Cloud's gunship landed on the landing pad of the Republic Intelligence Tower. Cloud moved the prisoner out of the ship and shoved him down the ramp. There was a line of clones in red and white armor with their guns aimed on him. The prisoner smiled and chuckled at the group of clones. A man in a white suit walked out of the building and onto the pad. He was accompanied by two other clones. His name was Kal Zyka, Director of Republic Special Operations and Intelligence.
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"We got em, sir!" Cloud shouted over the loud air traffic around them. Zyka nodded.
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"Good, we've tied a loose end." Zyka said as he approached the prisoner. "Thought you could run from us, Grel?" He asked the bloody and fat man before him. Commodore Grel was a Separatist Extremist and labeled a terrorist by The Republic.
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"Zyka...good to see you." Grel sarcastically laughed. "I thought you'd be dead after I blew up your shuttle saving that unfortunate Senator Rheya." Grel's laigh got heavier.
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"Nap him, Cloud." Zyka said to the black suited clone behind him. Cloud nodded and backed away. He aimed the DC-15 at the prisoner and stunned him.
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"Prisoner neutralized, sir." Cloud said lowering his rifle. Zyka smiled as he watched Grel slam into the floor. Zyka then gestured to Cloud to come over. Cloud got within inches of the Director and lowered his head. "Do we have full oversight on this op?" He asked.
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"We do, but only if we keep it smooth." Zyka responded in an even lower voice. "The Jedi don't know and I prefer they stay in the dark.""That's our job. And now the Sergeant's." Cloud responded. Zyka looked over to Hex who was next to Smoke. "He's got intel, sir. A lot. And he survived the Alderaan incident." He added.
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"You've got him. But I can't authorize a Nightshift Armor order. The Council wants this unit defunct." Zyka said. "I compromised through a discontinuation." His voice was filled with annoyance toward the Jedi.
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"Kress take it lightly?" Cloud asked.
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"When has a Mandalorian ever gotten along with a Jedi?" Zyka chuckled. Cloud laughed with him. "Come, we need to get him to his forever home."
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"This operation is simple. Move the prisoner through level 11-11. We've cleared the roads and notified local law enforcement that supplies are coming through. Once you get to the ascension tunnel, republic gunships will greet you. From there, you'll hand Commodore Grel over to Commander Fox and await further orders. Good luck, Nightshift."⠀
-Director Zyka
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The transport ship moved through the lower levels of Coruscant calmly. Hex was sitting opposite of his chair on the Alderaan transport and sighed. Everything felt the same. Hex pondered if maybe it was the same but he wasn't sure. Every battle and engagement felt the same to him as the pawn in a larger game. But instead of an ARC Trooper, he was next to some unheard of commando unit that had the vibes of dirty war coming off him. Hex felt uneasy with how Smoke and Cloud moved and looked. Their armor was scary, their voices were scary, and their postures were scary. How was he afraid of his clone brothers?
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"Loosen up, Hex." Smoke said looking over to the Sergeant. "Alderaan isn't Coruscant. This place is locked down like a rancor pit." The Clone joked. Hex nodded and sighed. Any moment now, he imagined a laser killing Smoke and Cloud being riddled with laser beams. Dirt was dead, his ARC officer was dead, their driver was even dead. As he closed his eyes, a hand nudged him."On our right, cargo transport." Cloud said as he walked over to the tinted window with his modified DC-15. Hex watched Cloud study the cargo ship like a hawk. He must've been there for a minute before making the call. Cloud was now on his feet and holding a button on his helmet down. "Command, this is Cloud. We have potential Separatists on level eleven dash eleven. Please send support if you can." Cloud ordered into the coms.
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"Kriff..." Hex muttered.
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"Calm down, Sarge." Smoke said sympathetically. "We're gonna get through this together." His voice was lighter and more caring.
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"MOVE!" Cloud barked at the driver as a revved engine could be heard from outside the ship. The cargo cruiser from the alley smashed into the side of the transport, slamming it into a building. Hex froze in his seat as the impact threw Smoke to the floor. "SERGEANT!" Cloud grabbed the clone and threw him down to the floor. Lasers tore up the entire wall of the transport before making the glass windows rain down on them like snow. Hex laid frozen as his clone brethren were slaughtered like cattle again. He looked over to Smoke for safety but only saw a man firing back at the enemy like a warrior. He then turned to Cloud who was running out of the side of the cruiser, shooting like he was invincible.
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"HEX! ON ME!" Cloud shouted as he gunned down scores of separatist fighters. Aliens and humans alike began to decorate the street like a graveyard. Hex crawled into the chaos and shot an alien who had just finished stabbing a clone with all four of their arms. The alien slumped over dead, filled with smoke.
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"I'm here, sir!" Hex shouted over the gunfire.
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"Get Commander Fox down here NOW!" Cloud barked at him. Hex nodded and ran over to a shot up vehicle.
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"Does anyone read me? This is Sergeant Hex of Nightshift. We have Separatist forces in the lower levels trying to take Commodore Grel." Hex said into his com.
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"Reinforcements on your way." A Clone responded over the coms.The fire fight had been going on for several minutes after the call. The street was a war zone and the war zone was an inferno. Most of the clones from the convoy were shredded down by lasers and the Separatists seemed to be everywhere. Cloud crawled over to a dead clone's gun and snatched it, firing a shot in the air to see if it still worked. When he saw a blue beam expel, Cloud popped up and fired upon the café a group of enemies were. Separatist fighters fell through the windows and over tables from the rapid barrage of laser fire. An explosion rang the level, making Cloud stumble aside. A building thirty feet away was blown up and Separatist Agents walked out with heavy firepower.
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"Shit!" Cloud shouted as he opened fire on the silhouettes in front of him. His lasers seemed to fade into the fire rather than hit anyone. Then, the fire unnaturally dispersed. A barrage of laser beams flew over his head and into the incoming Separatist attack. "Shit." Cloud gasped as Jedi in black and red armor with a sword like lightsaber cut through each Separatist effortlessly.
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"What kind of clone are you?" A yellow marked clone asked walking over from the rescue team.
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"One who doesn't work with Jedi." Cloud responded turning to the Commander.
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"Commander Winger." The Clone introduced himself with a salute.
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"Commander Cloud." Cloud nodded to the clone a bit annoyed. "Where's Fox?" He asked.
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"Busy, Cloud." Winger responded calmly as the Jedi walked over.
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"A Nightshift Trooper?" The Jedi said not even gazing upon Cloud. The Jedi wore a red cloth over his eyes since his species saw through the force.
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"Thanks for the assist." Cloud said to the Jedi.
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"I am Jedi Master Spekter." The Jedi said calmly. "What's the situation here?" His voice was much more direct and less wavy.
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"Prisoner escort. We just need to move him from here." Cloud explained.
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"The Jedi will take him from here with no further questions, Trooper." Spekter said as two of his soldiers removed Grel from the cruiser.
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"You better order them to drop Grel where he stands. Director Zyka needs to interrogate him further." Cloud said.
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"The Jedi have questions." Spekter said as he walked off towards his gunship. Winger walked past Cloud and shrugged. The facial expression beneath Cloud's mask was enough to court marshal him.
YOU ARE READING
Star Wars: Ultimate Clone Wars
FanficThe Clone Wars get bloody and dirty with espionage, sabotage, and the war behind the scenes... This is the launch of the reboot of the hit Galactic Civil War series featuring new and old characters from the original series!