The Ronin Revised

7/31/2019 The Ronin Revised

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The RoninAn original story byTeo Kuusela,

based on the Star Wars Saga created byGeorge Lucas.


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Chapter IOld Allies and New Enemies

BWEE BWEE BWEE![Approaching Empress Teta!][Beginning planetary decent]

A V-19 Torrent Starfighter appeared as a blur above a planet, on which rose an

ecumenopolis rivaling that of Coruscant. It was a sleazy looking place by theflashing of lights that could be seen up all the way to the atmosphere. A perfectplace to escape the past and hide from the future...

A hiss sealed a suit of armor from the outside air as the starfighter plungeddirectly towards the planet. The ship began to shake violently and fire engulfedthe vessel from all which way. The pilot could not see anything out of the cockpitdome, but he didn't need to. The attached astromech was handling the decentdown through the atmosphere and on towards the lower levels of the city. Only afew days prior, the pilot had helped a Jedi General escape into anonymity andnow he was one amongst many to be hunted down like a dog by his very ownbrethren; his own flesh and blood down to the genes. It just proves how unfairlife can be at times.Outside the cockpit, the shadows started to grow darker as the fighter flewfurther down through gaps between buildings. Neon lights began to flash in anearly hypnotic succession and a light shroud formed by mist and exhaust fumesenveloped the lower levels of Cinnagar. The airfoils of the starfighter folded upso the ship could land on a secluded opening between structures, a small wayfrom the main street of the lower level. The cockpit dome opened and the pilotclimbed out, arming himself and strapping his WESTAR rifle on his back andheading off while the astromech began defensive duties.

Meanwhile, above the planet, a Venator-class Star Destroyer, freshly painted adull Imperial gray, jumped out of Hyperspace and launched a dozen landing crafttowards the planet. Without as much as a reason, the freshly promotedStormtroopers landed on the city streets and took over the planetarygovernment building while sending a small detachment to hunt down the fugitiveclone responsible for treason in aiding the Jedi.Wearing bright white armor, the Stormtroopers looked an impressive sight whenthey began marching down the streets of Cinnagar. What was more impressivewas when the Venator descended into planetary atmosphere, looming over thecity like a great cloud, foretelling the dark times that would be following. The

oppression, slavery, slaughter and racism that were to follow the Emperor'sultimate will. The Sith had truly taken over.


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--- ---

Nobody cared about another armored man in the lower levels. Everyone seemedto be a mercenary, fugitive, gang member or bounty hunter. It was the perfect

place for a Mandalorian to start his career in 'private enterprise'. And on EmpressTeta, the perfect place to find a job was a shady old place in the lower parts ofthe lower level, run by a Hutt and backed by the Black Sun.To this old place of outlaws stepped a man in shining white armor. Right at thedoor, the guards challenged this man.

"You can't bring weapons here" one of the guards said while his partner stoodfurther back with a hand on a blaster rifle.

Smiling within the helmet, the former Advanced Recon Commando drew hissidearm so he could give it to the guard as asked. He released from hispossession most of his weapons as far as the guards could see. And by the timethe guard had his hands full, the other was calling for backup to carry theweapons to a secure location. While the guard was occupied with the comlink,the armored man took action. Two blades unsheathed from the armored gloveswith a sound and a strong electric buzz, indicating that two gauntlet vibrobladeshad been activated. The blades were no longer than 10cm, but could dealmassive damage nonetheless due to the general sharpness, material used andthe vibrating effect. The clone crossed his arms in front of him before slashingthe first guard's throat, taking several rapid steps to the second guard andquickly slashing his throat as well. Just then, the first batch of guards entered

from another room, drawing their blasters and opening fire. The clone grabbedthe guard's blaster rifle and shot the few guards with precision kills while backingoff to the first guard lying on the floor with his head cut halfway off from theneck.

As the next batch of guards, alerted by the blaster fire, arrived to the door, theywere better armed and opened fire immediately before even checking out theirdead friends. The vocoder on the helmet filtered and let out a chuckling noise asthe ARC trooper picked up his WESTAR blaster rifle, releasing an exact volley offire in the direction of the guards that after a minute of exchanging fire weredropping down dead like their former friends. As the next guard came into view,

a loud booming laughter echoed in the room, ending the firefight before it evenstarted.

"I like you, stranger. You amuse me. Come in. I wish to meet you" the Hutt calledout through the speakers installed in the room.

