Aboard the R/ACC Judicator, Kaller System
The familiar shudder of a successful exit from hyperspace creaked through the hull. Through the viewport of Clone Force 99's quarters, the swirls of hyperspace rapidly gave way to the starry black canvas of space, only obscured by the hulking Venator off their port.
"Where is it?" Wrecker asked, pressing his face against the window.
"We won't be able to see it for another ten minutes at least," Tech said matter-of-factly, not even bothering to look up from his datapad.
It of course referred to Kaller. An Outer Rim world inhabited by a green amphibian species called the Kallerans whose geometric heads, incidentally, were shaped like the outline of the Cyborg General Grievous's mask.
Coincidence was the word Tech used, Hunter thought, given Grievous is believed to be a Kaleesh. Though, secretly he had some suspicions that there was a link.
The Separatists had invaded the planet for the second time this month, and Jedi General Depa Billaba and battalions of Regs had been deployed to reinforce the planet. Now, for reasons Hunter did not understand, Clone Force 99 was in the process of being deployed to Kaller to provide assistance. But it wasn't his place to question orders.
"All stations, prepare for a hot approach," Commodore Ozzel's crisp voice came through the intercom. "A Separatist fleet has been detected at the edge of the system."
"Alright," Hunter said, standing up from his cot and grabbing his helmet, "Looks like we'll be deploying sooner than expected—"
"Finally some good news!" Wrecker interrupted.
Echo gave Wrecker an exasperated look and then shook his head.
"Gear up," Hunter continued, "Prep the Marauder."
Tech opened his mouth to say something, but paused when something in the viewports caught his eyes. Flashes of laserfire flickered in the distance.
"Seppies?" Hunter asked, stepping up to the viewport.
Already wearing his helmet, Crosshair pressed a button on his visor, zooming in. "No, I see an Eta-class Shuttle… Taking fire from ARC-170s and Z-95s."
o.o.o.o.o
KENDAL OZZEL
Like many middle-aged human officers serving in the Republic Navy, Commodore Kendal Ozzel now faced an alarming situation. A Jedi transport was approaching rapidly, being pursued by what appeared to be Republic starfighters.
"I say again, this is General Depa Billaba, clearance code five-two-seven lekku. I am requesting permission to dock and assistance against—STANG!" The Jedi's voice was obscured by static.
"Kalesta, we must tell those pilots to hold their fire at once!" Ozzel barked to his third shift communication's officer, a young Chagrian female Lieutenant.
"Yes, sir," Kalesta said, Lethorns quivering. She angled her fingers awkwardly as she typed in the comm code for the Clone fighter squadron. Due to her long fingernails, so eccentric that they sat at the very edge of what was in-regulations for Republic Naval grooming standards, the Chagrian had to type everything with the palmar side of her fingers to avoid breaking them. "The channel is open, Commodore. Do you want me to tell the Clones to hold their fire, or do you want to tell them yourself?"
Ozzel opened his mouth angrily but bit back his reprimand, realizing how ambiguous his order actually had been.
His second-in-command, Clone Captain Mark, stepped up to the Commodore's side and spoke into the channel. "Cease fire immediately!"
The voice from one of the starfighters responded in an extremely firm tone. "There are two Jedi on that ship. Anyone who interferes with Order 66 will be terminated."
"Order 66?" Mark asked, looking to Ozzel with raised eyebrows.
Ozzel frowned. He hadn't memorized all of the contingency orders, and to his knowledge, there was no possible way something called 'Order 66' explained firing on a Jedi General. "If you do not cease fire at once, you will be fired upon."
Five seconds went by, and space was still being lit up with laserfire. The Jedi transport continued its evasive maneuvers, with a Z-95 hot on its tail.
"Sir, those fighters are bunched up pretty tightly," Mark warned. "We might hit General Billaba."
Ozzel pondered this for two seconds, then said flatly, "She's a Jedi. She'll anticipate our move, probably before we open fire."
"We could also give her a warning, sir," Kalesta said, turning in her chair to face Ozzel.
