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>>5783889
Welcome back to The End of the Republic! An alternate sequence of events following Revenge of the Sith where Chancellor Palpatine was killed and the Republic descends into civil war. You are Commander Sulla, Commanding Officer of a clone battalion, and it is now up to you to navigate a path through this treacherous and unstable galaxy. Will you and your men see an end to this war, or will the Clone Wars engulf it all?

Previous thread: https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive/2023/5741165/

We are so back!

>>5783890

In front of you there stands a clone, his silhouette dim in the darkness of Cato-Neimoidia’s night. You don’t know who he is. Perhaps you’ve fought with him before. Perhaps not. But now he and his men are pointing their guns at you, demanding you identify yourself or be fired upon. Clones against clones. There had never been any training on Kamino to prepare you for this. You’ve been fighting this war since Geonosis and never thought you’d experience something like this. And now your men, shinies with only a single battle under them, were being forced to point their guns at their brothers, fellow clones. The enemy had always been clankers and separatists, but never clones…

You know it would be easy enough identifying yourselves as the 165th Siege Battalion, under Commander Fabian of the 451st. But that’s not what they’re really demanding. With the declarations from Skywalker and Senator Organa, you’re either on the side of the Jedi, or against them. But you’ve taken neither side, choosing to remain loyal to The Republic, whatever that is anymore. You could try chancing it and pretending you’re loyal to one side, risk a credit flip that they won’t be hostile, but that’d be a lie. No, you’ll tell the truth. You’re loyal to The Republic, like every other clone, and nobody else. You won’t willingly fight brothers. You only hope the clones in front of you will understand.

Holding your hands up, you walk forward.

>Hold your fire!

When you don’t feel blaster bolt impacting your body, you hesitate a moment, then move closer.

>Hold your fire! We’re the 165th Siege Battalion! We’re not your enemy!

The figure in front of you pauses, but you don’t hear any command to open fire. Behind you, Beck, your 2IC, and Captain Goto wait with the rest of the 165th, their guns pointed at the dark figures in front of you. You can’t make out how many of them there are. It could be an entire Legion for all you know. Still walking forward, you approach until you’re in the middle of the two forces, face to face with the unknown clone commander. He still has his helmet on.

“Explain who you are, immediately. Friend or foe?”

>Friend. We’re not hostile. We’re loyal to The Republic.

“I need more than that, Commander. Who are you fighting for? I want to believe you’re friendly, but I need to know which side you’re on.”

You take a deep breath. Here it is.

>We are loyal to the Republic, and to the Republic only. We’re not fighting for any side. Neither Skywalker or Organa. Just The Republic.

>>5783892

You watch the man as he considers your words. You can see the vague shapes of his men several paces behind him, and you know that at least some of them must have their weapons pointed at you, just as some of yours are pointing theirs at him.

The moments stretch out as he thinks. At last, he gives a reply: “Deserters then.”

>No, we-

“I will give you one chance to surrender yourselves into our custody before I order my men to forcibly arrest you. Will you take that offer?”

>I can’t do that.

“Very well then.”

He reaches for his hip, where you can see the shape of a holster, and pistol. Time slows as your mind begins racing, thinking of a way to stop him before its too late. To hold the command he’s about to give. Get him to understand the mistake he’s making. But before you can reach out and implore him to stop, to think about what he’s doing, just don’t do this dammit, a shot flies past and pierces his helmet, and he falls to the ground.

You stumble back in shock, and briefly see Captain Joyce with a smoking rifle behind the barricades, before you fall to the ground yourself, and that might be what saves you. Blaster fire is already crisscrossing the air where you stood, and you can hear grunts of pain as some of it hits the mark, and shouts as the officers of either side bark out orders. You crawl and stumble back to your own lines, certain that you’ll feel a searing pain in your back any second, but you never do. As you get close to your lines you see Goto and two clones rush out to you, helping you up and giving some covering fire. Grabbing Goto’s hand you rush back behind some cover, though when you turn your head it’s only Goto and one other trooper next to you. The blaster fire rings out as you try to get sight of the enemy, and you’re uncertain how the battle’s going until the sound of blasters suddenly intensifies and new shots start hitting the enemy troopers in the side. Caught by surprise and flanked, their resistance is short lived and Goto quickly gives the order for your own men to advance.

>>5783893

With your men attacking with the flanking force, which must be Fisher’s, the battle is soon over. The enemy is being pushed back viciously, and there’s less and less fire coming from them as they try to retreat. You notice that there wasn’t much from the beginning, maybe just a battalion’s worth. Infantry, you’re guessing. Eventually you get a comms request from Goto. You answer it while looking around at the bodies of dying and wounded clones around you. You’re not sure if you should be relieved or saddened that most of them don’t seem to be yours.

“Commander Sulla. We’ve got them surrounded. Commander Fisher has been wounded, but not seriously. I estimate they have about a half-company left. I… I’m not sure what to do from here. Are we taking prisoners, sir?”

You’re not trained to take prisoners. A quirk of who you were, perhaps something inherited from the Prime Clone, Jango Fett, or just something the Kaminoans deemed unnecessary when breeding you. Against clankers or seppies you wouldn’t hesitate to give the order, but now, against clones you feel yourself hesitating. Clones are not known to surrender. Then again, they’d far too often faced an enemy that didn’t take any prisoners either. But even if you did, what would you do with them?

You’re hesitating. A commander shouldn’t hesitate, not when the battle’s still being fought. What are your orders?

>Execute the remainder. A clone should die believing he fulfilled his duty.
>Take them prisoner. You’ll chance it. Maybe you can learn more about who they are.
>Let them go. Enough of the killing.
>Write in.

>>5783894
>Execute the remainder. A clone should die believing he fulfilled his duty.

>>5783894
>>Execute the remainder. A clone should die believing he fulfilled his duty.
We must be like iron, unyielding even in the face of horror and betrayal the likes of which the galaxy has never seen before...

>>5783914
very true

>>5783894
>Take them prisoner. You’ll chance it. Maybe you can learn more about who they are.
Maybe we could take them into the ranks? They’re not exactly making more of us

>>5783894
>>Take them prisoner. You’ll chance it. Maybe you can learn more about who they are.
Agonizing the whole first thread about fighting other clones to then immediatey start executing them first choice thread two sounds like really stupid character development.

>>5783894
>>Take them prisoner. You’ll chance it. Maybe you can learn more about who they are.

welcome back boss

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>>5783922
>Agonizing the whole first thread about fighting other clones to then immediatey start executing them first choice thread two sounds like really stupid character development.

>>5783894
>>Take them prisoner. You’ll chance it. Maybe you can learn more about who they are.

No more iron warriors LARPing pls. And our infantry need reinforcements bad.

>>5783920
They are making more of us, but we aren't getting any reinforcements not with our third position.
Unless we join a side, we either get reinforcements and recruits through convincing clone prisoners or uniting with other clones going third parties like us.
Beyond that we would need to get our hands on kaminoan gear and scientists, and that's very difficult. Both Republics are doing all for grab those, if one side can't keep Kamino they need to produce more clones somewhere else (and they would establish new laboratories in other planets regardless, too risky to have only Kamino).
Since Fabian seems to want to keep going to war against the Seps, he is probably going to invest the treasury gained for buy a war fleet, get mercs and rally republic volunteers for finish the confederacy.
There is still the matter of what we have learn in the vault to consider too and anything else we can learn...... its a lot of important info there.

>>5783894

>Take them prisoner. You’ll chance it. Maybe you can learn more about who they are.

>>5783958

Isn't Kamino in the hands of the Jedi at this point in time ? If nothing else, we'd know where the biggest push Skywalker would make if that is the case.

>>5783977
At this point in time everything was in the jedi hands, but the two orders being sent out have essentially made more or less everywhere a zone of civil war (beside places were it was less obvious, like the coruscant guard was almost all pro palpatine, but other garrisons, legions and other clone units on Coruscant probably were mixed). Kamino would be a place of hard fighting just like Coruscant.

>>5783894
>Take them prisoner. You’ll chance it. Maybe you can learn more about who they are.

>>5783894
>Take them prisoner. You’ll chance it. Maybe you can learn more about who they are.
The whole premise is about clones doing something that they’re fundamentally not supposed to be doing.

>>5783894
>Take them prisoner. You’ll chance it. Maybe you can learn more about who they are.
We must question them and explain it to them. There is no other way. Well, there is, but it's a dreadful one.

>>5783894
>Take them prisoner. You’ll chance it. Maybe you can learn more about who they are.

>>5783894
>>Let them go. Enough of the killing.

We're not set up for taking prisoners, but we can't just execute them.

>>5783894
>Execute the remainder. A clone should die believing he fulfilled his duty.

YA REFUSE TO SURRENDER, YA DIE. WE AIN'T GOT TIME FOR THIS.

>>5783894
>Take them prisoner. You’ll chance it. Maybe you can learn more about who they are.
Lets try to keep the fratricide to a minimum.

>>5783894
>>Take them prisoner. You’ll chance it. Maybe you can learn more about who they are.

>>5783893
I really hate brother killing.

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>Take them prisoner. You’ll chance it. Maybe you can learn more about who they are.

You won’t order any more killing. Not of other clones. Too many have died in this war already, and now they’re being killed by the very men they’ve fought with, their brothers and friends. You don’t know when this will stop, but it won’t end well if becomes just endless slaughter. You’ll take them prisoner.

>Goto. Take them prisoner if you can. No more killing.

“Copy that. And… thank you, sir. I don’t like the thought of killing these men.”

>None of us do. But the situation’s forced our hand, and we have to keep ourselves alive first. That’s all.

“Yes sir.”

You sigh, and sit down on a rock while you await Goto’s next report. Your medics are crossing the battlefield looking for the wounded, treating both friend and the men you’ve defeated. The enemy. How strange that it’s become other clones. You notice that many of the wounded they’re treating, on the enemy side, seem the kind too injured to move. You clones tend to fight until you can fight no more. There’s no way to know for certain, but you guess that many of these men won’t make it to morning.

As you continue observing the battlefield, you see Joyce approach, laying down his rifle before sitting next to you. You’ve both been fighting since Geonosis, and you know there’s few more experienced or capable than him. You sit together in silence, observing the dead clones. It was his shot killing the enemy commander that started all this. Or maybe it was inevitable.

>Joyce. You shot that… enemy officer. Why?

He shrugs a moment, quiet. Then speaks. “Your life was in danger, sir. I could hear what he was saying, accusing you of treason. He would have executed you, according to regulations. I just couldn’t let that happen.”

You nod. A good enough reason, as any. It doesn’t make it feel any better though. You’re not sure anything will. Soon enough though, you get the comm from Goto.

“Sir. We’ve gotten them to surrender. They’ve laying down their weapons peacefully.”

>Copy that. I’ll head over.

>>5784886

You stumble through the darkness to Goto’s position, Joyce accompanying you wordlessly. You quickly come across the scene, a ring of troops shining their flashlights at a circle of clones, their hands behind their helmets. Goto stands off to the side with a few of the prisoners, presumably their officers. You approach and give a nod to Goto.

“Their leaders, sir. This one is the one who ordered them to cease fighting after I demanded they surrender.”

He points to one standing in front, missing a helmet, probably lost or discarded. You can tell he’s tired by the way he stands, unsteady on his feet. But anyone could tell just by looking at his face. Or maybe what you’re seeing is grief.

>Name, rank, and unit, soldier.

He stands a bit taller, at that.

“CT-32-4956. Lieutenant. Of the 803rd Attack Battalion.

>You’re the highest ranking officer here?

“Yes sir. The rest are dead.”

You can hear the hardness in his voice. Being forced to take command in battle was always a tough situation, and the way it’s turned out here couldn’t be any tougher. You can hardly bear to imagine how you’d react in the same situation.

>How’d you get here, Lieutenant? We weren’t expecting you.

He takes a breath, before starting to speak as if he were giving a report to his commanding officer.

“We were hit by forces loyal to the Jedi. Three battalions worth, tanks and infantry. We were only a battalion, with some companies from the 726th Infantry. Our vehicles stayed behind to buy us time to escape. We made it here because it was the safest route to a rallying point, or so we thought. We didn’t expect to find anyone here.”

You nod. No wonder they crumpled so easily. Stories like this one are being repeated across the planet, and the galaxy. You can only hope that there are others willing to show mercy to their defeated foes, or there won’t be many clones left in the end at all. Now that you have his name and officially taken him prisoner, you’ll need to hand him and his men over to one of your captains, to be responsible for him. They’ll be the ones responsible for the prisoners, conversing with the few officers here, and perhaps finding a use for them later on.

Who should take charge of the prisoners?
>Major Beck.
>Captain Goto.
>Captain Loge.
>Captain Joyce.
>Captain Boxer.
>Hand them off to Fisher.

>>5784887

Now that the prisoners have been given their warden, you begin to return to your fortifications, the events of the last few hours starting to take their toll. You only had a few hours sleep before getting awoken, and now you feel dead tired. As you make your way back through the brush, you stumble on something in the darkness and trip.

>Damn!

Joyce calls out. “You okay sir?”

>I am, just… fell over a body.

Some of the fallen from the battle. From the enemy, going off the colours. Their helmets are still on, but in your mind you can see the face, staring lifelessly back at you. Your own face, and the face of all your men.

Joyce rushes over to help you up, shining a light where you’ve fallen. It’s not one body, it’s several. About a section’s worth. They must have made a stand here, before getting overrun. Joyce is examining the bodies.

“Look, this is one of their officers. A captain, judging by the armour. And all the troopers are surrounding him. They fought to the end. Vode an.”

You move on, finally getting back to the barricade you started from. There, Beck is patiently waiting for you, conversing with some of the medics. He quickly notices your arrival and gives a salute.

