Republic Commando: Phi Squad

Prologue: Before the War

Fromthe audio journal of RC-5280, hours before the Battle of Geonosis,Kamino

"It was a dark andstormy night when I was born. I know that's a cliche, but hear meout. There really isn't a better way to describe the nighttime onKamino. Or the daytime. Dark and stormy.

"I should probablygive you a little background about myself. I'm designated as aRepublic Commando, created by the Kaminoans from the genetic templateof Jango Fett. Engineered to be a super soldier. Or so I've beentold. It's kind of a hard life. They had us doing live-firesimulations when we were just two standard years old. Biologically,that's the equivalent of four years old.

"The unit I'mwith is called Phi Squad. It consists of me, RC-9726, RC-3608, and mybest friend, RC-8233. When we're alone, we never use numbers.Everybody calls me Ka'rta. I'm the medic. My name is the Mando'aword for 'heart' or 'soul.' Oh-eight, our leader, is called Ajax, anancient Taung warrior's name. Two-six, the sniper, is named Ca'ad.It means 'child of night.' Sometimes, he can be really dark andbrooding. Thirty-three, Buckler, works as the squad slicer anddemolitions expert. Buckler..." this was a moment of reminiscence,accompanied by a faint chuckle. "His name comes from the 'buckling'effect of his favorite bombs.

"We're a squad.We fight together, we train together, and we never leave a manbehind. Special operations are a tough job for a squad of four. Atleast we've got an entire army supporting us."

He laughed aloud.

"We could surviveas an entire army, though. That's a credit to our training andSergeant Bralor. Our kit, too. The DC-17m Interchangeable WeaponsSystem is a beautiful gun. Best blaster you could ask for in a tightspot. Full auto mode, sniper rifle, and anti-armor all rolled up intoa neat little package. The armor isn't bad, either. They call itKatarn armor. Twenty kilos of plastoid that will save your lifecountless times. Even resistant to three-kiloton explosions. You canpaint it, too. It even has personal deflector shields for those tightspots that you wouldn't come out of otherwise. Oh, the biometricsensors provide nice data. Especially for someone in mylineof work. Those readouts are essential for my job as a medic."

He stopped speaking,as if to gather his thoughts.

"The survivaltraining is the hardest part of it all, I think. Going days withoutso much as a bland ration cube is hard living. Crawling through nerfguts just after a meal is even worse. Gives us a good, hard stomach,though."

There was a pause inthe audio for several seconds at this point.

"There have beensome rumors going around that the Republic and the Jedi don't knowabout us yet. That we're a secret weapon. I guess the crisis hasn'tescalated to the point of war yet. All I know are the shablarumors going around the training grounds. Never trust the rumors."

Another pause,shorter this time. It could be quite hard to think of anything tosay, especially when speaking was the only thing on your mind. Therewere so many things to say. Where was one to begin?

"Sergeant Bralorraised us as Mando'ade. 'Children of Mandalore.' It's anhonorable title I'd like to live up to. She's been a mother to usclones. We have nobody else. We were born in kriffing vats,if you hadn't noticed. Rav Bralor saved us from being dar'manda,those without honor, without souls. My Mando heritage is part of thestory of my name. I have a heart. I have a soul."

There was a faintmale voice in the background, indistinguishable from Ka'rta's toan untrained ear.

"Sounds like thisis the end of this entry. I have to log off. They're calling us tothe training grounds, to face the thunder and lightning out there. Ithink Ajax says we're getting deployed."