"𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙬𝙧𝙤𝙩𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙡𝙙 𝙙𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙨𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙛𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙙𝙞𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙤𝙣𝙚'𝙨 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙮. 𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙢𝙤𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙣 𝙬𝙖𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙨𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙩 𝙣𝙤𝙧 𝙛𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙙𝙮𝙞𝙣𝙜. 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙙𝙞𝙚 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙖 𝙙𝙤𝙜 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙣𝙤 𝙜𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙤𝙣."

We boarded the gunship and prepared for the upcoming mission. We were headed for a dark world.

"How am I supposed to see down there?" I wondered out loud.

"Oh I almost forgot," Waxer said before walking to the end of the gunship. He grabbed a helmet and tossed it to me. I stared at the helmet sitting in my hands. It was different from everyone else's. It was a bit smaller.

"How did you guys manage this?" I asked. I turned the helmet over in my hands and admired it. I put it over my head and it slid on nicely. "It fits perfect."

"I told Wooley to measure your head when you were sleeping," Cody smiled.

"You guys are awesome!" I exclaimed. "Thank you so much."

I attached a light source to my new helmet. I would be able to see on the dark planet now and hopefully avoid any more concussions.

"I wish I had the chance to paint it though," I mused. "Too bad you guys beat me to it."

"Well we couldn't have you running around without your orange, could we?" Cody spoke up.

"Everyone stay focused," Obi-Wan said staring into the sky riddled with explosions. "We are landing on Umbara."

The gunship's door opened and I could see the shadowy planet covered in fog below us.

"Hang in there, Kiwi," I told the trooper who gripped the overhead handle with both hands. "We're almost to the surface."

He removed a hand and ripped off his helmet, taking deep breaths. His face turned a pale shade of green. Kiwi had a problem with motion sickness... and heights. The surface fire didn't help. It was also his first big mission, so I could understand the nerve wracking experience it must've been for him.

The ship's engine rumbled as it lowered. We hopped out with guns blazing. The ground trembled from explosions in the distance. Enemy fire rained down on us and I was forced to block out the screams of falling men. It was the only way to keep moving forward.

"Ah! Where's my blaster!" I turned to see Trip feeling the ground.

My intuition directed me towards Twist's position. "Twist!" I shouted. "Trip's blaster is at your feet. Hand it to him, will you?"

"On it!" he replied and did as I said.

I couldn't blame the boys for having a hard time on this planet. Fog and shadow drowned my senses. The battle withered out as our forces eliminated the local Umbarans. Obi-Wan, Cody, and I observed the north end of the field from behind a hill.

"There," Cody pointed towards a ridge. The firing stopped indicating that we were in the clear to keep moving.

"Looks like General Skywalker and his men took the north ridge. Are we ready to keep moving?" I asked Obi-Wan.

He kept his eyes fixed on the mottled outline of the ridge. "Yes," he replied. "Let's get the men moving. We're going to push for the capital."

Cody and I saluted him before rounding up the men. We pressed onward. It took a whole rotation to reach the capital. We decided to make camp in a crevice not too far away. Everyone took of their helmets to take a breather.

I was speaking with Wooley when I caught movement in the trees. I put a finger to my lips and he nodded. I slipped away from Wooley and stepped carefully towards a winding branch near the tree and crouched. I could see the Umbaran up close now as he surveyed the camp. The second he raised his blaster, I put my hands on it. I gripped the barrel and rammed my knee into his stomach. I disarmed the gun, watching it fall apart piece by piece until the weapon became useless. The Umbaran watched in horror until he was shot and fell limply to the floor.

Cody appeared behind the fallen Umbaran with a smoking blaster and a smile on his face. "Nice work," he said putting his blaster away.

"You too," I replied.

He put away his blaster and Obi-Wan approached us. "Be ready to move out," he announced. "We're taking the capital."

The battle began and I stood at Obi-Wan's side as he deflected blaster shots while I fired back at the enemy. My senses went into override. I detected the Umbarans and shot them down swiftly.

"Your precision has improved," Obi-Wan said.

I smiled at the complement. "You're always welcome to borrow one of these you know," I offered him a blaster.

Obi-Wan's eyes widened in disgust. "No thank you."

I chuckled at his reaction and turned to give Cody a look. I knew he was fighting a laugh to maintain his respectful stance towards the General.