"I was just about to," Ozzel grunted, leaning into the comm and switching back to the ship to ship channel. "General Billaba, be advised. We are going to open fire on your attackers. Once you are clear of them, make for hangar six."
"Thank you, Commodore. Pitching hard to port in five, four—"
"Forward batteries, open fire on the pursuing starfighters on my command," Ozzel interrupted. He waited a moment, then the Eta-class shuttle pitched hard to port, increasing the distance between it and the starfighters. Simultaneously when Billaba said one, he yelled, "Fire!"
Laser cannon fire erupted from the bow of the Acclamator from several batteries. The Z-95 at the front of the group exploded in a brilliant flash, causing a ripple of dismay to tingle in Ozzel's spine.
He had given the pilots multiple warnings to cease their attack, and their attack on the Jedi amounted to treason. But still, friendly-fire was never so friendly.
Billaba's shuttle successfully broke away from its pursuers, decreasing its elevation relative to the Acclamator's bridge as it made for the hangar deck. For a moment, the remaining Clone starfighters seemed to give up on their pursuit.
"Cease fire," Ozzel ordered, scrutinizing the situation with his own eyes. By now, the Jedi shuttle had descended completely out of view, and the only remaining participants of the battle were the Clone starfighters. "Hail them and order them to surrender," the Commodore finally decided. "Tell them they are to land in hangar—what the blazes?!"
All of the remaining starfighters had ignited their booster engines and were flying directly at the Judicator's bridge.
"Collision course!" barked one of the Clone navigators stationed in the data pits. "Impact imminent!"
"All batteries, open fire!" Mark cried out, gesturing dramatically to the bridge viewports.
This time, less accurate turbolaser fire joined the barrage of laser fire off the bow. Space was blindingly illuminated by barrage after barrage of concentrated fire. One shot struck one the ventral side of one of the ARC-170s wings, sending it into a death spiral. The last Z-95 erupted in flames, then exploded, struck first by a laser cannon shot and then a turbolaser shot.
But two of the ARC-170s remained and they were getting closer and closer.
The color left Ozzel's face and he ducked reflexively, covering his head with both arms. Sure that death was upon him, he shuddered as the bridge shook violently, then gasped in shock at a loud metallic thud that impacted the viewport.
"DAMAGE REPORT!" yelled the Captain, and six or seven voices began speaking in succession, reporting impacts across the bridge tower. Long range sensors were down.
Ozzel took a deep breath and looked up in amazement. Somehow they had survived. The only sign of anything being amiss was the wing of an ARC-170 repeatedly bouncing off the scratched transparisteel.
The Chagrian seemed to perceive Ozzel's astonishment, and said, in a low whisper, "Sir, the laser cannons managed to destroy the frontmost fighter. Wreckage from that fighter hit the others, as they were in a tight—"
"I SAW WHAT HAPPENED, LIEUTENANT!" Ozzel barked, face reddened in shame and anger. It was a lie of course, but he hardly wanted to acknowledge that he had allowed fear to overcome him.
"Sorry sir," Kalesta said briskly.
Ten seconds went by, and Ozzel let out a reluctant sigh. "No, I am sorry, Kalesta. It was… I shouldn't let my temper get the best of me."
The Chagrian seemed unsure as to how to respond and sat there, staring up expectantly at Ozzel.
"Jedi General Billaba has disembarked and is on her way up," Mark said, standing behind Ozzel.
Ozzel turned around. "Thank you, Captain." He sighed wearily, took off his gray-green hat, and twisted it thoughtfully in his hands. As the shock of the events wore off, other concerns began to creep up in the recesses of his mind.
The Clone pilots out there had not only attempted fratricide against a Jedi General. They had attempted to sacrifice their own lives in a suicide rush against a Republic capital ship. What could possibly have driven those pilots into such desperation? Were more Clones in on this? Was there an entire Clone uprising now in the works? How had General Billaba lost control like this?
Oh, Ozzel now wanted to give Billaba a piece of his mind. Mood changing completely, he was going to demand to know what in the hell was going on out there. He slowly walked across the bridge, positioning himself immediately outside the turbolift doors to greet the Jedi.