The trooper armed himself all over again before walking past the guards, hisWESTAR in hand. With a cold attitude, he managed to even step on oneWeequay guard's cold dead body on his way. During the days of the Clone Wars,the soldier had walked over enough bodies to not even notice it anymore.As the noise of a Hutt came more loud and booming, the trooper knew he wasclose. He turned a corner and through an open door, only to step in the middle ofa large hall. On one side played a band while on the opposite end lay a huge,


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ugly Hutt. The guards removed the safeties on their blasters all around the Huttand the patrons within the hall turned to stare at the clone that walked straightin front of the Hutt and coldly stared at the ugly slug.

"You have balls, clone" the Hutt laughed and the band stopped playing.

"If that's the only reason why you called me further down this damned dump, Iam disappointed of all the stories I'd heard about you slugs" the ARC troopersaid calmly and some of the guards drew out their blasters, only to beinterrupted by the Hutt's laughter.

"I know why you are here. Others of you have come. All seek to do business. Youare good business for me, clone. I will supply you with jobs, but before that Iwish to know something. What do you call yourself?" the Hutt asked whilestuffing something quite disgusting into his slimy mouth.

"Jorso Ran"

--- --- ---

"Get out of the way! Get out of the way!" a mechanical call screamed within alarge crowd stampeding everywhere while blaster fire lit up the dark streetsbrighter than the neon lights ever could.

"He's getting away!" another shout, followed by further blaster shots and thenthe clacking of plastoid armors as a group of white-clad people ran down the

busy streets.

Quietly, a figure watched as a squad of Stormtroopers passed and alley, runningloudly after something comparable to a ghost down on these streets. Thesetroopers couldn't be allowed to live, however. Their report would bring a wholedamn legion down to the lower levels while their disappearance would be barelyinvestigated knowing the worth the troopers held in the Empire. So the figuremoved on to the main street and rushed forwards to the trap waiting for them.

"Where did he go?" a trooper questioned as the squad ended up in a blockedpassageway between two buildings that would've otherwise led towards the

access of the level below the one they were currently on.

"Blow it up" the sergeant of the squad said and stared at the old rubble pileblocking their way.

As the Stormtroopers started to set up charges on the blockage, a figure steppedtowards them from between columns of steam. The lookout was about to call outwhen a sharp blue light pierced the darkness and a loud blast echoed in thepassage. The other Stormtroopers grabbed their blasters, only to find nothingthere. The sergeant ordered two troopers to go check it out while the restcovered their backs. Unfortunately, the troopers forgot to look up. Hanging on awire, which was firmly attached to one of the walls, an ARC trooper aimed hisWESTAR blaster rifle. Two shots later, the Stormtroopers slumped down while the


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clone released the wire's locking mechanism, descending rapidly to ground levelwith a loud whirr.

"Drop it!" the Stormtrooper sergeant called out to the ARC, who calmly took aimat the troopers surrounding the sergeant.

"You first Sergeant. You know you're not going to survive this" the ARC troopersaid calmly while watching them.

"I said drop it, or we'll make you drop it" the sergeant continued and theStormtroopers formed a line in front of him, taking aim at the rogue clone.

"You can try" Alpha-48 grumbled before clicking the rifle's firing setting to semi-auto and squeezing the trigger lightly.

The passageway's atmosphere was tenser than possibly ever before. Thestandoff had to take minutes as the ARC and Stormtroopers stared at eachothers with weapons aimed with great precision. Without orders, one of theStormtroopers' nerves gave out and he shot first, only to be picked up by theARC's blaster fire that also took out the trooper next to the nervous shinie. Therest of the squad opened fire with the exception of the sergeant who calmlywatched and readied his blaster. One by one the Stormtroopers fell while theblasts they shot were easily avoided by the experienced ARC trooper who kepthimself a moving target. Eventually, the last ones left were the Sergeant and theARC trooper.

"Damn you ARCs. I always knew you guys were nothing but trouble" thesergeant said and brandished surprisingly a vibroknife, placing his blaster asidefor this battle.

"No. You knew we'd be loyal to the Republic. You knew that wed be loyal to theMandalorian way. And most of all, loyal to ourselves" the ARC said, following suitand putting the WESTAR-M5 rifle aside and unsheathing the two gauntletvibroblades.