“Sir. I’ve tallied the men, and we’ve taken minimal casualties. Mostly wounded, only a handful dead. The medics are already seeing to the wounded and they’re confident in full recoveries for all. And they’re doing their best for the enemy, though they seem to have gotten the worst of it. Our men have done admirably, sir.”

You think you should be proud of the men for performing so well, but it’s a bitter pride. It almost feels unearned. But there’s nobody to blame, except Skywalker and the Jedi, maybe. You shouldn’t dwell on it.

>Thank you, Beck. Make sure you organise burial for our dead.

“Of course.”

As you think about what to say next, you see Commander Fabian walking over. You straighten up and give a salute, and he quickly returns it.

>Sir.

“Sulla. Well, I tried to avoid this, but it happened anyway. Don’t bother giving me a report now, do it in the morning after you get some rest. What a mess this is.”

You can’t tell if he’s referring to the battle of what’s happening beyond. The brief flashes of light above you are a constant reminder that this war isn’t close to ending. You wonder when that ship is coming down to pick you up. You hope it hasn’t been destroyed.

Fabian sighs. “We’ll need to do something about those bodies. Can’t do anything now in the dark, we’ll have to wait until morning I guess. Getting our own packed away should be easy enough, but the dead of the enemy… what do you think, Sulla?”

What will you do with the bodies?
>Bury them.
>Burn them.
>Leave them.
>Write in.

>>5784887
>>Captain Boxer.
And
>>Bury them.

>>5784888
>>Captain Goto.
>Burn them.
rip

>>5784888

>Captain Goto.
>Bury them.

They are our brothers, it is the least we can do. We should also allow the prisoners a chance to mourn if they choose to.

>>5784888
>Captain Goto
>Bury them.

If possible, try to have some of the prisoners see us burying their dead. Even if we can't get them on our side, it should help to convince them that we don't show any ill will towards them.

>>5784888
Isn't it star wars custom to burn the dead, instead of burying them?

>>5784888
>Captain Boxer.
>Burn them.

Burning seems better than burying. Dont want anyone to dig up their corpses

>>5784888
>Captain Goto.
>>Bury them.

>>5785396
Not sure. It's not something that comes up often. The only examples I can think of is Qui-Gon getting cremated, Anakin burying his mother in AotC, Luke and Ben burning the Jawas, and Luke burning Vader. The Jedi in TCW also bury their dead in the last ahsoka arc.

>>5785548
I think Jedi in general get cremated (because of their eastern influences) everyone else is free game. (we know sith get buried because of all the tombs)

>>5785548
>>5785567
I mean, in TCW they also burned Satine. It seems to me like burning is the more formal republic burial.

>>5784887
>Hand them off to Fisher.
>>5784888
>Bury them but police the armor/goods.

>>5784887
>Captain Goto.
>>5784888
>Bury them.
https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Burial/Legends#google_vignette
According to the wiki it was common for military personnel to have a “space burial”, where they just shot the casket out of a ship. Of course, I don’t think we have the capacity to take an entire battalion of clones onto our getaway spaceship, so I guess we can just settle for the classic method. Jango Fett got buried, so I guess it would be somewhat symbolic.

>>5784887
>Captain Goto
>>5784888
>Bury them.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJrEkTEkE4Q

The dawn of Cato-Neimoidia opens on a sombre scene. The burial of the dead. You had suggested it to Fabian, and he had agreed. Now there’s several neat rows of mounds, with a helmet atop each one. The best you can manage in this environment. It had been done in silence, your men focusing on the task instead of idle chatter. The entire regiment, except the sentries, stands around it, maintaining a respectful silence for the fallen. Nobody has said any words. You clones had never been one for speeches. You see the prisoners standing off to the side, near Goto and his men. He’s allowed them to keep their armour, but confiscated their helmets. You can see their faces, and its clear there’s a hardness in them, but also a tinge of regret, or something else. You were trained well, but it’s always tough being the last survivors.

After a few moments, Fabian nods his head, and walks back to the camp. Gradually, the others follow.

Somehow, despite the battle and the disturbing thoughts of its scenes repeated across the galaxy, you had somehow found sleep. You had given your report to Fabian, as accurately as possible, and he had accepted it calmly. There wasn’t many ways it could have gone better. That was the problem now, he said. You couldn’t trust your own brothers. You might still be loyal to The Republic, but to both sides it looked like desertion. And desertion carried a punishment of execution. Of course, you were sure there were commanders out there who’d look the other way or let you go, but the problem was that there was no way to tell without risking it. One of many problems you’d face in the coming days.

>And what of our way out of here, sir?

“There, at least, I have some good news. The ship is still intact, but it’s been help up by the battle in orbit. It should arrive here by the afternoon, and we’ll get onboard with all speed and leave. I only hope it doesn’t get here before the other friendly forces I contacted do. They’ve been held up too, the main highways have been seized and they have to trek on foot. So we’ll just have to stay alert and wait.”

He dismisses you, and you return to your men. It’s a few hours later, around midday, when the sentries call out that they’ve spotted incoming clones, and you all rush out to your posts. It’s the friendlies Fabian mentioned. They’re not in great shape. None bigger than a battalion, and most of them are around company sized. When they get there, the commanders report in to Fabian, and then begin setting up camp around yours. You talk to a few of the officers, and it seems like they’re more exhausted than anything else, from trying to get here before the ship leaves. A lot of them remain silent when you ask them about any hostile forces they’ve encountered. You don’t push it.

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>>5786047
All in all, you have almost a full regiment’s worth of “reinforcements”. You’re not sure what Fabian has planned for them, probably something to do with taking on the Separatists. Or maybe he just wants to give you all a chance.

It’s late in the afternoon when you get a comm ping from him telling you to prepare for the ship’s landing. You order the men to get ready and pack up camp, then wait. It’s about an hour later that you see it. A triangular shape slowly descending in the distance. But soon enough you see that it’s not descending slowly when it gets closer, the roar of its engines deafening you before you put on your helmet.

Above the plain hovers an acclamator, slowly descending as it spreads out its landing legs. You’ve been on many and seen this scene a hundred times over, but the sight of such a large ship landing never fails to impress, even though it’s smaller than the Venators and other large capitals the Republic has in its arsenal. The ground is buffeted by the push of its repulsorlifts even where you are, a good click away, and your whole body shakes from the pressure. You have to lean in to the wind to avoid being blown over. Soon though, its landed, and the ramps on either side descend to the ground.

“Alright everyone! Let’s get moving! No delays! Form up and double time it to that ship. Go go go!” Fabian’s voice rings loud through your helmet. He must have sent that message to everyone. You and all the others begin moving, marching to the ship. It’s truly an awesome sight to behold, but you can’t help but noticing that it’s covered in scorches and dents all over, like it’s seen some serious combat. You hope that it’s just scars from the war and not something received in the battle ongoing above.

>>5786048

You board with the battalion, entering the spacious hangar where some naval techs wait, directing everyone to their quarters and getting all the equipment stored safely away. If you didn’t know any better, you’d almost think it was a normal operation, the men returning from a fight with the separatists and getting ready for another. But it wouldn’t be like that anymore, wherever you went. The shadow of what’s happened is going to hang over you all.

You receive a comms message from Fabian, telling you to meet him on the bridge. After informing Beck and letting him take over management of the battalion, you head deeper into the ship, through cold metal corridors where you pass an even mixture of humans and clones. It’s strange, after spending so much time around the men it’s always a little disconcerting seeing different faces. And they’re navy, not army. 3 years you’ve been in the Grand Armr and you’re still a little unused to it, even now, but the shinies who’ve known nothing but fellow clones, the Kaminoans, and their trainers are worse.

You reach the turbolift to the bridge, and punch the button there. It’s only a short while before you arrive. Inside, Captain Fabian is waiting, along with Shade. They’re standing next to an officer, presumably the captain of the ship. Fabian turns as you enter.

“There you are. The others will be arriving soon. Sulla, meet the Captain of this bucket of bolts, and the man who’s agreed to transport us wherever we need. He’s a friend from one of my early campaigns. We’re lucky he agreed to have us.”

The Captain offers his hand. “Commander. I know she doesn’t look like much, but she’s got it where it counts. We’ll get you where you need to go.”

You grip the hand with your own, firmly gripping it as you look into the face of…

>An older man, with grey hair but a strong face. He’s surprisingly robust for his age, every inch the career soldier.
>A middle aged man, blonde haired. He sports a bushy mustache. He looks like a stereotype of a Republic captain.
>A youth, clean shaven. His brown hair is neatly combed back, and his eyes have a sparkle to them. You can tell he’s no greenhorn.

>>5786049
>A youth, clean shaven. His brown hair is neatly combed back, and his eyes have a sparkle to them. You can tell he’s no greenhorn.
Someone who joined up for a quick war and now has his innocence snuffed from him.

>>5786049
>>A middle aged man, blonde haired. He sports a bushy mustache. He looks like a stereotype of a Republic captain.

>>5786049
>A youth, clean shaven. His brown hair is neatly combed back, and his eyes have a sparkle to them. You can tell he’s no greenhorn.

>>5786049
>A youth, clean shaven. His brown hair is neatly combed back, and his eyes have a sparkle to them. You can tell he’s no greenhorn.

>>5786049
>An older man, with grey hair but a strong face. He’s surprisingly robust for his age, every inch the career soldier.

>>5786049
>An older man, with grey hair but a strong face. He’s surprisingly robust for his age, every inch the career soldier.

>>5786049
>A youth, clean shaven. His brown hair is neatly combed back, and his eyes have a sparkle to them. You can tell he’s no greenhorn.

Rolled 1 (1d3)

>>5786049
>(1)An older man
>(2)A middle aged man
>(3)A youth

>>5786049
>An older man, with grey hair but a strong face. He’s surprisingly robust for his age, every inch the career soldier

Rolled 2 (1d3)

>>5786049
>i'll roll a d3 and that's my vote

>>5786049
>An older man, with grey hair but a strong face. He’s surprisingly robust for his age, every inch the career soldier.

>>5786049
>>A youth, clean shaven. His brown hair is neatly combed back, and his eyes have a sparkle to them. You can tell he’s no greenhorn.

>>5786049
>A middle aged man, blonde haired. He sports a bushy mustache. He looks like a stereotype of a Republic captain.

>>5786055
>>5786119
>>5786150
>>5786356
>>5786437
>>5786443
>>5786446
>>5786458
>>5786598
>>5786656
Vote is currently tied between the youth and older man. Didn't expect this to be such a close vote, but oh well. Need a tiebreaker or I'll roll in 30 minutes.

>>5787097
>Youth

>>5787097
>older man

>>5786049

>An older man, with grey hair but a strong face. He’s surprisingly robust for his age, every inch the career soldier.

Gotta go with experience.

>>5787221
>>5787240
Note that I was midway through writing the update with the younger captain before I had to stop, so I'll be sticking with that, but I'll make sure to include the older captain somewhere down the line.

>>5787362

That's fine, it's a great quest so far QM so I have no doubt that it'll be an interesting update nonetheless.

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>A youth, clean shaven. His brown hair is neatly combed back, and his eyes have a sparkle to them. You can tell he’s no greenhorn.

It’s a little unexpected that someone so young is in command of a ship already, but The Republic has had to call up everyone it can to serve. And you can tell by the way he holds himself and looks at you with sparkling green eyes that he’s not some trumped up cadet. He looks a little surprised at the strength of your grip, but he takes it in stride.

“Captain Eseus Tyro. Good to meet you, Commander.”

>Likewise.

“It’s funny. I’m about twice your age and yet you’ve done more than I ever have in my entire career. When was your first battle, Commander?”

>Geonosis. Same as Fabian.

“I see. Fighting since the very beginning. There’s not many of you left, is there?"

Fabian shakes his head. “No. But those of us that are still here tend to be the best.” He nods in your direction. At that, the doors to the bridge slide open and Fisher and Yegor come walking in. Captain Tyro looks pleased, and motions them over.

“Good, you’re all here. Now we can begin. If you will follow me please.”

He leads you to the holotable, which is displaying the Republic fleet in orbit. Half the ships are coloured red, the other blue, and both coloured groups are facing each other, some sections moving about while others hold position. Captain Tyro looks up at you.

“This is the situation in orbit. Both sides are deadlocked and trying to prevent anyone from leaving the planet or system, including each other. They can’t commence orbital bombardment and destroy the enemy ground forces because that’d leave them open to attack from the other fleet. That’s the only reason why you clones can even fight each other down there, if, uh, you’ll excuse me saying that. There’s intermittent battles and skirmishes, probing attacks trying to find weaknesses, but I don’t think they’ve found much to work with. All they’ve done is antagonise each other and wasted their ships in futile attacks.”

He looks a little distracted for a moment, as if some memory has suddenly come to the surface, then returns to the briefing.

“I expect there’ll be a general fleet battle soon, within a few hours maybe, and that’s when we’ll need to chance it. The two sides will be too busy trying to kill each other that we might be able to slip through with a minimal amount of damage. I’ve heard of scenarios like this at the academy, but I never thought I’d actually have to pull it off… Anyway, I think we can do it. We took some hits on the way down, nothing serious, but I’d really like to avoid taking any more. The Regent’s a tough girl, but she won’t last long under concentrated fire.”

>>5787439

The five of you nod. It’s risky, but from the way he describes it there doesn’t seem to be another way. There’s a slight bit of nervousness in you whenever you’re on a ship. Your fate is entirely within the hands of others, and there’s nothing you can do about it. You’d take a rifle and your feet on the ground any day over fighting in space.