The battle raged on. It grew hopeless as men fell left and right. The Umbarans released a string of nasty surprises in the form of giant machines and advanced weaponry. We were being overwhelmed.

"Tell everyone to fall back!" Obi-Wan shouted over the heat of the battle. "The capital's defenses are too strong!"

We headed back into the trees, retreating from the deadly fire. The battle slowed to a stop and the men returned to the camp. The fight had taken its toll. Waxer and Boil shared a canteen of water as they caught their breaths. I caught our medic, Jojo, rushing from person to person trying to address everyone's injuries.

"Do you need any help?" I put a hand on Jojo's shoulder.

"If you could find out which of the men are in critical condition and sort them out, that'd be great help," he responded.

"I'll handle it," I assured him.

I checked on the boys and tried to get a good assessment of the what the damage was. Meanwhile, Obi-Wan sent a message to General Krell who was now in command of the 501st for whatever reason. We wouldn't be able to attack the capital again without support. The rest of us waited for further orders. There wasn't anything we could do until another battalion came to our aid.

"Ha! I got one!" Waxer shouted as he shot down one of the flying creatures.

"Only one?" Boil asked. "I've already killed three!"

I tampered with the parts of my blaster and its settings. Once I got the stun blast at a moderation I was satisfied with, I lifted my hand and aimed the pair of troopers.

"Boil, think fast," I gave him one second to see what I was doing before pulling the trigger.

He yelped as he fell to the ground and lay paralyzed from the stun. Waxer's eyes slid shut as he howled with laughter, unaware that Boil still had some movement left in his limbs. Discreetly, Boil placed his foot on the log they we're sitting on and kicked it. The log rolled away and Waxer fell to the ground as well. Within seconds, Boil was up again and had full mobility.

Cody turned to look at me curiously. "What stun setting is that? I've never seen someone recover that quickly before."

I offered him my blaster and showed him the modifications I made. "I used to do this a lot with my... friend," I smiled thinking about Wes and the times we messed with our blasters and shot each other while working. Enzo would occasionally find one of us lying on the floor and grew furious at our immaturity. We learned to decrease the capacity of the stun blast so we could get up quicker and have less of a chance of being caught.

"Can I give it a try?" Cody asked looking at my blaster.

"Sure, I say shoot Trip," I pointed at the trooper who was trying to wriggle himself free from some vines that had ensnared him.

I snickered at the thought of Trip falling limp in them until I suddenly lost all feeling in my body. My breath left me and I collapsed to the ground, unable to move even a finger.

Cody laughed above me and Boil joined in, glad to see me get a taste of my own medicine. However, the effects soon wore off and I kicked my blaster out of Cody's hands. Then it was chaos.

Waxer grabbed my blaster and stunned Cody whose eyes widened in shock. Trip who was still stuck in the vines screamed as he didn't want to be next. Kiwi, our adorable little shiny, stared with wide eyes and hid behind a bush as the craziness ensued.

Obi-Wan walked over and looked to see Twist and Shout currently on the ground as Boil had taken the blaster from Waxer and shot them both. Everyone froze and stayed silent as the Jedi examined the area.

"Care to explain what's happening here?" Obi-Wan faced me and Cody.

My mouth opened and then closed again as I thought of what to say.

"Eh, just some... training, sir," Cody managed.

Obi-Wan gave us a sly smile and watched as Twist and Shout groaned and sat up.

"Training?" Obi-Wan repeated and took a look at my blaster. "Well, a stun at this setting could make for some good training sessions in the future."

Jojo stepped closer. "General please," he begged. "Don't encourage them."

"It's alright, Jojo," Obi-Wan shook his head in amusement at what we had been doing. "As long as no one gets hurt-"

An ear splitting explosion knocked me off my feet. As soon as I got up, another blast rocked my body.

"They're attacking with long-range missiles!" Kiwi shouted as he ran towards us.

"Take defensive positions," Obi-Wan ordered.

Almost every hour we were attacked. We received intel that Krell had taken the Umbaran airbase which was good for them, but we endured a heavy beating. We wouldn't be able to take the capital like this. My thoughts weighed heavily in my head. Obi-Wan sat down on a log beside me breathing a heavy sigh.

"I tried contacting General Krell about our situation, but our transmissions are being jammed," Obi-Wan covered his mouth. "Krell worries me."

"Why?"