The two troopers got in range and circled each others for a short while. The staredown was intense and broken only by the final clash between these two veteran

soldiers. The ARC lunged forwards, swinging his left gauntlet vibroblade towardsthe neck area of the Stormtrooper, only to be parried by the sergeant andfollowed by a counterattack which was just as easily blocked by the free blade.Alpha-48 grabbed the arm holding the knife and twisted it until a pop echoed inthe passage, indicating the arm was out of business. The knife clanked as it hitthe ground and the sergeant groaned in pain. The Advanced Recon Commandofinished the matter by pulling the sergeant off balance and stabbing one of hisextended blades straight through the neck of the trooper.

Sighing, Alpha-48 knelt down by the sergeant and pulled the helmet off, notablywithout pressing a safety button on the side that would leave any recorded dataintact from this mission. As so, the records were deleted and any inquiries madewouldn't hopefully lead to an ARC in the lower levels. As Jorso removed the


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helmet, he stared at the face that came from under it. It was like staring in themirror, which somewhat shook the man within the ARC armor. The T-shapedvisor stared at the spitting image of Jango Fett for over a minute, mourning theloss that was caused by his own hands. Although an enemy to one another, theywere still brothers. It was a life-changing experience; one of many.

--- --- ---

A T-shaped visor watched the massacre of the Stormtrooper patrol with greatinterest. As the ARC trooper stood up and dropped the Sergeant's helmet, asmug laughter echoed inside the helmet prior to a loud noise of rockets liftedhim off the small platform and on towards the higher levels. As the ARC lifted hishead to see what the noise was, his rangefinder picked up the jetpack's heatimmediately and started tracking and zooming, showing to the person who wasobserving his actions. All he could identify was what seemed like a Mandalorianarmor which bore no identifying symbols or anything of the sort. The glare of therockets and the increasing distance obscured the rest to the point where the ARCshrugged it off and returned to his own matters.

Jorso disarmed the charges the Stormtroopers had set and took them with himalong with any ammunition the troopers carried. Even one of the DC-15 blasterrifles managed to tag along for the ride back to the ARC's hideout, secured forhim by none other but the friendly neighborhood Hutt. The trooper knew theplace was heavily bugged, which was no matter since he rarely spoke to himselfin any case and even more rarely had any visitors. The most talking that he didwas throwing quips during firefights and when he was visiting a nearby cantina

for refreshments. He could bet this angered the Hutt who wanted something tohold over every mercenary of his, but that was the whole point in it.

--- --- ---

"What happened out there?" an Imperial officer asked, leaning against his deskand staring at the T-visor of a bounty hunter the Empire had brought in to trackdown rebellious ARC troopers.

"Well" an alluring female voice responded, giggling slightly."You've lost a patrol on level 62"

"And assuming from the fact that you're the one saying this, it was an ARCtrooper, am I right?" the officer questioned and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Yes. One from the Alpha batch, I believe. His posture, fighting style anddemeanor is much more refined and strict than that of the Nulls" the femalevoice continued, followed by a hiss as the woman removed the helmet.

The Imperial officer was not the least surprised by the woman's appearance. TheTwi'lek lekku had their own special customizations in the helmet and the entirebody shape of the woman and her personality gave way to being a RutianTwi'lek, or in other words of the blue-skinned variety. The armor was much morerevealing than normal Mandalorian armor, but somehow it still managed to


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"I'm Koy Ankia, nice to meet you. You must be a Mandalorian. I've always figuredMandalorians were as handsome as you" the woman said and smiled, like luringhim into her trap. He fell for it.

"Eh... You could say I am Mandalorian. Jorso, Jorso Ran" he said and shook herhand.

The soft skin was too much for him. After a moment of talking at the cantina, thetwo were off. They barely got out the door and onto the alleyway before theywere all over each others. The Jango Fett clone and the Twi'lek woman continuedon to a nearby hotel, since the ARC didn't want his apartment to be used forsuch matters. Especially with all those bugs.

As soon as the two got into the room, the clone was out of his armor and the twowere rolling around the bed in passion. The two entwined together like a pair ofvines in a hurricane. Hours passed, but outside the darkness neither lifted nordeepened with day and night. They were too deep down for that. Through thewindows the flashing lights of the street outside lit the room in varying colorsfrom purple to green and clear yellow. Inside they needed no light for what theywere doing. It followed its own path.