Captain Tyro shrugs. “That’s all.” Then he frowns. “Oh, there’s one other thing. I’m not sure if this is good or bad news. Kamino’s been completely dark since the… announcements. Comms with the Outer Rim has been spotty in general, but we haven’t heard anything from Kamino, or Rothana for that matter. Just thought you should know.”

You’re all silent at that. Kamino. The closest thing you’ve ever had to a home. There’s no reason to assume the worst, but you can’t help but feel a tightness within you at the news. Taking Kamino would be the crown jewel for either side of this war, and its destruction would be a disaster. But the silence could mean any number of things. You suppose you can’t worry about it, not without knowing more. You and the other commanders of the 451st look each other in the eye, before nodding solemnly.

Captain Tyro’s paid close attention to your reactions, and when he sees you all nod he lets out a breath he’s been holding.

“Good. That’s done. By the way, while I’m technically in charge on this ship, I’ll allow you free reign and access, but please ask before taking anything from the ship’s stores. Your quarters have been taken care of, medical care for the wounded too. We’ve enough spare ammunition to keep all your men stocked up for a while, and some extra equipment that I’ll make available if you request it and Commander Fabian here approves. We have a few hours of downtime now, just waiting for the battle to commence. I’ll be here if you need me.”

He straightens up, smiles, then walks to the other end of the bridge to talk to one of his officers. Fabian looks up and shrugs.

“You heard the Captain. Downtime. I want you to make sure all your battalions are in order, but after that you’re free until we begin preparations to leave. Dismissed.”

What shall you do now? Pick only TWO.

(If picking an option to talk to someone, please include anything you’d like to talk about.)

>Talk to Captain Tyro
>Talk to Fabian.
>Talk to the other Commanders of the 451st.
>Check in on your men.
>Talk to the new arrivals.
>Interrogate Goto’s prisoners
>Examine that droid you recovered.
>Write in.

>>5787441
>Check in on your men.
>Talk to the new arrivals.

>>5787441
>Talk to Fabian.
>Check in on your men.

>>5787441
>Check in on your men.
>Interrogate Goto’s prisoners

>>5787441
>Check in on your men.
>Examine that droid you recovered.

>>5787441
>Check in on your men.
>Examine that droid you recovered.

>>5787441
>Check in on your men.
>Interrogate Goto’s prisoners

>>5787441
>>Check in on your men.
>Examine that droid you recovered.
Duty

>>5787441
>>Check in on your men.
>Examine that droid you recovered.

>>5787441
>>Check in on your men.
>Examine that droid you recovered

>>5787441
>Check in on your men.
>Examine that droid you recovered.

>>5787441
>Check in on your men
>Examine that droid you recovered.

>Check in on your men
>Examine that droid you recovered.

File: training remote.jpg (85 KB, 1000x800)

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You head to the central lift along with Fisher and Yegor. Fabian stays on the bridge to talk to the captain while Shade gives orders to his men through comms. The descent is short, and you say goodbye to Fisher and Yegor once you reach your destination. The three of you part ways and head to your battalions, guided by the ship through your helmet datalinks. It takes several minutes to navigate the corridors and rooms, but eventually you reach the area where your men are barracked. You quickly contact Beck to get a status update, and directions to the other commanders.

All is well and the men are getting settled in. Beck’s already deep into the work of requesting extra ammunition and supplies from the ship, so you’ll leave him to it. According to him, Joyce is on the shooting range, Goto is in the mess hall, Loge in the common room, and Boxer in in the gym. You might as well check in on all of them while you’re here.

First up is the shooting range. Joyce and several of the men are already there, firing their rifles at targets of varying distance. Each man gets a wide square box in which training remotes are ducking and weaving across, some larger than others or with attached targets. When you enter the room you stop at the safety railing to observe for a few moments, and it soon becomes obvious that Joyce is far outstripping his men, even accounting for the fact they’re shinies. He lands a bullseye on every one, seeming almost robotic in his movements as he targets and fires. When the training is done you hop the barrier and approach him, waving as you do.

>Joyce! Good work. Where’d you learn to shoot like that?

He shrugs. “Nowhere in particular. Just a thing I’ve picked up over the years. Helped keep me alive more than once. Though I’m no match for the commandos or ARCs like Boxer.”

>That’s still some impressive shooting. I was on Geonosis too, remember, and I don’t even think I could do so well.”

He shrugs again, this time with a smile on his face. “You never know. I’d like to see how you compare. We could make a competition out of it.

>You’re on.

Shooting practice unlocked! Whenever you have downtime, you may have a friendly competition with Joyce to improve your skills.

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>>5788802

You give him a friendly shake and chat a little with him about the state of his company before leaving the range. The common room is down the hall a little, so you head there to check in on Loge. It’s quiet, only a few troopers there who respectfully give you a salute as you pass. Loge’s at a dejarik board, playing against one of his lieutenants, who he’s beating soundly. The trooper surrenders soon after you enter the room. Loge turns to you, a look of triumph on his face.

“Commander! To what do I owe the pleasure?”

>Nothing in particular, just checking in on everyone. You’re playing dejarik?

“Yes sir, I’m a big enthusiast of the game. You dabble in it yourself, sir?”

>Only a little.

“Well, feel free to join me whenever you’re free. I could always do with more opponents.”

Strategy practice unlocked! You may now play dejarik with Loge and improve your strategic skills.

You promise you shall, and leave him to torment some poor shinies with the prospects of duel. You head to the mess hall this time, and find Goto having a meal in the officers mess while reading the latest from the holonet. He looks up as you sit down across from him.

“Hello, Commander.”

>Goto. How are the prisoners?

He nods. “Well enough. We’ve placed them in the ships brig, though I’m wondering if we shouldn’t fit a room here for them. It depends on what we do with them. Have you spoken to them yet?”

You shake your head.

>Not yet. I’ll address that problem once we’re finally off-planet.

He looks sympathetic. “I don’t know what to do myself. Maybe I could try talking with them, try and convince them to work with us in some capacity. Maybe even join us.”

>You really think you could do that?

“I think so. You know I spent some time in the Coruscant Guard, protection detail for some senators in the early days of the war. I picked up a thing or two about manipulation and bargaining from those pricks. It’s pretty simple in all honesty. Could even teach you how to do it.”

Rhetoric lessons with Goto unlocked! You may now try to improve your speech skills with Goto.

>>5788804

You chuckle.

>Maybe. Why did you leave the Guard anyway? It’s one of the most prestigious positions in the GAR.

He frowns a little. He doesn’t answer immediately, but when he does he keeps his voice low.

“It wasn’t for me. I left because they had some… protocols that made me uncomfortable. Wouldn’t let you know the duties of your rank unless you’d already earned it. No questioning your superiors. Had to swear an oath of absolute loyalty to the Chancellor. Sounded more like spook work almost. It wasn’t for me.”

You know what he’s talking about. The Coruscant Guard was infamous for how secretive it was. Not even their selection process was well-known. They’d also gained a reputation for aloofness too, acting like they were better than other clones and even the senators they were protecting. Still, they were some of the best. They hadn’t earned the nickname of stormtroopers for nothing.

Leaving Goto with his meal and the scant traces of genuine information on the holonet, you head to the gym where Boxer is. He’s alone, throwing hits at a punching bag at a speed you didn’t know was possible in clone armour. When he doesn’t acknowledge your presence, you walk over to him.

>Boxer.

“Sir.”

>How’s your company?

“They’ll need reinforcements eventually. No grudges for last battle you should know. Made sure of that.”

His voice is calm and unwavering, like he isn’t going all out on the bag while still in armour. You wonder if he’s even sweating in that thing.

>You train often?

“Always. Just like Jango. Could even train you in hand to hand if you want, sir.”

>You’d do that?

“Yes. You’ll need it.”

Personal combat training with Boxer unlocked! You may now train hand to hand and endurance skills with him.

>>5788806

Saying goodbye to Boxer, you head to your battalion’s storage, where you keep the Raith Sienar’s super-tactical. Calling Goto and Beck, you meet with them and some engineers outside the room where the contents of Raith Sienar’s vaults are kept. Beck enters in the code for the door, and you go inside.

The droid itself is standing in the middle of the room, firmly attached to a table that’s been set against the wall. It’s still connected to various data caches and other things you’re not sure the function of. The engineers get to work quickly, powering up some of the consoles in the room and examining the droid as they attach wires and other bits of technology to it.

>How safe is this thing?

One of the engineers nods in your direction. “Reasonably safe. We’ve got it clamped to the table, and we can shut it down at any time you want without damaging it if becomes necessary. Just need your go-ahead commander.”

You might as well get on with it. Here goes.

>Turn it on.

Nothing happens for a moment, but then the power hums and you see its eyes light up. The whole droid shakes, before its head rises and regards you. It tries to move its arms but finds them blocked by the clamps. It’s hands open, and shut again, slowly. Then it speaks, in a deep and powerful voice that betrays no hint of emotion.

“Who are you?”

>I am Commander Sulla, of the 165th Siege Battalion of the Grand Army of the Republic. I understand that you are the property of a Raith Sienar?

It ignored you as it looks around the room, its eyes sweeping over the equipment and the men operating them. It then looks back at you.

“My records state that you are part of the 451st Regiment under Commander Fabian. Is that correct?"

You try not to flinch in shock. It has access to the Grand Army’s records? Is that a Sienar thing or Separatist? And it can figure that out in only a few seconds?

“Perhaps you are hesitant to confirm. That is… acceptable. We can exchange information. Confirm my assessment and you may ask me a question and I will answer. Do you agree?”

What is your response?

>Shut it down again. This thing is creeping you out.
>Ask it its designation. You can’t have a conversation with a nameless droid.
>Ask it about Raith Sienar. How did it come to be his droid?
>Ask it about the republic data it holds. Where did it get access to that?
>Ask it about any technical data it holds. What kind of things did Raith Sienar put in it?
>Ask it about its tactical capabilities. What is it actually able to do?
>Write in.

>>5788807
>Ask it its designation. You can’t have a conversation with a nameless droid.

>>5788807
>>Ask it its designation. You can’t have a conversation with a nameless droid.
>>Ask it about Raith Sienar. How did it come to be his droid?
>>Ask it about the republic data it holds. Where did it get access to that?

>>5788807
>Ask it its designation. You can’t have a conversation with a nameless droid.

>Ask it about Raith Sienar. How did it come to be his droid?

>>5788935
Supported.

guys I think that we only get one question (assuming that asking it's name is a freebee)

>“Perhaps you are hesitant to confirm. That is… acceptable. We can exchange information. Confirm my assessment and you may ask me a question and I will answer. Do you agree?”
>a question

>>5788807
>Ask it its designation. You can’t have a conversation with a nameless droid.

>>5788807
>>Ask it its designation. You can’t have a conversation with a nameless droid.

>>5788807
>Ask it about the republic data it holds. Where did it get access to that?

File: Super Tactical Droid.jpg (124 KB, 998x900)

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>Ask it its designation. You can’t have a conversation with a nameless droid.

It looks like you’re not getting anything further from it without agreeing. Still, you might as well do what it wants if it gets you the information you’re looking for. You’re not entirely comfortable holding a conversation with a droid, much less one made by the enemy, but if you can get something out of it, it’ll be worth it.

>Okay. I can agree to that. Yes, my battalion is part of the 451st Regiment, and my commanding officer is Commander Fabian. Does that satisfy you?

The droid stares at you a moment with its three eyes. Then it responds, in that cold and emotionless voice. “Yes. Thank you. You may now ask a question of your own.”

>Alright. What’s your designation? How should I call you?

“Designation: Tactical Heavy-duty and Assessments, Xenon class – 1138. I was called Thax by my master.”

>Okay. Can I call you Thax?

“You may.”

Now you’re getting somewhere. The droid is still creepy with its unblinking tri-ocular face and robotic voice, but at least you can hold a conversation with it.

>Good. Now how about some more questions? Like what about Raith Sienar? How did you come to be his droid?

“We are exchanging information, Commander. Please offer some reciprocal information if you want an answer. We have already agreed on that. I will now give you my question: How did I come to be in your possession?”

Damn. The thing is firmly strapped to a wall and surrounded by clones and yet it’s acting like it’s the one in charge. Damn droids.
But before you can begin to argue with it alarms start blaring across the ship. It’s only a moment later that you hear Captain Tyro’s voice on the ship loudspeakers.

“All hands, prepare for takeoff. All crew to battlestations. All non-essential personal are to remain in quarters. I repeat, all hands prepare for takeoff.”

The loudspeaker shuts off, but the alarms continue to sound. It’s only a moment later that you get a comms request from Fabian, and you press the receive button.

“Sulla. Head to the bridge. Captain Tyro wants us there for the battle.”

>Copy that sir.

The comm goes dead. Things are beginning to move. Beck turns to you.

“What do we do with the droid, sir?”

>Keep it locked down. Turn it off if it starts acting suspiciously or tries to escape.

“Yes sir.”

With that you leave the room, navigating the long corridors of the ship for the turbolift that will take you to the bridge. Crewmen rush past you, clones and human, and even a few astromechs go beeping along the hallways. It’s only a few minutes before you’ve entered the lift and stepped out onto the bridge.

File: acclamator heading to space.jpg (102 KB, 740x600)

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>>5789957

The rest of the regimental commanders are already there, standing around Fabian and the holotable, which now displays the split republic fleet coming closer together. If you didn’t know any better it would almost seem like they were entering a new formation. Captain Tyro observes your entrance, then walks into the middle of the central platform, turning to an officer in the bridge pit.

“Helmsman, begin.”