"General Billaba," he began in a terse tone the lift doors opened, "I want to know—"
"I'll explain later," Billaba interrupted, brushing past him with her Padawan following in tow. "Jam all transmissions. Get this ship into hyperspace immediately. We have to jump now."
Acclamators were the fastest ships of their size in the Galaxy. At hyperspace, they were almost four times as fast as the Venator. Ozzel knew why Billaba wanted to jump in this ship. He knew why she had chosen to disembark on the Judicator, as opposed to one of the two Venators which had accompanied it.
But he was still completely flummoxed as to her reasoning. "Sir, you want to leave Kaller?"
"We have to leave Kaller." Billaba twirled in place, looking for the navigation station. "A massive conspiracy has unfolded, targeting Jedi everywhere. The madness seems to originate from a hypercomm transmission, which instructs Clones to execute something called 'Order 66.' My Padawan and I barely escaped. The moment Clones hear this transmission, they will turn on us."
Mark scratched his head. "General, I heard you say it. Why haven't I gone mad then?"
Ozzel ignored the question, turning to face Kalesta. "Comm the Archer and the—"
"NO!" Billaba yelled. "We can't inform anyone else of our departure or our destination. The moment the crews receive the transmission, they will go mad. If they know how to follow us…"
"General, with all due respect, this sounds rather insane if you ask me," Ozzel grunted. "But if it turns out to be hogwash, it will be your career on the line, not mine. All stations, prepare to jump to hyperspace."
"Where are we jumping to?" asked Drive, the Clone operating the helm this shift.
"Agamar," Billaba said without hesitation.
"Set course for Agamar," Ozzel sighed, "And cut off all incoming transmissions for now."
A warning chime sounded through the ship, alerting everyone that they were about to jump to hyperspace. The next moment, two things unfolded almost simultaneously. The holopresence of a cloaked figure appeared on the projector in the middle of the bridge, saying "Execute Order 66." And then the ship jumped, stars stretching for a brief moment before being replaced by the swirls of hyperspace.
General Billaba swung her lightsaber at the holoprojector, destroying it. Her Padawan Caleb Dume ignited his own lightsaber, standing beside Billaba back-to-back.
The damage, it seemed, was already done.
o.o.o.o.o
HUNTER
A faint noise came, all at once, through all of their helmet comms. Clearly, someone was giving them an order and not using the usual channels aboard a starship. Collectively, the Bad Batch donned their helmets as quickly as they could. The moment Hunter's was on, he heard a repeating message.
"Execute Order 66. Execute Order 66. Execute Order 66…"
"What does that mean?!" Wrecker asked in a surprised voice.
Tech held up his datapad. "General Contingency Order 66: In the event of Jedi officers acting against the interests of the Republic, and after receiving specific orders verified as coming directly from the Supreme Commander—HEY!"
Without a word and still wearing his helmet, Crosshair rammed his shoulder into Tech's, bustling past. Before Hunter could stop him, he was already through the doors which had hissed shut.
Echo glanced at the door, then back at everyone else. "That's odd… Crosshair is usually the last man I'd expect to follow a contingency order."
"What is Order 66?" Hunter asked. Something about the title of that order just sounded ominous.
"In the event of Jedi officers acting against the interests of the Republic," Tech said again, "And after receiving specific orders verified as coming directly from the Supreme Commander, GAR commanders will remove those officers by lethal force, and command of the GAR will revert to the Supreme Commander, currently the Supreme Chancellor, until a new command structure is established."
It took five seconds for the implication of those orders to sink in. When that happened, both Hunter and Echo cried out at the same time. "General Billaba!"
Alarm klaxons blared.
"Wait! Where are you going?" Wrecker asked as Hunter and Echo both began armoring up.
"To save the General," Hunter said, sliding his gauntlet on.
It took less than thirty seconds for the rest of Clone Force 99 to gear up. When they left their quarters, intending to catch Crosshair before he reached the bridge, they found the halls bustling with far more than usual activity. Squads of heavily armed Clones were running around, mostly in the direction of the Acclamator's command tower.