The clone fell asleep eventually, tired out by the Twi'lek and her superiorcommand of her muscular system and overall stamina. The clone was not usedto this kind of wrestling that was for sure. This was when the betrayal fell uponthe ARC trooper. The trap was set and he had plunged into it like a fool. And

now, the trap closed around him. During his sleep, Koy was tampering with theARC trooper armor. She placed a tracker into the armor, sabotaged therangefinder and messed with the HUD to show false values of the data usuallygiven to the clone. It should get him killed one way or another and if it didn't, shewould know where to find the man in order to finish the job.

--- --- ---

Jorso sat up and looked around the room, his memory a bit fuzzy about what hadhappened the previous night and where exactly they were, but not due toalcohol. It was the pure heat he had been in during the trip there that had left a

blank page in the otherwise clear book of what was yesterday. The beeping ofhis comlink had woken the clone up and now he rushed for it. As he answered,he left visual off and heard only the voice of a droid.

"The respected Varla the Hutt requests your immediate presence in thepreviously set address for the completion of your assignment" the droid said andshut the comlink off before the clone could respond.

With a chuckle, the ARC dressed in his armor and due to the hurry failed tocheck his armors condition. Rushing off, he left through the back door andskipped through a shortcut. Somewhere above a pair of clear eyes observedthrough a T-shaped visor and inside the helmet, a giggle emitted from the lips ofa beautiful humanoid.


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--- --- ---

A building loomed ahead as dark as the night in the caves of Dantooine. It wasn'twhat one would just wander into and that suited those inside just fine. In fact,

they had pretty much fortified themselves inside the building, fearing the wrathof the local Hutt, who they owed a great sum of money. And after all this timeowing that great of a sum meant that they would be losing their lives and not ina particularly painless fashion. Those in charge of the group were meant to befor the personal amusement of the Hutt, but the rest were not worth the effort ofbeing dragged in front of the crime lord.

The lookout of the small group was standing quietly outside, twirling a deathstick in his left hand and shaking slightly due to the addiction as well as the coldweather. He didn't hear anything that was going on around him, just focusing onthe death stick in his hand. This was his first mistake.The lookout snickered and opened the death stick with a sure hand beforeraising it to his lips. He closed his eyes for a moment, gathering himself in orderto pour the insides into his mouth. His amazement was great when suddenlysomething hit his hand, plunging the stick into his mouth and through his palate.His eyes opened wide in shock of what had happened. The man looked at thefigure standing in front of him with a pleading look in his eyes before dropping onthe ground. The death stick had penetrated deep enough to lodge into the brainsin a not so gentle and safe manner.

"You shouldn't use death sticks, kid. They'll kill you" the figure said, his voice

filtered through a vocoder.

The clone then stepped forth to the front door of the building and set abreaching charge. Drawing his commando pistols, the trooper stepped back andsmirked before pushing the button on the remote, blowing the entrance to dust.The people inside were no doubt shocked and scrambling for their guns, so theARC trooper entered, his akimbo blasters ready in his hands, his fingers on thetriggers and ready to shoot. The smoke cleared and the clone rushed in, shootingthe first men in the room before receiving opposing fire from the others. Theroom was cleared fairly swiftly, leaving as many people dead as had been therewhen the clone entered. As so the clone was free to enter further into the

building.

--- --- ---

The blaster fire from the front entrance was very clearly heard deeper in thebuilding. Men were rushing to meet the enemy with blasters of varying sorts. Themen defending the deeper parts of the building even had an E-web blaster setup, but nothing seemed to stop the white-dressed devil from coming at theleaders of this group like the grim reaper himself.

"What the hell are we going to do?" a Weequay man asked from the four others,who were already preparing their things for a swift departure.


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"The Hutt will never relent. We need to get out as soon as possible. We need toget off this damned rock" one of the humans said while stuffing anythingimportant or valuable to him in a large bag.

"I can second that one. Let's get to the ship and get out before they finish us off"

a Twi'lek said in the group while already rushing for the back door which led afew levels up and onto a landing platform.

The five men of varying species rushed out just as the last line of defense wasregrouping in the room and survivors were rushing in screaming for everyone torun for their lives. The men sealed the door behind them and pressed theturbolift button to go up a few levels. Just as the turbolift nudged from itsposition to head upwards, the sound of blasters echoed from behind the turboliftdoor. Their end was drawing nearer and they could hear the white hand ofretribution banging against their last hope for escape. As the turbolift startedmaking good way up the building levels, the men sighed a bit in relief, althoughit was too early for it by far.