The entire ship shakes, and you hear a muffled rumble from somewhere far away. And then, through the windows, you see the horizon start to tilt. You feel yourself instinctively brace as your centre of gravity shifts, even with the artificial gravity of the ship activating. You see a new signal appear on the holotable, a small blinking triangle that’s slowly ascending from the planet as it heads to the upper atmosphere. Looking out the window again you see the clouds start to thin out and disappear, and soon the pale blue atmosphere of Cato-Neimoidia fades away to reveal the dark upper reaches of space. And, directly in front of the ship, you can see a field of small grey shapes moving about with many sudden flashes of light between them. The Republic Fleet that lay siege to Cato-Neimoidia is now destroying itself.

Captain Tyro, now satisfied that the take-off is successful, walks over to your group with a grim look on his youthful face. “Gentlemen. The battle’s begun. We’ll be entering the main field of fire in a few minutes. I’ve turned our transponders off in the hopes that nobody will notice us and leave us alone, but that’s only a slim chance. We’re blockade running in an acclamator, and they’re not built for that work. Wish me luck.”

He pauses, then gives a brief salute before returning to the central platform.

“Shields to maximum! Divert all power from weapons to the engines! Give her all she’s got!”

The bridge crew is bent double as they stick to their stations, eyes peeled to the screens in front of them that relay all the ships data and received signals. There’s shouted reports which Captain Tyro receives, and then quickly responds to. Even from here you can tell that he’s sweating. Soon enough you can see through the bridge the outlines of starships, Venators and Dreadnoughts pouring fire into each other while their shields flash and fail. Fighters are everywhere, ARCs and V-Wings pursuing each other and being pursued, many falling out of formation trailing smoke and flame. You even see the wreckage of several ships already, the front section of a venator slowly falling to the planet below. Someone’s tuned in to the local comms, and you can hear the reports from some of the fighters as they identify targets and incoming enemies, redirecting their fire or screaming as they get hit. It’s a slaughter out there. And you can’t even tell the sides apart. You only hope that you can somehow escape to safety in all this chaos.

Roll 1d100 to escape unnoticed. Bo3.
DC 85

Also, music.

https://youtu.be/QkV4ctqDI_c&t=236

Rolled 43 (1d100)

>>5789958
>85 to escape without trouble
This is scary.

Rolled 30 (1d100)

>>5789958

Rolled 38 (1d100)

>>5789958
bigger number better person

>43 is the highest roll
Well shit.

File: venator firing.png (455 KB, 900x450)

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>>5789964
>>5789969
>>5789971

You watch with bated breath as turbolaser fire flies through space, impacting ships and ripping them apart. You see another acclamator, it’s starboard engine missing and holes all through its hull disintegrate in a hail of fire from a trio of venators. A pair of ARCs fly past the bridge, almost colliding with it. You’re wondering why they didn’t fire on you and destroy the bridge when an entire squadron of headhunters flies past, in hot pursuit of the pair of ARCs. You’re almost being overwhelmed by the sight of everything when you’re blinded by a sudden flash, and the entire ship shudders, forcing you to focus on your physical location. Were you hit?

>Was that-?

“A venator to port. The Temeraire. It’s on the map.” Shade’s voice responds beside you. Quickly looking at the holotable, you see a rapidly flashing red signal beside your position before it disappears.

There’s so many ships there now, you can barely see what’s going on. They’re fighting at point-blank range, unleashing their full fury upon each other in an effort to utterly destroy the enemy. You’re in the middle of the fleets now, the centre of the storm, though a calm eye is the exact opposite of what you’re seeing. But the ship hasn’t taken any hits so far…

As you begin to hope you’ll get through the ship shudders continuously for a moment, and this time you don’t see any tell-tale flashes of a ship blowing up.

“We’re being targeted! Port deflector shields down to 80%!”

“I have ARC Squadrons coming up on our tail!"

“Sir! Venator class is moving into our trajectory! We need to redirect!”

Captain Tyro, to his credit, remains calm and gives out immediate orders to his men. You grip the holotable tightly as the ship tries to move its massive bulk, at least dodging a collision with a venator directly to your front. But it seems like your string of luck is over now as the ship shudders again and the officers scream out their reports to the captain.

Roll 1d100 for damage taken. Bo3.

DC 65/80

Rolled 35 (1d100)

>>5789990
I've got a bad feeling about this.

Rolled 5 (1d100)

>>5789990
Pain

Rolled 25 (1d100)

>>5789990
oh shit oh fuck

Fuck.

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>>5789996
>>5789997
>>5789998
Heheheh. Updating tomorrow.

nooooo
well i expected this result, being a third party that just stole some of the confederacy treasury would make us a target.

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>>5790002
ah shieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet

File: WookieDismay.png (223 KB, 617x264)

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>>5790002

It's so over

File: Destroyed ships.png (1.13 MB, 1856x809)

1.13 MB PNG

>>5789996
>>5789997
>>5789998

It’s chaos on the bridge, but an ordered chaos, calm and focused. The bridge crew is yelling out their reports while Captain Tyro rapidly gives out orders, trying to weave his ship through the storm of fire around it, trying to keep his crew and his ship alive. But the hits keep on coming and the ship shudders with each impact. Through the bridge windows you can see the battle raging, ships futilely trying to turn away before their power fails, the broken wreckage of corvettes and cruisers starting to drift by. You feel so powerless right now, unable to do anything to change the course of the battle, but you know that all you can do is trust in Tyro and his ship.

He and the crew have remained calm, and the ship is still moving, trying to escape the fleet surrounding the ship. But you realise now that you’ve been clearly noticed, turbolaser blasts are pounding the deflectors, and you wait with a sinking feeling as the reports come in of the shields getting drained, their power levels getting lower and lower. There’s beginning to be a hint of panic in some of their voices, and then, the words that all men on a starship dread: “We’ve lost shields!”

Immediately the entire ship rocks as it starts receiving the full brunt of the attack, and you hear Tyro’s voice begin to shout. “Damage report!”

They begin to respond, in quick succession as the ship shakes even more violently with every blow to its hull. You tightly hold the holotable to brace yourself as the alarms start to ring and the lights start to flicker and dim.

“We’ve lost starboard point defence!”

“Structural integrity at 92%!”

“Hull breach, hull breach!”

“Main hangar has lost all power!”

“I have fires in the reactant channels!”

“Losing atmosphere on decks 12 through 19!”

“Port auxiliary thruster destroyed!”

You don’t know much about ships but you know things are bad. Is this how a ship dies? You’re beginning to wonder if this is really it, when you suddenly hear a loud BANG and realise you’re no longer gripping the holotable. You only have enough time to look up at the far wall flying towards you before everything goes black.

>>5791466

You awake to a room bathed in red and the sound of alarms drilling their way into your brain. You feel confused. You can’t see anything, only dim shapes and the distant sound of muffled voices. Dimly, you feel a hand slapping your face. You blink, and the blurriness starts to clear, and you see the face of a clone looking into your own, eyes wide and full of concern.

It’s Fabian. You feel yourself being shaken, and you hear his voice getting louder and louder. The alarm becomes even more piercing too, before suddenly everything crystallises around you and you remember what’s going on.

“Sulla! Can you hear me? Sulla!”

>Sir. Yes sir!

“Come on soldier. You’re not going down yet.” He holds out his hand, and you take it. Grabbing you tightly, he pulls you up and makes sure you’re steady. Looking into your eyes he nods, and taps your chest with his fist. It’s at this moment you realise that he cares for nothing, not the Republic, not the Separatists, not even his own life. His only care in the galaxy is all of you. His men.

You shake your head, and look around. You’re still on the bridge. All around, the crew is either stuck to their stations or tending to the wounded. You quickly pat yourself down to check nothing’s broken, then walk with Fabian to where Captain Tyro is standing with the other officers. Strangely enough the ship isn’t shaking anymore, though you can see out the windows that the battle is still ongoing.

Captain Tyro’s hair is messy and there’s a cut on his forehead, with a thin trickle of blood going down his cheek. But his face has a determined look to it, and you can tell he isn’t giving up.

>Why are we still…

Tyro answers your question. “Alive? Someone out there realises they might not be able to replace all these losses. We’ve been disabled.”

Disabled. Which means…

>>5791468

“That means we’re going to be boarded. Lucky thing we have more than a regiment’s worth of clones on board. But that won’t matter if we can’t get the ship running again and get out of here. The crew’s already working on damage control and they’re going to need help. We’ll have to split the regiment between the two.”

Fabian holds out your helmet. “We’re down but not out.”

You thank him, and put your helmet on while Tyro continues to outline the plan. You see a comms request from Beck, marked urgent. You make a brief excuse and move to the side a little while you receive the call.

>Beck. Are you okay?

“Yes sir. But this droid is asking to speak with you. It’s calculated that we’re about to be boarded and we’re going to need its help; The ship’s going to fight the boarders and repair itself, but according to its calculations the probability of success for both at once is “low”. If we focus on one we won’t succeed at the other. It’s asking if it can be freed to help coordinate both to “maximum efficiency”. What are your thoughts, sir?”

>Give me a moment.

Fabian is beckoning to you, and you quickly return to the meeting.

“Sulla. We either need your men on defence, or fixing the reactor and damage control. What will it be?"

What will you put your men on?
>Help with damage control. Your engineers are meant for that kind of work.
>Repelling boarders. Fixing the ship won’t matter if it comes under the control of the enemy.
>Let Thax coordinate both.
>Write in.

>>5791469
>Help with damage control. Your engineers are meant for that kind of work.

>>5791469
>>Let Thax coordinate both.
Honestly? Let's take a chance here. These are extraordinary circumstances, and strange bedfellows may be what we need to get through it.

>>5791469
>Let Thax coordinate both.

we got robot might as well use it

>>5791469
>Let Thax coordinate both.
You're supposed to be the best calculator among the clankers, let's see you put that RAM to good use. I'll even let you ask me four questions for free, two for each task completed if you get us out of here ASAP with minimal casualties.

>>5791469
>Write in
>Let Thax help you coordinate both
It will let us keep a close eye on Thax and reassure the other Clones while playing along.

>>5791469
>Let Thax coordinate both.

AWAKE MY SUPER TACTICAL DROID!

>>5791469
>Let Thax coordinate both.

We’re dead already, can’t get any worse.

>>5791469
>Let Thax coordinate both.

>>5791469
>>Let Thax coordinate both.

>>5791469
>Help with damage control. Your engineers are meant for that kind of work.

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1.36 MB GIF

>>5791469
>Let Thax coordinate both.

Fuck it, we ball.

>Let Thax coordinate both.

Desperate times call for desperate measures. If a separatist droid belonging to a disgraced ship designer is what it takes to get out of this mess, then so be it. You’ll accept the offer.

>Sir, with your permission, I’ll let that droid coordinate the men, and they’ll tackle both. Those things are supposed to be equal to Jedi, if all the rumours are true.

Fabian looks uncharacteristically surprised at your suggestion. It is a radical one. The super-tacticals may be the most advanced droids the separatists have ever produced, but it’s still a seppie droid. And though you’re not sure of the technicalities, you had effectively been keeping it prisoner. But if it turns its mind to your problems it might be the difference between getting out of here and landing in a court martial, or worse.

“Are you sure about that Sulla? I don’t like the idea of a super-tactical running free, even if it’s on our side.”

>Well, we haven’t got much to lose, sir.

He frowns, then touches your shoulder.

“You’re right. Do it.”

You thank him, and make the call to Beck. Fabian turns away from you and begins to coordinate things with Tyro. It’s looking like he’ll keep command here while Shade, Fisher, and Yegor head to the lifts to take command of their battalions. It’s do or die now.

“Sir?”

>Free the droid.

“Copy that sir.” And then, a moment later: “It’s asking for our codes, sir. To direct the men.”

You’ve got no choice.

>Give them.

A moment later you hear a new voice, cold and precise. Though it’s utterly emotionless, you can’t help but feel there’s the barest hint of triumph in it. You’re probably imagining things.
“Thank you, commander. I will direct my computational power to ensure the preservation of this ship. Please meet me in the logistics hangar. The highest probability indicates they will attempt an incursion into the ship there.”

You start to move, taking the bridge turbolift down to the main decks, and heading to the hangar. The alarms are still going and all the hallways are bathed in red. Emergency power. You pass members of the crew as you run, their heads down as they head to their stations or where they’re needed. Several of them are brandishing weapons, in preparation for the boarding action. There’s a lot more astromech droids around too, probably to help with the repairs. If you don’t succeed in the repairs or repelling the enemy, the ship very well might be lost. There’s a tension in the air, one which you feel yourself, but it’s not one of fear. It’s desperation.

>>5792646

You get to the main hangar, and to your surprise Fisher is there with what seems to be his entire battalion, along with Joyce, Loge, and Boxer. Thax is standing in the middle of them, with a squadron of troopers from Goto’s battalion surrounding him. Everyone has either taken defensive positions or moving crates and other equipment into place for cover. Fisher turns to you as you approach.

“Sulla. This is your idea? I got ordered down here by Fabian but he didn’t mention the droid.”

He sounds annoyed. You can’t blame him, he’s being forced to work with a droid to fight clones. What a nightmare the past few days have turned into.

>It is. He’s coordinating my battalion, engineers on repairs, the rest here. I know it’s not great, but we need every advantage we can get.

You can tell he’s not convinced, but he doesn’t have much choice. He shakes his head. “I guess you’re right. I’ll be keeping an eye on him though.”

At this, Thax responds. “It is to be expected, Commander.”

Fisher just ignores him and begins giving orders to his men. While the preparations are still being made, Loge approaches you.

“We really taking orders from that thing?”

>For now.

“Alright then. Roger roger.”

You sigh and shake your head. You’re never going to hear the end of this. While you watch the defences being assembled you hear a heavy clanking noise come near, and look to see Thrax beside you.

