Saga What Prive Glory? RoTS Commando Vignette, co-authored and edited by Kudzu

Title: What Price for Glory
Authors: Initial writing done by Fist_of_Mandalore. Co-authored, edited and generally made better by Kudzu.
Timeframe: Episode III
Summary: RoTS Republic Commando Vignette, Order 66...is anyone tired of these yet?

RC-535 kicked the smoking hulk of the battle droid. Rubbish, he said to himself. Whoever designed these should have gone back to engineering school and at least make semi-worthy trash. There is no glory in destroying these worthless tin cans. None at all.

RC-535 had always craved glory, ever since he had listened to the tales told by his Mandalorian instructor of the charge on Korda Six, fierce boarding actions in the orbit of Kuar, and the hunting of the last remnants of rogue Death Watchmen on Concord Dawn.

That was what he aspired to; not crawling around in the bush on some unknown planet in the Outer Rim, blasting cans back to the scrap heap.

?Quit your dreaming, commando." Sergeant RC-536?s harsh voice shook him from his contemplations. "We?re moving out. We still need to evac the Jedi, remember??

?Of course sir.? RC-535, or "A?den" as his squadmates called him for his quick temper. He stalked out of the underbrush, kicking at a disembodied droid head on the ground on his way, sending it sailing into a tree and smashing it. Dikut?la droid designers, he thought irritably.

Fanning out into formation, the clones approached their target - a downed gunship holding several Jedi Padawans who had lost their ?Masters.? Hnh, Jedi. No honor in them, A'den had decided long ago. They used their Force to the point of hiding behind it like some mystical shield - they didn?t believe in the true ways - honor and glory - the Mandalorian way. The believed war was ?evil? and such not. War, at least in his eyes, was holy.

?Cans!? cried Slam, the squad demolitions expert in warning.

?Dammit. Not these shebse again,? growled A?den, more to himself then anyone else. He dove behind a tree and hefted his Deece. Glancing down the laser sights, he spotted the targets - a formation of skeletal B-1 battle droids. And running in a straight line, no less, he noted. Easy pickings.

He depressed the trigger and a hail of plasma burst into the droids. Three fell in a smoldering, sparking heap. A loud explosion filled his ears and he instinctively dove back behind his cover before looking to his left, where the sound had come from. Slam. The demolitions commando had let loose with a thermal grenade and blown the rest of the cans to bits.

?Nice toss, Three-Four.?

?All in the wrist, ner vod.?

Typical Slam, flippant as usual.

They continued their advance from this minor distraction until Sarge's voice crackled over the comm.

?We?re nearing the target, Rancor Squad," he announced. "Get ready. Showing at least twenty cans. SBDs too, not skinnies.?

SBDs, eh, thought A'den. They at least, were worth the ammo you were hitting them with.

As he jogged out of the last tangled undergrowth he came upon the battle field. He saw the crashed gunship of the Jetiise, about two hundred meters from their position, and on top of it...

?Well, that?s interesting,? said A?den. ?The Jetiise doesn?t seem to require our help, Sarge.?

And it was true. There were only about five Jedi that A?den could see, and yet they seemed to be doing a more than proper job of destroying the droids. Already the wreckages of the destroyed Separatist machines were piling up around them as their lightsabers buzzed and flashed, cutting each down as they dumbly charged.

?We still need to go - wait a minute, comm transmission?" Sarge's voice trailed off for a moment. "Yes, milord. It will be done.?

?Sir?? asked Slam, clearly bewildered.

?Order 66 has been issued,? Sarge said simply. "A'den, did you get that?"

The commando shook his head in a universal negative. "No, sir. Our long-range helmet comms must be on the blink, sir."

"We'll get it fixed later. Now, Order 66. I trust you understand."

Order 66...the codename twirled in A?den?s skull for a moment. So the

 

Thanks for the reply. And was he really that loathsome? I wanted A'den to be a kind of typical Mandalorian-esque Clone...maybe I went overboard.

 

How sad. The character had to die, but I didn't want that to happen! Anyway, beautiful writing. Very well done.

 

You didn't let him kill the Jedi??

 

Well he killed two others. And I am planning to do a viggie for the rest of the squad and what there experiences during 66 are. So that particular Jedi may still die. Remember, A'den's helmet was malfunctioning earler(no long range comms) so the vital sign reader could've been wrong...

 

Not thinking is what I do best

 

Wow. Great job, F_o_M! Loved the mandalorian Sprinkled throughout the whole thing.

 

Yes it was quite good. Good work.