"He suggested we take on the capital regardless of the missiles," Obi-Wan said with concern. "We've already lost so many men due to the advanced weaponry. I'm not sure what it's going to take to win this battle."

"Let's wait for air support," I suggested. "Then we might stand a chance."

"My thoughts exactly," Obi-Wan agreed. "I just hope we can last the night."

Obi-Wan's comlink beeped and he accepted the transmission. "General Krell?"

"General Kenobi," Krell greeted. "A force of Umbarans disguised in clone armor is coming your way. I would advise that you send an attack group there immediately."

"Noted," Obi-Wan responded. "We will send our men."

The transmission ended and Obi-Wan faced me. "Tell Waxer to get his platoon ready and intercept the enemy. Go with them."

"Yes, Master."

I informed Waxer of the orders and he got his boys up. We moved quickly. The idea that the enemy wore clone armor had everyone on edge.

"Hey Sil," Waxer said next to me. "What you did back there, letting us mess around like that, it may not seem like a big deal to you, but it means a lot to us clones," he said quietly. "Those little moments are really special."

"I think they're special too," I smiled under my new helmet. I was glad Waxer felt the same.

"What I mean is, our lives have been full of rules and regulations since the beginning. Following protocol after protocol, but you and the general..." Waxer trailed off as he struggled with his words.

"I get it Waxer," I cut him off.

"Y-you do?" he asked.

"Yeah," I thought back to my slave life. I knew perfectly what Waxer was trying to say. Rules. Orders. "I know what it's like to not have freedom."

I could sense Waxer's churning thoughts. "My life wasn't exactly roses and sunshine before I joined the GAR, you know," I said. "Well, I guess there was sunshine, a bit too much actually," I corrected myself and Waxer chuckled. "You know what I mean."

"Yeah, I got it," he smiled.

We stumbled in the darkness, waiting for any sign of life.

"There!" Trip pointed at a clearing. "They ARE wearing our armor."

"Let's get'em, boys!" Waxer shouted.

It took a mental push for me to fire on them. They may be the enemy, but they didn't look like it. Soon they fired back and I got a better view of who we were shooting. They fought well and it felt familiar. I weaved through the trees and continued to shoot down more people.

"What?" I heard one of them say in disbelief. "Sil is that you?"

I whipped my head around and aimed at someone next to me. It was Rex's armor. The voice sounded like him too.

"Who else would it be?" I responded gesturing to my Ranger clothing. Then it dawned on me. My heart sank and I felt dizzy.

"Oh no," I murmured.

We pulled off our helmets simultaneously to see the other's horror stricken face. I sprinted into the line of fire without any care and Rex did the same.

"Stop firing!" I cried helplessly.

I ran through Waxer's and Rex's men telling them to take off their helmets. Rex himself tackled Trip and ripped off his helmet, showcasing the reality of who we were attacking. The firing halted and everyone removed their helmets. A heavy atmosphere of regret and guilt washed over.

I sank to my knees and tightly gripped the roots of my hair. How could I have been so ignorant? I should've reached out and sensed who was even in that armor. I turned to see Rex in a similar position.

"I'm sorry," I croaked. "I should've known."

"You couldn't have known," he responded quietly.

Orange and blue armored clones helped each other up. They spoke in low voices.

"Sil, I need to know," Rex said. "Who gave you the orders?"

"It was General Krell," I replied. "He sent us the coordinates of Umbarans in our armor."

Rex became pure anger. He stood up stiffly.

"What is it?" I asked.

"He told us the same thing," Rex said through his teeth. "We were set up by Krell."

"What?" I asked in disbelief. "How could a Jedi do this?"

"I've been wondering the same thing," Rex muttered darkly.

I realized I hadn't seen Waxer since the shooting started.

"Oh kriff," I whispered. I jumped to my feet and flew through bodies of men on the ground with Rex on my heels. I found a helmet with a little Twi'lek girl painted on it. It was unmistakable who the owner was.

"Waxer," I said breathlessly as I took the helmet off. His face contorted in pain and he heaved a groan.

Rex sat next to me and put a hand on Waxer's shoulder. Waxer looked between us with sorrow in his eyes.

"We thought they were wearing our armor," Waxer explained between coughs. "But it was you," he said looking Rex in the eye.

My eyes watered as Waxer struggled for breath. I wished I had spent more time with him. I wished I had gone out of my way to connect with him more.