“Commander.”

>Thrax. What is it?

You’re a little unnerved by how completely robotic it is, and how strong it is compared to you. In all honesty it could probably break you in two if it tried, but you’re not going to let that show. It’s probably nothing to worry about anyway.

“Please request your captain drain the atmosphere and open the hangar doors.”

>Why?

“It will reduce damage to the ship and funnel the enemy to us. Injuries will be more lethal, but we have defender’s advantage. I calculate our probability of victory is 70.2%”

>>5792647

Those aren’t the best odds. And the increased lethality gives you pause. But you guess there aren’t many better options. So you do as he says and put in a call to Tyro.

>Captain Tyro, can you vent this area and open the main hangar doors?

“Defences all set up?”

>Yes sir.

“Alright.” A pause. “I’ve given the command. No atmosphere in 1 minute, doors will open in 2. Good luck down there.”

You quickly order all troops to get seal their helmets, and Fisher does the same. Soon, you see your helmet display indicate lowering levels of oxygen, and then none at all. A moment later you hear the gigantic hangar doors above you begin to move, and light starts shining through the growing gap between them.

Through the bridge, you saw the battle from its centre as the two sides raged at each other but now, after drifting into one side, things seem a little calmer, the stars shining brightly in the cool blackness. You see the neat formations of the fleet above as it lets loose all the fire it can, shields glowing as they take incoming shots or the armour bending and breaking when there’s no shields left. And, smaller than the goliath ships that float around you in space, is a group of gunships and shuttles heading right for the opening you’ve made. The boarding parties.

They move until they’re positioned right above the hangar entrance, then begin to descend gracefully, ordered in a neat formation, at least until Fisher orders his men to open fire with the anti-tank weaponry.

Seeing the first shuttle explode galvanises the rest, and they suddenly descend without any thought of caution. The gunships are the first down, and as the doors open white armoured men pour out and are met with a hail of fire from you. Keeping your head down for a moment you decide to check in on Beck.

>Beck, how’s the repairs coming?

“Assessing damage now, sir. The droid has been extremely helpful identifying priority locations. Repairs should commence soon.”

Here goes. You just need to hold them off long enough for Beck and the rest of the engineers to make the repairs.

Roll 2d100+40. Bo3.

DC 70

Rolled 31, 43 + 40 = 114 (2d100 + 40)

>>5792649
That’s one hell of a modifier

Rolled 51, 27 + 40 = 118 (2d100 + 40)

>>5792649
Alright clanker, let's see how your plan works.

Rolled 40, 98 + 40 = 178 (2d100 + 40)

>>5792649
>DC 70
That would mean there's a 30% chance of passing this roll on a 1d100 rather than the 70% Thax suggested. Is this roll across both dice?

>>5792662
It may surprise you to know but I am bad at math. It is roll over.

>>5792669
Looking at it again, I see what you mean. A roll of 30 would be a success with the modifier.

Rolled 30, 43 + 40 = 113 (2d100 + 40)

>>5792649
Based Super tactical droid.

>>5792649
>2d100+40.
wtf super tactical droid goes hard
also I can already tell he is gonna be a great companion

>>5792654
>>5792657
>>5792662

Blasterfire fills the forward logistics hangar of the acclamator Regent. Through the open main hatch, gunships and shuttles are still arriving, disgorging their load of troops and equipment. But around their impromptu landing zone is the burnt out wreckage of their ships, and the bodies of numerous clones. With the oxygen drained, getting hit here is quickly lethal when the wound exposes you to the vacuum of space. But you can afford to evacuate your men while they cannot, and they have not been able to advance under the withering amount of fire coming from your defensive positions, even after an hour. They’ve taken cover and started returning fire when they can, but with only a limited amount of men compared to what you have, they’ve had little success. Still, you haven’t fully eliminated the threat of boarding yet. The amount of fire from them has been steadily increasing, and they haven’t made any assaults for some minutes even though several transports have come and gone. You don’t need Thax’s calculation matrix to predict an attack, but he does so anyway.

“There is the highest probability that a breakout assault is imminent.”

That damn droid has been rattling on about probability for the past several minutes, since you refuse to give him a weapon and let him fight. Fisher would have your head. But, only a few seconds after he states his prediction, the enemy fire starts intensifying, forcing several of your men to duck back into cover. Suppressive fire to keep your head down while they begin to advance. You hear a brief gurgle beside you and turn your head to see a clone, his helmet smoking, fall backwards and lie still. You have nowhere near the casualties suffered by the boarders, but every lost clone still hurts.

A little further up the barricade you see Fisher motioning to several of his troops. “Get those last launchers ready!”

Once the men are in position, he gives you a signal and holds out his hand. 5 fingers. 4 fingers. 3. 2. 1. At the sight of his balled fist you scream to all your men:

>Now!

>>5793781

You all pop up and start firing for all you’re worth. You can hear several grunts of pain as some are hit, but you ignore it. Surprised by the sudden resistance, the boarders slow down a moment, but they’re not your targets. You hear the fwoosh of several rocket launchers going off all around you, and you watch with satisfaction as the LAATs they just came from disappear in a burst of smoke and flame. With the suppressing fire now dealt with, your men direct all their fire into the exposed force in front of you.

To their credit, your attackers don’t hesitate, and continue to advance. They’re well trained, as every clone trooper is. But without the numbers to back them up or covering fire to suppress you they’re soon cut down. And then they retreat, leaving a field of bodies over the hangar floor. It seems they’re starting to crumble, when you see an eruption of fire in the background, beyond the landing zone they’ve made. But it’s not the enemy with a new plan, it’s Shade’s men advancing on them from behind, having moved through the ship to flank them in the rear. You soon hear Fisher’s voice on the local command channel.

“Shade! Good to see you! What took you so long?”

“Fabian ordered us to the rear of the hangar. Got here when they started the assault. Very precise on his part. Extremely precise.”

You suddenly hear Thax’s robotic voice in your ear, and remember that he now has access to all your command channels too. “With the arrival of Commander Shade there is a high likelihood the enemy will begin to withdraw. There is now an opportunity to inflict more damage and capture equipment.”

Fisher quickly chimes in. “I don’t like the idea of killing more men. We could let them go, they’re no longer a threat.

Shade also responds. “Could be an opportunity to capture prisoners.”

Thax continues in his perfectly emotionless voice. “Any intact hostile is a threat. Taking prisoners would complicate an assault, there will be an increased risk of casualties. Most efficient course of action is destruction.”

You hear Fisher sigh. “Sulla, it’s your droid. What do you think?"

>Mount an assault to force them out. You can capture any equipment they leave behind.
>Mount an assault to capture prisoners. You’ve done it before.
>Keep shooting at them from your positions and wait for them to leave.

>>5793783

(POV shift: You are Captain Beck)

It had been hell the past hour. You’d been directed all throughout the ship, rushing to the systems in most in need of urgent repair. The worst had been the fire in the reactant channels, the fuel lines leading to the main reactor. If those had gone the entire ship would have been gutted. But the droid had guided you through them, identifying danger areas and getting you the needed equipment from the crew to repair them. And now you were hard at work on the reactor, with yours and Goto’s battalions doing their best to get it back online. They’d hit the ship with ion blasts, frying most of the electronics that controlled the power. Half the emergency lighting didn’t even work down here. But with Goto your engineers you’d done your best, and the reactor should be nearly online again.

“Power converters will arrive in 2 minutes.”

The droid’s informing you of the last batch of equipment you’ll need to fix the reactor controls and turn it online again. You have to admit, it’s efficient at what it does. Sulla’s put a lot of trust in it, letting it coordinate the men, and it seems to have paid off.

You suddenly hear Goto’s voice as he works on some wiring next to you. “Hey, major.”

>Yes?

“You also think that droid talking to us in a clone voice is a little creepy? I know it’s to make us more relaxed, but, uh, I’m starting to think I’d prefer it robotic again.”

>Is it impeding your work?

“Uh, no, sir.”

>Then it doesn’t matter. Commander Sulla has allowed it to coordinate the battalion and the ship is getting fixed. Don’t dwell on it.

>>5793784

It’s then that the power converters arrive, and you spend the next several minutes in silence working with Goto to get them installed. When you do, everything should be in place. You get up, and start up the control console. It works! You quickly send a signal to the ships chief engineer, a fat and greasy man, but experienced, and he rushes into the room a moment later.

“You’ve done it? Good! We can start.”

You make way and let him start to do his job, engaging all the systems and rebooting them, shunting enough extra power to get the reaction going again and then-

There’s a humming sound, and then the emergency lights go out to be replaced by the harsh white lighting of normal day-to-day operation. The man lets out a little cheer, and then glues himself to the screen. That’s it. You’ve done it.

You’re patting Goto on the back when the chief engineer starts cursing, even kicking the wall in front of him.

>What is it?

He turns, and you see his face is sweaty, and not just from exhaustion.

“The ship’s taken too much damage. We can’t send power to all systems. We’ve got fuel leakages everywhere and too many burnt conduits. We can fix it given another hour, but I don’t know if we have the time.”

>Calm down. What can we power?

He swallows, and nods. “The shields, engines, and hyperdrive. But we can only send power to two.”

Those are some important systems. But two out of three is good. When you got down here the engineer said it was impossible to bring the reactor online, until the droid requested access to the ships systems and started ordering you about. Probably has the KDY schematics stored in its memory, knowing the corporate espionage that goes on between the corporations these days.

Goto takes his helmet off and takes a deep breath. “We can also ask the Commander to buy us more time.”

What will you choose to power? Pick TWO

>The Engines. You can’t escape from the fleet around you if you’re immobilised.
> The Shields. It’s no use fleeing if they decide to blast you to smithereens.
>The Hyperdrive. Nothing else matters if you’re unable to jump away.

You may also choose this option.
>Request Sulla and the defence team buy you more time to bring the reactor fully online.

Also, music.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHQrcyerVQQ

>>5793785
>The Engines. You can’t escape from the fleet around you if you’re immobilised.
> The Shields. It’s no use fleeing if they decide to blast you to smithereens.
We've got to get out of here first. If they get even one good hit on us we're back to square one.

>>5793799
This is good, we get the hell out of dodge first and enact further repairs and then jump out of the system.

>>5793783
>attempt to capture prisoners
The Hangar doors are open right now, how about we order them closed now so they realize they can't escape, then order them to surrender. That should make them more likely to lay down their arms.

>>5793783
>>Mount an assault to force them out. You can capture any equipment they leave behind.

>>5793785
>The Engines. You can’t escape from the fleet around you if you’re immobilised.
> The Shields. It’s no use fleeing if they decide to blast you to smithereens.

>>5793783
>Mount an assault to force them out. You can capture any equipment they leave behind.
> The Shields. It’s no use fleeing if they decide to blast you to smithereens.
>The Engines. You can’t escape from the fleet around you if you’re immobilised.

>>5793783
>Keep shooting at them from your positions and wait for them to leave.
We can't risk losing men just to gain prisoners. We need to keep our casualties low - clones can't be replaced.

>>5793784
>The Engines. You can’t escape from the fleet around you if you’re immobilised.
> The Shields. It’s no use fleeing if they decide to blast you to smithereens.

File: Phase ii.jpg (44 KB, 500x750)

44 KB JPG

>The Engines. You can’t escape from the fleet around you if you’re immobilised.
> The Shields. It’s no use fleeing if they decide to blast you to smithereens.

Powering up the hyperdrive won’t matter if you’re immobile, or get blown up by the enemy. You point a finger at the chief engineer, who seems on the verge of panic.

>Activate the engines and shields. Do what you can for the Hyperdrive.

He nods, and immediately starts inputting commands into his console. You nod to Goto, and head out the room with him.

“Looks like we still got a job to do.”

And then, just a moment later, you hear a clone voice lacking all emotion start to direct you down the corridors.

“I see there’s not enough power for the hyperdrive. You must fix several ruptured fuel lines. Head down corridor three…”

(End of POV shift)

You look up at Fisher. Around you your men and his are pouring fire into the haphazard debris that gives only the barest cover to the boarders. There’s not much return fire at all. You sigh. Fisher might not like it, but the droid is right. The best course of action is to push them out and capture anything they leave behind. It looks like their reinforcements have stopped, for now. You’ll at least deal with the boarding problem. You jerk your head at Thax.

>The droid’s right. We should assault them and take them out. Better not risk leaving them a foothold.

Fisher lowers his head, nods, and then looks up.

“Alright. We’ll do it your way. Men! Prepare to attack!”

>Shade, come in. We’re making an assault to push them out. Try and see if you can join us in the middle.

A pause, and then: “Copy.” You start giving out orders to your own men, and they begin moving the cover you’ve been using out of the way. Once they’re ready, you give a signal to Fisher, and you leap out, your men following quickly behind.

>>5794841

You expect to see blaster bolts heading towards you, but there’s only a few scattered shots, quickly suppressed by the men remaining at the barricade. You rush across the hangar floor, nimbly dodging the bodies of the fallen attackers. The bodies of clones you’ve killed. Soon you’re at the barricade, leaping over it, and firing at any of the remaining clones left. There’s not many. With Fisher’s men backing you up and Shade appearing at the other end, you make quick work of them. The last shot is fired by Shade, into a gasping clone as his lungs rupture from a decompression wound on his chest. An act of mercy.

You hear Thax striding over, with those heavy clanking footsteps of his. "A resounding victory. You clones have performed well."

The battle over, you look around you. You’ve added several gunships and shuttles to the ship’s arsenal. Not bad work. But even so, the thought of all those dead clones give you pause. The hangar is covered in them. At least it's none of yours. You put in a call to the captain.

>Captain Tyro, we have repelled all boarders. Awaiting further orders.

