GAR G-3," Bly replied, referring to the Plans and Operations Division of Army Headquarters. "But they would have been acting on guidance from someone higher up the food chain, maybe the chief of staff."
"Or the Jedi Council."
"Maybe."
Rex felt almost certain that the order to pull the 501st away from the front was coming from the Council and not for the benevolent reason of being concerned with the battle-weariness of the troops. This was a slap in the face of General Skywalker . . .
"I would have thought you'd be happy to get back to Coruscant, take a break from the fighting . . . for a little while, at least," Bly stated.
"Normally, I would," Rex admitted. "But this feels different. This doesn't feel like an R&R break. This feels like . . . a . . . a lack of trust."
"Don't be stupid," Bly scolded. "The 501st is still the top outfit in the GAR. Everyone knows that."
Rex might agree with him—did agree with him. Yet, he was silent.
"You'll, uh, keep this to yourself, right, Rex?" Bly inquired. "I wasn't supposed to say anything yet."
"Yeah, I'll . . . I'll keep it quiet."
They came to the med center and went inside; but they were only there a few short minutes before a doctor arrived from one of the other ships.
"I'm Doctor Unhalle. I'm here to conduct an exam on this trooper," the doctor announced. He seemd to have an idea of the situation that had brought him to the Justice, for he was very grave though not at all unpleasant. "Everyone step outside please, except the medic."
Rex and Bly went back out into the hallway.
They made small talk, avoiding the topic that neither one of them wanted to revive. It was better to reminisce about ARC training and Maridun.
At length, Doctor Unhalle and Kix both emerged.
"I've done a complete work up, and this is nothing like I've ever seen," the doctor explained. "I can't find a thing wrong with him. He needs to get to Kamino without delay. I put in the transport order, and they're prepping him for movement right now. I'll put together a medical team to go with him. Once I have the hangar number, you should let General Skywalker know he can meet us there, if he chooses."
Rex nodded, impressed with the doctor's decisive attitude.
As Doctor Unhalle went back into the med center, Kix spoke up. "I'd like to go with him as part of the team, Captain."
"Let me think about it," Rex replied, then to Bly. "I've got to take care of a few things here—"
"I can see that," Bly noted. "Meet you later in the officers' mess? Say . . . in two hours?"
"You'll still be onboard?"
Bly again flashed the quirky smile. "As long as it takes General Secura to get everything she came for. That could be . . . the whole night."
"Two hours, then," Rex agreed. "I'll comm you if I can't make it."
Rex watched Bly head off down the corridor, then he remembered that he had his medic standing there, waiting for an answer.
And hell . . . if the 501st was going to be heading back to Coruscant anyway, he probably could afford to detail one medic to accompany the medevac team to Kamino.
Still, there were two weeks of overlap, and losing a medic with Kix's skills . . .
Damn. There was that look of determination in his eyes. Kix wanted to go. This was important to him.
"Alright, Kix, you can go. I think Tup will feel better if someone he knows is with him."
Kix's expression was maudlin. "I'm not even sure he'll know I'm there. He's—he's going downhill fast, Captain." A pause. "And if he doesn't make it, then at least he won't die alone."
So, Bly is back! I missed him, and I wanted to get him back in the storyline in some capacity.
Also, you may have noticed that General Skywalker's flagship is no longer the Resolute. It was destroyed in one of the earlier episodes, and no name was ever given for his new flagship, so I decided on Justice. Kind of ironic, I guess.