"I'm sorry Waxer," I said hoarsely.

"No," Waxer replied. "Thank you for everything, vod."

A tear slid down his cheek and Waxer took his final breath. I fell on my bottom and held my head between my hands again. A few feet away lay Twist's limp body.

I fought the urge to let out a wail. It was one thing for men to die in battle, but being tricked into killing each other tore me apart.

"Sil," Rex held my arm and lifted me up. "They're looking to you now," he gestured to the men in orange armor. "We need to confront Krell."

"You're right," I cleared my throat. "And he's going to pay for what happened here."

A surge of anger rose in me, similar to what I felt on Tatooine when the water tax collectors harassed those farmers, except it was a thousand times stronger. It would take a miracle for me to not immediately shoot Krell like I did those collectors.

"Woah easy," Rex covered my hand.

I looked down to see my finger on the trigger. "Sorry," I said unapologetically. "I'm a little extra trigger happy right now," I muttered.

I looked around to see Waxer's platoon waiting for further orders.

"Kiwi, I want you and Jojo to patch up the wounded and send them back to camp. Tell General Kenobi what happened," I said feeling terrible Kiwi had to experience this on his first mission.

"Yes sir," he responded solemnly.

"Trip, Wooley," I addressed the pair. "You two gather the rest."

They nodded and I turned to Rex. "You should round up your men," I suggested. "We'll confront Krell together."

"Good," he replied and added with hesitation. "It's good to know you're on our side."

"Of course I'm on your side," I said puzzled.

Rex picked up on my confusion. "It's just that, hardly anyone ever really is on our side."

On the way to the airbase, Rex filled me in on Krell's tactics and vileness. He told me about the mission Fives, Hardcase, and Jesse went on and Krell's order for execution. My nails dug into my palm leaving deep marks.

"I swear I'm gonna kill him," I muttered dangerously.

"No, we need Krell to explain why he made us attack each other," Rex argued.

"Krell can suck my imaginary d-"

"Why are you so eager to kill him anyways?" Rex cut me off.

Silence washed over us for a moment. "He reminds me of a slave master," I growled.

No more words passed between us until we reached the tower Krell was in. Rex allowed me to come with him once I promised I wouldn't shoot Krell on sight.

After releasing Fives and Jesse from the brig, we reached the top of the tower and filed into the room Krell was in. I aimed my blasters at him.

"General Krell," Rex announced. "You're being relieved of duty."

"It's treason then," he replied and stalked closer to the captain.

"I'd consider your actions slightly more treasonous, General," I spat and tightened my grip.

"Oh I see you brought the Antarian," Krell mused. "Why you put your faith in her, I will never know. She's no warrior."

I gritted my teeth and restrained myself from pulling the trigger. I had to keep my promise to Rex.

No one said a word and Krell returned his attention to Rex. The tense conversation continued. I signaled for the men to circle around Krell who continued to patronize Rex. I hated him. All I could hear was a slaver telling a kid how inferior they were.

Rex gave Krell another chance to surrender, but Krell pushed out in all directions. An invisible wall slammed into me and I was thrown to the side along with the others.

"You dare to attack a Jedi?" Krell challenged and activated his lightsabers.

We fired on the General and he deflected our shots. It was difficult making sense of his spinning blades and rough attacks. He crashed through the window to make his escape and my blood boiled.

I shared a look with the survivors and we hurried out of the tower in pursuit. Men lay dead from lightsaber wounds.

"Is THIS the guy you've been taking orders from since Anakin left?" I asked.

"Unfortunately," Rex replied.

We ran into the forest and Krell's taunting voice had us looking in all directions. He finally appeared and continued his slaughter. It was a long fight, but we captured him thanks to Tup's idea of using the Umbaran wildlife.

While Rex and the others interrogated Krell, I worked with Trip to get communications back online with Obi-Wan. They had captured the capital. We reported to Rex with the update and it became evident the Umbarans would attack the airbase soon. We had to execute Krell.

"I'm coming with you," I said.

Rex nodded and I followed them to the brig. Krell stood in his cell with his hands bound. I smiled at the sight.

"Shoot him to hell, Rex," I said.

What came next was not what I expected.

"Silena Rakus," Krell started and I flinched at hearing my name. "Do you really think shooting every person who makes you angry will solve your problems?"