The reply is immediate. “Alright Commander, we’ve also got power back in engines and shields, now we’re getting out of here. Thank you for what you’ve done, and all you other commanders. Hang tight, this might be a little rough.”

You lean as the ship starts to move, and the hangar door above you closes again. Guess there’s not much to do but wait now.

Roll 1d100 to escape the fleet. Bo3.

DC 60.

Rolled 43 (1d100)

>>5794844

Rolled 64 (1d100)

>>5794844

Rolled 6 (1d100)

>>5794844

>>5794854
Nice

>>5794854
THANK YOU

Can't update tonight because I'm going to be busy, so update coming tomorrow. I'll probably do only a couple more updates before ending on a big choice to make and taking a break for a couple days, but for now have a vote on an interlude:

>A clone legion fighting for Skywalker
>A clone legion fighting for the Jedi
>A separatist tactical droid
>Yoda, depressed, and high on ketamine

>>5796313
>Yoda, depressed, and high on ketamine

>>5796313
>Yoda, depressed, and high on ketamine

>>5796313
>Yoda, depressed, and high on ketamine

>>5796313
>>A clone legion fighting for Skywalker

>>5796313
>A clone legion fighting for Skywalker

>>5796313
>Yoda, depressed, and high on ketamine
This, but unironically. Would love to know how the civil war has affected the Jedi Order's standing in the Republic.

>>5796351
You will get the opportunity later on to see more of the galaxy's reaction to the news that the Republic's in a civil war, but that'll be reserved for when you're not getting shot at.

>>5796369
>They are probably just going. “Another one?!” And then slapping their foreheads.

>>5796313
>Yoda, depressed, and high on ketamine
I'm curious about how you would elaborate on this.

>>5796313
>>A clone legion fighting for the Jedi

>>5796313

>Yoda, depressed, and high on ketamine

>>5796313
>>Yoda, depressed, and high on ketamine
as if there was any choice

>>5796314
>>5796315
>>5796323
>>5796351
>>5796672
>>5796894
>>5797314
Kek, depressed Yoda it is. High on ketamine and dealing out drugs to anyone else who needs it.

>>5794849
>>5794854
>>5794855

You can see your reflection looking back at you as you peer through the window. Beside you stand the officers of the 165th, and all the other officers of the 451st, along with Captain Tyro and his men. Staring back at you are the stars, cold and uncaring. Bodies are floating by in space. Your men in caskets, the enemy’s left to the void. A funeral, for all the dead. The second in a day. Beyond, in the distance, the fleets are still fighting, shimmering grey dots and brief flashes of light above the pale green of Cato Neimoidia. You had made your escape without a hitch. There had been no more attacks or boarding attempts, and the two sides seemed to content to forget you and focus instead on each other’s destruction. Not even a squadron of fighters to harass you. A lucky break, perhaps.

But far over the planet many thousands of clones are being sent to their deaths, there and everywhere the Grand Army can be found. Bodies spilling out into space as their ships fall apart around them. Men trapped as wreckage falls to the planet below. You’re so focused on the battle in the distance that you almost don’t feel a hand on your shoulder, and Fabian’s voice ring out beside you.

“There’s going to be a lot more of these. All across the galaxy.”

>Will someone hold one for us someday?

All you hear is the sound of Fabian’s hand patting you on the shoulder, and then a sigh. Captain Tyro straightens his cap, looks around, then nods at you all, before walking off, followed by his officers. You dismiss your men, before following Fabian and the Captain up to the bridge.

Once there, he leads you all to the holotable, which is displaying a scan of the ship. Entire sections of the display are blinking, and they cover most of the external areas as well as several interior portions. Tyro takes a deep breath and then begins.

“Well, here we are. We made it. I’ll be honest with you, I didn’t think we would when they started firing on us.” He whistles. “That was… too close. Though there’s no signs of pursuit, I don’t feel safe enough for anything but essential repairs. We’ll be jumping to an empty system once the hyperdrive is online to assess the full extent of the damage, and make any repairs we can.”

Fisher raises his hand. “Where will we be jumping to?”

“The Humbarine system.”

File: hyperspace.jpg (325 KB, 1280x720)

325 KB JPG

>>5797606

You all fall silent at that. You weren’t there, but you’d heard what had happened. The entire Republic had. The chances of anyone discovering you there were extremely low.

A ping comes from the holotable, and Tyro presses a button to change the display of the ship into the chief engineer. He begins his report immediately.

“The hyperdrive is online sir. We can jump immediately. I’ve begun making a list of all the damage, but there’s still a lot to go and-

Tyro cuts him off. “No need, Vask. Just get the ship ready and start fixing the damage when we’re safe. That’s all we need right now.”

The hologram nods. “Yes, sir.”

It shuts off, and Tyro looks up. “Well gentlemen. You’re here so you might as well see the show. I know I never grow tired of it.”

https://youtu.be/vVulaCFNL4A&t=123

Without waiting for a reply, he turns and begins giving orders for the ship to make the jump to hyperspace. It’s only a few moments later that he’s standing expectantly in the middle of the bridge, and you all join him there. He looks around at you, a smile on his face despite everything you’ve just gone through.

“Here goes.”

He gives the order, and you feel, rather than hear, a hum throughout the entire ship, before the stars blur in front of you, streaking by all at once, and then a rumble as they disappear into the blue tunnel of hyperspace.

Tyro lets you all leave the bridge after that, and Fabian and the others head towards the turbolift that takes you to the main deck, where your barracks are. All available men are still working on last minute repairs to ensure the ship will actually survive once it returns to realspace. In the meantime, you’re free, other than receiving regular reports from your captains once in a while. You can take the opportunity to chat with the Captain, or someone else, or simply return to your quarters to earn some well needed rest before you get to Humbarine.

What will you do?

>Talk to Fabian. It’s always good to check in with your commanding officer. To see what he expects of you, what his plans are.
>Talk to Thax. You should find out more about the droid, and perhaps discover more about its master.
>Talk to Tyro. It looks like whether he’s only around for Fabian’s treasure or not, he’s in with you for the long haul. Maybe you should try getting to know him better.
>Talk to the Prisoners. They’re technically your responsibility too. And they’re fellow clones, despite everything. They’re still you brothers.
>Retire to your quarters and reflect on the war. What it means, what might happen. And you can check the holonet, though you doubt anything’s gotten past the censors.
>Write in.

>>5797612
>Retire to your quarters and reflect on the war.

>>5797612
>try to improve your speech skills with Goto
Improve speech skills to convince the prisoners to either join our side or lay down their arms until the war's over. Even if they're our brothers, they're dead weight to us in the brig.

>>5797612
>Talk to Thax. You should find out more about the droid, and perhaps discover more about its master.
We were interrupted during our conversation with him.

>>5797612
>Retire to your quarters and reflect on the war. What it means, what might happen. And you can check the holonet, though you doubt anything’s gotten past the censors.

>>5797612
>Talk to the Prisoners. They’re technically your responsibility too. And they’re fellow clones, despite everything. They’re still you brothers.
The longer we put this off, the bigger a problem it will become. No need to recruit them yet, just check in on them, make sure they're being treated well, maybe explain our position.

>>5797612
>Talk to Thax. You should find out more about the droid, and perhaps discover more about its master.

>>5797612
>>Talk to the Prisoners. They’re technically your responsibility too. And they’re fellow clones, despite everything. They’re still you brothers.

>>5797612
>>Talk to the Prisoners. They’re technically your responsibility too. And they’re fellow clones, despite everything. They’re still you brothers.

>>5797612
>>Talk to the Prisoners. They’re technically your responsibility too. And they’re fellow clones, despite everything. They’re still you brothers.

Sorry anons, I'm feeling a little under the weather right now so no update today. Will definitely have one out for tomorrow however, maybe 2 if I'm feeling good enough.

>>5798753
It's all good QM, rest easy.

File: detention level.jpg (77 KB, 1023x435)

77 KB JPG

>Talk to the Prisoners. They’re technically your responsibility too. And they’re fellow clones, despite everything. They’re still you brothers.
Though you’ve put them under Goto, the prisoners are ultimately your responsibility. At least you think so. The regulations for the Grand Army of the Republic were strangely vague on taking prisoners. Even the system for court-martials was more detailed, though you suppose that was just a consequence of fighting programmed droids that weren’t capable of surrender. It had never been a serious issue, since any prisoners that were taken were in small enough numbers to leave it to the discretion of your jedi commanders. But now things had changed, and unless you were willing to slaughter every hostile clone you saw, you’d have to find a way to deal with them.

These thoughts swirl through your mind as you walk down the corridors to the detention level, located in the centre of the ship, just above the main reactor. Another problem you had was where to put them. The prisoners you already had numbered more than a hundred, but the ship had a crew of 700, and the brig was only built in case of a mutiny or prisoner transfer, not for mass incarceration. Any more and it’d become overcrowded, or you’d be forced to transfer them to spare barracks under guard. You probably wouldn’t come up with a solution right away, but it was something to think about.
You salute the guard as you approach the detention area. Returning the salute, he lets you in and leads you down a corridor with energy barriers blocking each room off. Inside each are several clones, stripped of their armour, staring at you as you walk by. Stopping in front of the one containing the few remaining officers they have, he stands a little off to the side as you look in.

They look up at you, clearly surprised at your visit. There’s some muttering amongst them, before one whom you recognise as the Lieutenant who surrendered them to you walk up to the barrier. CT-32-4956, you remember.

“Commander. We weren’t expecting visitors. What do you want?”

>>5800057

>Just checking in. Making sure you have enough to eat, that you’re not uncomfortable. You’re still clones, and clones don’t abandon each other. Is there anything you need?

He shakes his head, obviously surprised by what you’ve said. “No, sir. The beds aren’t too comfortable, but that’s to be expected. Food’s alright. Not much else to talk about.”

>You sure? I do care about what happens to you men. We’re still brothers, despite everything that’s happened.

He shrugs his shoulders. “Well, since you’re here, we might as well chat. There’s not much else to do.” Meaning that there isn’t anything else for them to do, other than stand around.

>Okay. How about I get your name? I already know your designation, but I think I should know what you’re actually called.

He looks around at his fellows. Most of them are impassive, a few shrug. He nods.

“Blink, sir.”

>Well, Blink. Maybe you can ask me something. Get a rapport going. I might come back and visit when I have the spare time.

He sighs, and turns his head away. After a moment, he looks back at you. “Who are you fighting for?”

>I’ll tell you what I told your commander, fighting for nobody. Not the Jedi, and not Skywalker either. I don’t want to kill clones.

“So you really are deserters then.”

>>5800058

>No.

You feel a sudden strength in your voice as you say it.

>We’re not. We’re loyal to the Republic. To other clones. To our brothers. Not the people who order us to fight them, who claim they’re leading the Republic, and the others are not. Our enemy is the separatists. We haven’t abandoned that fight.

He shakes his head. “Sooner or later you’ll have to pick a side. The Jedi or Skywalker. We don’t have any other choice. Our commanding officer recognised that, and we went with him. You’ll either join them, or you’ll die.”

He looks at you, his face tired, his eyes somehow sad. You feel for him a little. He’s lost most of his unit, his commanding officer included, and now he’s been imprisoned by what he thinks are deserters, betrayed by fellow clones. None of you ever trained for this. Nobody even thought it could happen.

He sighs. “I do realise there’s one thing you can do for me. Can you tell me what’s the plan for us? What are you going to do? These men are my responsibility now, and I’d like to know what’s going to happen to them.”

It’s something that hasn’t really crossed your mind. What will you do with the prisoners?

>Somehow, you’ll make a prisoner exchange. Perhaps sell them back to Skywalker’s forces. You don’t need to keep them locked up forever.
>You’ll show them. Show them they don’t need to pick sides. You’ll convince them to join you, and help find a way out of this mess.
>Use them as labour. It’s a waste keeping them locked up. They’ll do menial work that needs to be done, working as conscripts.
>You don’t know. You never expected this to happen. Nobody did. But you won’t kill them, they’ll have your word on that.
>Write in.

>>5800060
>You don’t know. You never expected this to happen. Nobody did. But you won’t kill them, they’ll have your word on that.

>>5800060
>>You’ll show them. Show them they don’t need to pick sides. You’ll convince them to join you, and help find a way out of this mess.
Something greater than ourselves...

>>5800060
>>You’ll show them. Show them they don’t need to pick sides. You’ll convince them to join you, and help find a way out of this mess.

>>5800060
>We can't keep them confined indefinitely, it would only be a drain on our resources and morale. While I want to argue our case to them, we should ultimately just let them decide where they want to go.
Basically prisoner exchange if we can't convince all of them.

>>5800060
>You’ll show them. Show them they don’t need to pick sides. You’ll convince them to join you, and help find a way out of this mess.

>>5800060
Prisoner exchange, return them to Skywalker’s forces if the offer is accepted

>>5796313
>A clone legion fighting for the Jedi

>>5776058
It appears Anakin has descended into the same deranged state as he was on Mustafar after choking Padme. Sounds like he pushed defenestrated Windu (non-fatally) and decidedlike in canon that he could not turn back after such an act, “What have I done?” but alone in the rain. I reckon Anakin will be much darker than he is in canon.

>>5800060
>You’ll show them. Show them they don’t need to pick sides. You’ll convince them to join you, and help find a way out of this mess.
We should make it clear that whatever they decide, we aren't going to kill them.

>>5800060
>>You’ll show them. Show them they don’t need to pick sides. You’ll convince them to join you, and help find a way out of this mess.

>You’ll show them. Show them they don’t need to pick sides. You’ll convince them to join you, and help find a way out of this mess.