When they arrived on the turbolift, they could hear the unmistakable sounds of blasterfire and lightsaber strikes muffled through the bulkheads and deck plating. Clone Force 99 shoved all of the regs off the turbolift, and Tech punched the button for the bridge level.
The first thing Hunter's eyes flicked to when the turbolift doors opened was the "1" painted onto the opposite wall, signifying the deck level. The sounds of blasterfire had ended. They ran as quickly as they could, blasters set to stun and held at the ready as the doors slid open to reveal the entire bridge access area was carbon-scarred by blasterfire.
On the bridge itself, acrid smoke filled the air, and there were bodies. At least a dozen Clone navigators and troopers were sprawled out on the main deck and the catwalks above, many with blaster burns, some with lightsaber wounds. A few still squirmed. In the middle of it all, Crosshair stood alone on the bridge over two bodies. They were Depa Billaba and her Padawan, Commander Caleb Dume.
"Crosshair, what did you do?!" Hunter demanded, raising his voice as he stormed over to Crosshair's position.
Wrecker stood silent, completely dumbfounded. Echo took off his helmet and surveyed the scene with his own eyes.
"Good soldiers follow orders," Crosshair replied in an ominous tone Hunter had never heard from him before.
Tech pulled out his medical scanner, doing a quick sweep of the Jedis' bodies. He shook his head in dismay.
"I don't–DON'T SHOOT!" cried out a voice in a posh Coruscanti accent.
A plump middle-aged human emerged from behind the communication's station, hands raised. He wore a Navy uniform with the rank of Commodore. Behind him, a female Chagrian Lieutenant slowly stood, her hands raised.
"I wasn't going to shoot you," Crosshair said dryly.
"Sir, are you alright? Commodore…?"
"Ozzel," the non-Clone replied. "What in the blazes do you–THIS WAS FRIENDLY FIRE!"
"It wasn't me, sir," Hunter grunted, glaring at Crosshair in utter disbelief. The fact he had killed not only a Jedi General, but also a child… Then there were the dead and injured Regs sprawled out all over the floor. Such senseless violence. Hunter wasn't sure he could even share the same room with Crosshair anymore.
"I was just following Orders," Crosshair hissed.
"What orders!?" Ozzel shouted.
"Order 66. Any and all Jedi leadership are to be executed for treason against the Republic. All Republic personnel are obliged to aid in their elimination," Crosshair insisted. "Any personnel who refuse to comply are traitors."
"It's like the General said," whispered the Chagrian.
"What did she say?!" Hunter asked in a raised voice, wanting to hear more. "Sir, if there's anything you can tell me…" He paused as the noise level in the room elevated.
In the background, Clone regulars filed onto the bridge in combat formation, cautiously aiming their blasters at the fallen Jedi bodies as the Sergeant activated his helmet comms to report on the kills. "Captain, both Jedi have been terminated."
Hunter watched him nod in acknowledgement of whatever the Reg Captain said as he glanced back at Ozzel, who just now seemed to grasp the threat against those who refused to cooperate. "I–I never interfered! I just–I saw no evidence that Depa Billaba had personally committed treason, let alone her Padawan."
"The Chancellor declared it, so she must be a traitor. In any case, are you alright, sirs?" asked the Clone squad leader as he looked in their direction.
The Commodore let off a sigh of relief. "Yes, I am just a bit shaken. Thank you Sergeant."
"Understandable," the Sergeant replied. "These are troubling times."
Well, that's an understatement, Hunter thought bitterly, still staring at Caleb Dume's body.
"I am alright too," said the female Chagrian. "But I would like to be excused to get cleaned up."
"Very well, Kalesta, you're dismissed. Keep your comm line open," Ozzel said, his voice lowered in a slightly conspiratorial tone.
Hunter glanced from the Commodore to Tech, who was staring curiously at the pair. If he wanted to find out more about what was going on, he suspected they'd have to start eavesdropping.