It’ll be difficult, you know. You won’t convince them overnight. But you’ll show them there’s something better than taking up arms and dying in these wars. Something better than killing others who believe in the Republic. A different path for you clones. Or at least, you hope so. You’d be deceiving yourself if you didn’t admit it might end in your deaths. But, it would be a chance. A chance to escape all the destruction started on Geonosis, so long ago. A chance at something better. Peace. You say as much to Blink, though he looks uncertain. Shrugging your shoulders, you bid him farewell, and leave the detention cells.

Several hours later, after resting for a while, you’re up and reviewing the equipment you recovered from the boarding action. Apart from the weapons, the most important things are the gunships and shuttles you’ve added to the ship’s complement, enough to move at least half a battalion. That would be a big addition to your combat capabilities, though it’s unclear who in the regiment would be making use of them. Ultimately, it’s up to Fabian. Speaking of which, you’ve just received a comms message from him.

“Sulla. We’re about to get to enter the Humbarine system. Head up to the bridge, and bring your droid with you.”

Sending back your confirmation, you grab your helmet and send an order for Thax to be sent to your quarters. A few minutes later, you hear the heavy thuds of his footsteps in the corridor, stopping in front of your door, and you go out to meet him.

>Thax. You’ll be heading up to the bridge with me.

“Understood commander.”

You both head down the corridor, to the main turbolift to the bridge. While in the lift you feel the tell-tale rumble of the ship arriving out of hyperspace, and when the doors open you can see space through the windows, and a dark, glowing planet where you’ve arrived. The smouldering ruins of Humbarine. The others are already standing around the holotable, and you walk over to join them. Seeing that you’re present, Tyro begins.

“Gentlemen. We’ve arrived in the Humbarine system. We should be safe from any Republic or Separatist forces here, for obvious reasons.”

>>5801122

Those being the bombardment of Humbarine. Mid-way through the war General Grievous had invaded, and after sweeping the system defences subjected the planet to a total bombardment. The crust had melted, and billions had perished or been forced to flee. The system was subsequently abandoned. It had become a big part of Republic propaganda portraying the separatists as depraved mass-murderers. Not a soul in the Republic didn’t know of Humbarine, and you could still see it in the faces of your fellow commanders. Fisher especially. He even slams his fist down on the holotable.

“Damn those seppie scum! There’s no excuse for destroying an entire world!”

But Thax interrupts. “On the contrary commander. It was a logical tactic.”

There’s a quiet in the room, and a sneer in Fisher’s voice as he replies. “And how do you mind explaining that, clanker?”

“It is simple, commander. Beyond depriving the Republic of this world’s resources, it increased the logistics burden on the Republic by a significant amount. Several of your fleets were re-tasked to provide security and transport for the refugees. Fleets that could have been used in combat. Additionally, it halted peace attempts from the separatist side. The Republic would not hear it following the bombardment.”

“What?”

The droid continues, in its usual emotionless candour. “Members of the Separatist Council were communicating to the Republic regarding a ceasefire. Communications which ended after the planet was destroyed. It is believed certain hardline factions did not want a ceasefire, so ordered the planet’s destruction. It was quite an effective operation.”

“That’s inhumane.”

Before the argument can continue, Tyro puts an end to it. “Stop it, both of you.” There’s a hard note of authority in his voice. “We’re not here for that. No, the chief engineer’s been going all over the ship, and he’s made his report. Simply put, the ship needs repairs. She’s spaceworthy, but not much use beyond that. We can make repairs here, but we need to head to a shipyard to make serious repairs. That’s why you’re all here. We need to decide where to go.”

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>>5801125

The holographic display shifts to a view displaying the local sectors, with the glowing Humbarine system at the centre. You’ll have to go to some shipyards. That will be dangerous. Tyro presses a button and three nearby systems start blinking.

“Now, from here we happen to be close to the three main shipyards of the Republic. Kuat, Corellia, and Rendili. Those seem to be our options. Right now comms are a mess, and the holonet’s not much better. As far as we can tell, Corellia hasn’t acknowledged either declaration but is still active. We’ve got reports of ships coming in and out, and while there’s some skirmishes in the sector, it’s been largely peaceful. Rendili is announcing on every free band that it will serve anyone “loyal to the Republic”, whatever that means. Kuat is completely silent. Not even a word in or out. That could mean… anything.”

He looks around at you all, seeming suddenly tired. It doesn’t quite fit his youthful face.

“I understand that ultimately this is my decision to make. But… I value your opinions, and the droid’s calculation abilities. I’ll be putting it to a vote. And may the Force be with us, I guess.”

He steps back, allowing you to make your arguments. After some discussion, it becomes clear who favours what. Fabian and Fisher are voting for Corellia. It’s the second biggest shipyards in the Republic after Kuat, and they have a reputation for looking the other way if enough money’s involved. Shade and Thax however decide they’ll go for Kuat. Kuat Drive Yards have access to the best tech the Republic can buy, and if anything’s happened, there’s certain to be opportunities in abundance. As for Tyro himself, he decides he will vote with Yegor for Rendilli. While the meaning of the “loyal to the Republic” thing is unknown, they reason that it’s not just loyalty to one side over another otherwise they would have declared. Perhaps they’re like you, supporting neither side?

It seems like you’re the last one to cast a vote. You’ll be the tiebreaker. What will you vote for?

>Corellia. The treasure you took will be more than enough to pay for repairs, and you’ll have enough left over for other uses.
>Kuat. That silence is worrying, but KDY is the most prolific shipwright around. You know you won’t get a better opportunity for repairs, or more, than there.
>Rendili. No matter what happens, you’ll remain loyal to the Republic. You might as well head to where others are thinking the same.
>Make the case for somewhere else. (Where? MUST be nearby, and I reserve the right to veto. Roll will be required to convince others.

And with this very important vote, I think I will take a break for several days. Once you choose a system to go to things should start opening up much, much faster. Please comment with any questions, criticism, etc. you may have with the quest, and I'll be sure to answer. General timeframe for continuation should be Monday. Thanks for playing everyone!

>>5801127
>Rendili. No matter what happens, you’ll remain loyal to the Republic. You might as well head to where others are thinking the same.
Sounds like the best option. Kuat is the biggest shipbuilding system and no doubt would (was) heavily garrisoned by Republic forces, so if it is silent it’s probably not because they’ve chosen to. Correlia sounds like a gamble and a way to lose most of the treasure.

>>5801127
>Rendili. No matter what happens, you’ll remain loyal to the Republic. You might as well head to where others are thinking the same.

Corellia will be in rebel hands.
Kaut being the MOST important and thus a massive cluster fuck.

Rendil is strictly republic, So its unlike to be a warzone and a third on the list for attacks.

>Rendili
>loyal to the Republic
It could also be a trap. By stating that they're neutral, they can bait their enemies into the shipyards and board them while helping anyone on their side.

>>5801127
>>Kuat. That silence is worrying, but KDY is the most prolific shipwright around. You know you won’t get a better opportunity for repairs, or more, than there.
I am picking this to follow up on Thax. Him picking Kuat intrigues me, as there may be something he is searching for there which could give us further answers regarding Sidious.

>>5801127
>>Kuat. That silence is worrying, but KDY is the most prolific shipwright around. You know you won’t get a better opportunity for repairs, or more, than there.

>>5801127
>Kuat. That silence is worrying, but KDY is the most prolific shipwright around. You know you won’t get a better opportunity for repairs, or more, than there.

>>5801127
>>Kuat. That silence is worrying, but KDY is the most prolific shipwright around. You know you won’t get a better opportunity for repairs, or more, than there.

>>5801127
>Rendili. No matter what happens, you’ll remain loyal to the Republic. You might as well head to where others are thinking the same.

>>5801127
>Kuat. That silence is worrying, but KDY is the most prolific shipwright around. You know you won’t get a better opportunity for repairs, or more, than there.

>>5801127
>Corellia. The treasure you took will be more than enough to pay for repairs, and you’ll have enough left over for other uses.
Seems to have the least risk involved. Loving the quest, qm.

>>5801127
>>Corellia. The treasure you took will be more than enough to pay for repairs, and you’ll have enough left over for other uses.
Money opens doors

Star Wars: The End of the Republic will continue in 24 hours with the Arrival at Kuat! As war rages across the galaxy, the shipyards of Kuat remain shrouded in a veil of silence, one which cannot last long as the sides are drawn up and begin making their moves against each other...

>>5804996
Lets go!

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>>5804996
My body is willing

>>5804996
Can’t wait

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>Kuat. That silence is worrying, but KDY is the most prolific shipwright around. You know you won’t get a better opportunity for repairs, or more, than there.

Captain Tyro nods. “Kuat it is then. Helmsman! Set a course!” The meeting over, you all return to your various rooms to mull over things and prepare for arrival at Kuat. Kuat Drive Yards. The biggest shipwright in the galaxy, and perhaps the single most important military asset in the Republic. A gigantic ring of shipyards encircles the space above the planet, in which thousands of ships are made, ranging from small escorts to enormous dreadnoughts, the biggest and most heavily armed starships ever built. They had almost singlehandedly built the entire Republic navy from scratch. Whoever controlled Kuat would gain an overwhelming advantage in the wars to come, both through access to the ships it made and by depriving their enemy of them as well. But who knew what you would find when you entered the system?

You’re on the bridge again with Fabian, Thax, and the rest of the commanders several hours later when the ship emerges from hyperspace into the Kuat system. A silence descends on the bridge as everyone looks through its triangular windows at the sight that greets you. You had expected there to be a battle, burning ships and wreckage, fighting on an even greater scale than on Cato Neimoidia; the Kuat Sector Forces engaging in civil war like the rest of the Republic. Perhaps you had even feared that the shipyards might be damaged, or worse, destroyed. But what you see through the windows of the bridge is… something else.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oo9GN--eoGk

You are not greeted with the flaming wreckage and ruin you had expected. Ships do not duel in the space above the shipyards of Kuat, nor are they divided in a silent standoff. The communications terminals do not immediately scream with shouted orders and cries for help. No, what lies before you is something that causes everyone in the bridge to pause. What you see stationed above Kuat is the single biggest fleet you have ever seen. There must be hundreds of star destroyers, all arrayed outward in a defensive posture around the planet, within them the gigantic command ships of Kuat’s defence fleet, the Mandator dreadnoughts. Squadrons of venators patrol the outer edges of the system, escorted by starfighters, and the planetary defence stations float calmly in the void. It takes a moment for the creeping realisation to hit you: The Kuat Sector Forces are not at war.

Through your shock, you notice off to the side that two ships have peeled off one squadron and are rapidly approaching your position. As they get closer you make out their shape, two imposing, dagger shaped, grey ships. They belong to the newest Imperator class star destroyers, a class of ship that utterly dwarfs the Acclamator you’re currently on.

>>5805958

Captain Tyro is standing in shocked silence. Nobody has said a word, and the silence is only broken by one of the bridge crew informing Captain Tyro that there is an incoming communication. He quickly signals to accept it. You hear the powerful voice from the comms console, everyone does, as strain to listen in.

“Acclamator. Identify yourself or be destroyed.”

Captain Tyro doesn’t move for a moment, before he shakes himself and presses a button near him. He speaks hurriedly, barely leaving time between words to breathe. You notice he even looks a little pale. “Kuat Sector Forces. This is Captain Tyro, of the Acclamator Regent. We are in need of urgent repairs and have arrived at Kuat to make them. We have extremely limited offensive capacity.”

There’s a moment of quiet, and everyone, including you, tenses up. But the comms console quickly relays another message from the patrol, one no less ominous than the first: “Acknowledged. Power down your shields and weapons, and prepare to be boarded.”

You all look at each other than, but after only a moment’s hesitation Tyro gives the order to power down the ships weapons and shields. A few minutes later, one of the Imperators has taken position next to you, while the other floats above. Tyro gives the order to open the front hangar and looks to the rest of you, nervously gulping.

“I, uh, suppose we should go down and greet them.”

Fabian nods, and you all head to the bridge turbolift that will take you to the hangar deck. It’s only then that you notice that Thax is no longer with you, somehow managing to sneak away without being heard.

Down in the hangar, the Kuat forces have already landed, in the same place you had the battle with the boarding parties at Cato Neimoidia. It feels a little strange to be allowing them uncontested entry to the ship, but you know that those star destroyers could blast the entire ship to pieces if you gave them a reason. Waiting in front of several shuttles are a few squads of Kuati Security, clone troopers in dark grey and white, with a human officer standing in front of them. He turns off a hologram he’s speaking to when you get there. Nobody salutes.

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>>5805959

“You’re the Captain? Who are these clones?”

Tyro responds quickly, a little less nervous than before. “My passengers. From the 451st Regiment. Commander Fabian here is their superior.”

The Kuati officer nods a moment before beckoning to some of his men. “Take them.”
Several clones of Kuati step out, their weapons drawn, and begin escorting you to the shuttle, two to each man. None of you resist. You’re lead to one of the shuttles, and once everyone is on board it takes off, taking you, you assume, to the waiting star destroyer above. When the shuttle lands, you’re separated from Fabian and the rest and are escorted by your two guards through the corridors of the ship, until you get to a small, dark grey room with a bench and table, and left there.

You wait for a few minutes, but nobody comes. Eventually, after what feels like hours, a small, nondescript man wearing the grey of the Republic Navy steps in and sits down at the table, motioning for you to do the same. You sit down, and wait for him to speak. He spends a few minutes reading some notes from a datapad in silence, before looking up at you and leaning over.

“I want you to explain why you’re here, and everything that’s happened since you received the Orders from Coruscant.”

What is your response?
>Comply, and explain everything. Receiving the order, sticking with Fabian, the vault, escaping from Cato Neimoidia, and now here.
>Comply, and explain everything, but leave out the contents of the separatist vault. It might be better to keep that secret.
>Be vague, leaving out details until you can gauge how much he already knows.
>Refuse, and be argumentative. You need to know what’s going on before you answer any of his questions.
>Write in

>>5805962
This is a pretty tough spot. There are two possibilities about what happened with Kuat.
>As more of the navy would be aligned with Skywalker than Organa, Kuat may have claimed for Skywalker beforehand through secret channels.
>Kuat, being the producer of the majority of the Republic's navy, has the force to claim independence or neutrality amidst the chaos of the war.

We have no way of knowing as of now. In either case, we're fucked if they know about the droid. The choice of how to act isn't ours, however, but Fabian's. If our story doesn't match up to his, both Sulla and Fabian could be imprisoned or shot in a firing squad. We're effectively flipping a coin here.
>He talks about it, we don't, we're fucked.
>He doesn't talk about it, we do, we're fucked.

Given Fabian's leanings and sentiments about his men, I'll risk trusting him to omit the details about the vault and the droid. We'll be in deeper shit in the case they know about the droid than in the one they don't.
>Comply, and explain everything, but leave out the contents of the separatist vault. It might be better to keep that secret.

>>5805962
>Comply, and explain everything, but leave out the contents of the separatist vault. It might be better to keep that secret.

>>5805962
>Comply, and explain everything, but leave out the contents of the separatist vault. It might be better to keep that secret.

>>5805962
>>Comply, and explain everything, but leave out the contents of the separatist vault. It might be better to keep that secret.

>>5805962
>Comply, and explain everything, but leave out the contents of the separatist vault. It might be better to keep that secret.

>>5805962
>Comply, and explain everything, but leave out the contents of the separatist vault. It might be better to keep that secret.

>>5805962
>Comply, and explain everything, but leave out the contents of the separatist vault. It might be better to keep that secret.

>>5805962
>>Comply, and explain everything, but leave out the contents of the separatist vault. It might be better to keep that secret.
I won't spill if you spill :X

>>5805962
>>Comply, and explain everything, but leave out the contents of the separatist vault. It might be better to keep that secret.

>Comply, and explain everything, but leave out the contents of the separatist vault. It might be better to keep that secret.

You don’t see any point in making things hard for yourself, so you comply, and begin relating your journey since you received the Orders from General Skywalker and Acting-Chancellor Organa on Cato Neimoidia. Returning to the Regiment, convincing Fisher and Yegor to stay, leaving, and all the rest up to your escape and arrival at Kuat. You do however leave out the fact that you looted the vault, and took the Neimoidian treasure and Sienar’s droid for yourself. That’s probably something you don’t want the Kuati security forces knowing about. It might become useful later. You only hope the rest of the regiment doesn’t talk about it either.
The officer interrogating you nods along at your tale, pausing you every now and then to ask a few clarifying questions before motioning for you to continue. Several hours later you’re finished, and he spends a few moments in silence reviewing his notes before passing the datapad over to you and asking you to look through it.

After skimming through the transcription of your conversation and noting that there’s no errors you hand it back to him, and he rises from his seat. The door to your room opens, and you can see the two guards waiting outside for your interrogator to leave. He takes a moment to stretch before looking back at you.

“We’ll be checking all this out. You’ll be re-joining your unit at 0500.”

>Uh, sir, when would that be? I don’t know what time it is.

But he doesn’t even glance in your direction as he finishes his stretch and leaves. The door closes behind him, and you’re left alone again. The hours pass in silence, only interrupted by the arrival of your rations, for dinner. You eagerly wolf them up, not realising how hungry you’ve been waiting in this cramped room for so long. Once you’re done, you reason that 0500 is probably several hours away, so you climb onto the bench and go to sleep.
You’re awoken by the door opening, and the guards stepping into the room, their weapons at the ready, followed by another nondescript officer, also holding a datapad. You get up, and wait for them to do something. He smirks, and then looks at you.

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>>5807175

“Well, it seems like your story checks out. You’re free to return to your Commanding Officer. You cannot return to your ship just yet, you’ll be staying here, though we’ll transfer your rooms. Now follow me please.”

He leaves the room, and you follow, the guards coming behind you. You go down more similar grey corridors of the ship until you enter a large meeting hall, where Fabian and the other battalion commanders are waiting at a table. Captain Tyro is notably not here. Standing at one end is the officer who interrogated you, and with your entry he motions for you to sit. Once you’re in place, he begins an obviously preprepared speech.

“Commanders of the 451st. After reviewing your situation, we have decided to accept you into Kuat space. Your ship will be repaired in the docks, but you will remain aboard this ship until further notice, though I expect you will be put to use sooner rather than later. You may move freely aboard this ship, but you are not allowed in certain restricted sections, the reactor, the bridge, I’ll let you figure the others out. Your security detail will stop you if you wander too far. Is that understood?”

You all nod, unsure how to respond. With that the officer gets up, and leaves the room, leaving you to yourselves. Everyone looks around at each other. What the hell have you wandered into?

Fabian is the first to speak. “Something very strange is going on here men. Did they interview each of you?”

You all confirm that they interviewed each of you, though you’re unable to tell who actually was interviewed first, or where you were kept. Thankfully, it seems like nobody mentioned the treasure or the droid, the only thing they paid any attention to is your decision to stick with Fabian. At the end of it, Fabian shrugs.

“I don’t like being separated from the regiment, but I think we’re free, for the moment. I don’t have any orders for you right now. I suppose we just wait until they tell us what they want.”

At that, everyone gets up to leave, either to head to their new quarters or explore the ship.

What will you do?
>Wait around until the Kuati fetch you. Better make it seem like you’re an obedient trooper.
>Try wandering the ship and talk to some crew, find out what’s going on. You’re allowed to talk to them, right?
>Talk to Fabian and the rest about plans to escape. You don’t trust these Kuati, and it’ll be better to get away as soon as the ship is repaired.
>Try and see if you can contact Thax. The droid surely has to have figured out something of what’s going on.
>Write in.

For the record, the other commanders not spilling the beans came down to a diceroll, which they passed. So lucky you, not snitching was the right decision!

>>5807177
>Try wandering the ship and talk to some crew, find out what’s going on. You’re allowed to talk to them, right?

The hell is going on in this place?

>>5807177
>>Try wandering the ship and talk to some crew, find out what’s going on. You’re allowed to talk to them, right?
ayo

>>5807177
>Try wandering the ship and talk to some crew, find out what’s going on. You’re allowed to talk to them, right?

>>5807177
>Try wandering the ship and talk to some crew, find out what’s going on. You’re allowed to talk to them, right?

>>5807177
Love the effort you’re putting into this quest. Keep it up!

>>5807177
>>Try wandering the ship and talk to some crew, find out what’s going on. You’re allowed to talk to them, right?

>>5807177
>>Try and see if you can contact Thax. The droid surely has to have figured out something of what’s going on.

>>5807177
>Try wandering the ship and talk to some crew, find out what’s going on. You’re allowed to talk to them, right?
Now that the natborn Kauti officers are under the impression that we are confused simpleminded clones the KSF clones should be very open with us. Comming the ship may divest them of this, better not to risk that yet.

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>Try wandering the ship and talk to some crew, find out what’s going on. You’re allowed to talk to them, right?

You decide you’ll wander around and talk to the crew, try and see if you can’t find out something about what’s going on here. Making your goodbyes to Fabian and the rest, you head out, and are immediately followed by two of the guards. You’re guessing they’ll follow you wherever you go. No matter, you don’t plan on wandering close to the reactor or bridge anyway. Not that you know how to get there, you’ve never been on an Imperator before, and besides, these things are about twice the size of a Venator, you don’t think you could get there if you tried.

So you decide you’ll try to find your way to the mess hall. Or one of the, a ship this size is bound to have several. If there’s any off-duty crewmembers who are overly talkative, they’re bound to be there. So you spend the next hour wandering the corridors of the ship, trying to figure out directions from the crew you pass. You don’t ask the guards to escort you there, you’re not sure whether out of a sense of pride or wariness from those silent clones. Eventually, you get there, and you’re glad to see that there’s a fair amount of the crew around, either eating or relaxing at the tables. Hesitating a moment, you walk over to one group, whom you overhear chatting about the assembly of the Kuat Sector Fleet

“…Never seen this before…”

“Not even during the attack on Coruscant…”

“…Recalled the entire fleet?”

“…I hear Skywalker’s going to make a transmission soon…”

“…You really think we’ll see the Imperators in action?”

Approaching the group, you respectfully nod, and they all fall silent. You’re not sure whether it’s your dark grey armour, marking you as an outsider, or the two guards at your side, but regardless the group does nothing but stare. Guess it’s up to you to steer the conversation.

You nod at the group.

>Gentlemen. How are you today?

They don’t respond, and you almost feel like the other conversations in the mess hall have died down too, though that might just be your imagination. Maybe you should try a more direct approach.

>You must count yourselves lucky to avoid any fighting here at Kuat. Surprising, don’t you think?

>>5807956

They still remain silent, still staring at you and trying their hardest not to look at each other. This continues for a few awkward moments, until one of them cracks and steps forward.

“Respectfully, uh, Commander,” He says, looking at your armour. “We’re not sure we’re supposed to be talking to you.” Damn. That’s going to be a problem. “We hope you understand.” He quickly adds.

You immediately turn to one of the guards next to you.

>Trooper. Am I allowed to speak to the crew of this ship?

He doesn’t move, and you almost start to think he hasn’t heard you when he suddenly speaks.

“I have not received orders to the contrary.”

Well that’s a relief. Though you note that he didn’t explicitly say that you were allowed to. Still, you’ve got to find out what’s going on here, and talking to the crew is your best shot. You turn back to the man who was talking to you.

“There. You see? There’s nothing wrong with it. So you think you could try telling me a little about what’s been happening here?”

He looks at his fellows for support, but finding that he doesn’t get any, he turns back to you and sheepishly shrugs. It’s clear even to you that he and the rest of the men here are extremely nervous. But why?

“Well, uh, sir, we really don’t know that much. Personal comms have been shut down, and, um, all we really have is the local holonet. If you want to know why we’re not fighting, then you have to ask the Captain or someone like that, I think. Sorry, I, uh, don’t know much more.”

You see that getting anything further from him will be difficult, so you thank him and the rest of his men, and wander to the far wall of the cafeteria to pick out more groups to approach. You’ve been around since Geonosis, and spending so much time around the regular troops has helped you pick up the signs of how they’re feeling, a useful skill when managing a battalion. But here, it seems like all the crew is on edge. Not quite scared, just… cautious. Understandable, given the situation, but it won’t help you finding out what they know. But perhaps with enough encouragement and pushing, they might be able to reveal something of interest…

Roll 1d100 to find out more information. Bo3. DC 30/50/80

Rolled 67 (1d100)

>>5807957
Sulla the talker

One quick thing I'd like to ask you all as well is what do you think of the pace so far? Too quick? Too slow? Just right? I'm totally clueless when it comes to this myself, I want to progress the plot but I don't want to rush things too much or get bogged down in minor interactions that don't have much of an effect of how things play out. Any feedback on this would be greatly appreciated!

Rolled 38 (1d100)

>>5807957
do tell fellow clones

Rolled 20 (1d100)

>>5807957

>>5807177
>For the record, the other commanders not spilling the beans came down to a diceroll, which they passed. So lucky you, not snitching was the right decision!
Assuming there are five others needed to make the roll and it's a raw 50% chance, that's a 1/32 chance. Very lucky indeed.

>>5807957
>>5807960
Let's hope making the third percentile gets us good information and then some.

>>5807962
I am enjoying the pace QM, I mean we are already off the tutorial world and now in the midst of things

>>5807962
I like the pacing, but I’m a little biased. If you wanted accurate, if harsh advice I’d imagine you could go to the qtg (if you were willing to risk the attention of the discord). Overall, though, I’m enjoying it. Good plot, great characters.

>>5807960
>>5807993
>>5807996

You spend the next few hours approaching various groups in the mess and talking with them, the two guards ever by your side. You make sure not to open with your burning questions about what’s happening at Kuat, rather, you make some small talk, get to know the men a little better, even telling them about your career since Geonosis, then try subtly steering the conversation to the topics you’re interested in, mainly the events of the past few days. It’s difficult, and on top of their hesitance, it quickly becomes clear that the crew of this ship are obviously in the dark beyond the most basic facts. It seems like ship-to-ship communications has been shut down, except from the bridge, and that itself has been suddenly restricted to all but the most essential personnel. Nobody’s able to communicate with their friends and colleagues in the rest of the fleet, or even Kuat itself without going through the Captain.

However, it’s when you get to talking with some junior officers from the bridge that you discover something interesting. The Captain himself is not present on the ship, instead, the Lieutenant Commander governs in his stead. When you press them to reveal his whereabouts however, they clam up, and change the subject by talking about how it looks like the gigantic ring of shipyards around the planet has shut down and invite you to speculate about what it might mean. Professing total ignorance on the matter, you spend a little longer speaking with them before moving on to another group, but it seems like that’s all the information the crew here know, or are willing to share. Whenever you press deeper into what’s happened the past few days each one makes excuses and quickly changes the topic of conversation. You decide that it’s better not to push it, and after grabbing a meal for yourself you tell your two guards that you’d like to be lead to your quarters to retire.

Before you get there though, you hear your guards receive some kind of order, and they lead you to the ships hangar instead. There you see Fabian and the others standing near a shuttle that’s obviously being prepared for takeoff. Fabian nods at you when you arrive.

“They’re really moving us around, aren’t they? You’d think we’re important senators or something with the amount of exercise they’re giving us.”