Below them, the turbolift door blew open and the ARC trooper peered upwardsbefore laughing at the simplicity of some of the jobs he had to do. He launched awire up at the turbolift, which clamped on and pulled the ARC with the lift alongwith the wire itself being rewound so the ARC actually gained on the turboliftwith a good speed. By the time the turbolift stopped, the ARC had reached thebottom and jumped on to an access hatch which led to the same landing padwhere the men were heading, albeit with a detour along the way.

--- --- ---

The access hatch on the landing platform opened and out jumped the ARCtrooper, looking at a slowly lifting off transport. He attached a grenade launcherto his WESTAR and took aim, slowly and surely trusting on his rangefinder to finda good spot for the shot. As he fired, the ship was turning and as he watched thegrenade fly, he knew something was off. He quickly put his rifle back behind hisback and rushed for the edge of the landing platform. Behind him, the shipexploded and shot huge pieces of shrapnel all over the landing platform. One ofthe huge chunks of outer hull hit the clone just as he was ducking on the edge ofthe platform, thus taking him over the side.

The ARC looked down through his visor, seeing only darkness slowly envelopinghis surroundings. Knowing full well what kind of a splat would follow once he hitthe ground, he took his wire once more and began the attempts at hooking ontosomething that could ease him down a bit slower. The grapple managed to slipevery time and if the clone could deduce from the level of darkness how close hewas to ground, he was very near to a certain death.Just then, the grapple managed to latch on to who knows what, releasing wireenough and at a slow enough pace to slow him down before hitting ground. Bythe time the wire ran out and Jorso was sweating heavily of anxiety, he finallystopped and hung just a few feet off the ground. The man sighed heavily andwent limp, only to find something staring back at him as he leaned his headback. He had heard of weird things living down on the lowest levels of any


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ecumenopolis, but who knows what kind of life he had found this time. Frankly,he didn't want to know either.

--- --- ---

Everything's gone black.

I can't see anything.

Where am I?

What's going on?

"Trooper! Get up already!" a voice called out from the darkness.

A hand touched the plastoid armor and shook the clone forcefully in order tohave the clone open his eyes. Once open, the eyes stared at a glowing object infront of him. The slim object gave out a clear and distinct hum which increasedin volume as it was moved in the space around them. The clone's visor turned tothe hand keeping a hold on this object and followed it up to the face of hiscurrent commanding officer; Jedi General Windu.The clone shrugged his dazed state away and stood up carefully. Something hadknocked him out, but he had no recollection of what it was.

"Sorry, sir. We should move on" Alpha-48 said and Windu nodded in agreement.

"Take your squad and go around the facility. Take out any staging areas you mayfind in your path. And trooper, may the Force be with you" Mace Windu statedbefore rushing onwards, leaving the still a bit dazed clone standing with hissquad.

"Alright, let's move out then" the ARC said and started jogging onwards to theother side of the structure. Yet whatever he did, he could not remember hisstanding orders. They were in his mind, yes, but elusive and unreachable

I must be dreaming...

A bright flash of blue and white flooded his view. Everything went black andblood dripped down the visor. A panicked scream pierced the air and the face ofa dead clone flashed in front of the visor like a spotlight had just flashed on thecorpse. Jorso heard a strange voice whispering in his head something he couldn'tunderstand. The corpse flashed into view once more, but this time there wasnaught one but a whole battalion of dead clones packed in a small, piercinglywhite corridor. The clones were strangely equipped. Their helmets were weirdshaped, resembling those of the Phase II armor but more menacing in looks aswell as larger. Their armor was no longer the same shade of white and bore nomarkings by which they could be identified with. Another scream, but this timemultiplied in numbers into tens at one time.

The voice began to whisper once more. This time he could hear it. It was his own


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voice, speaking without his lips moving.

"Fear. Fear attracts the fearful; the strong; the weak; the innocent; the corrupt.Fear. Fear is my ally"

He opened his eyes once more as his head hit something quite roughly. His eyesflashed open and saw the lowest levels of Cinnagar looming upside-down in frontof him with some sort of humanoid carrying him. As he glanced up, he saw hishands tied around a pole which wobbled as the humanoid stepped.

Everything went black...

--- --- ---

The clone woke up, alarmed by his brain that told him he was falling rapidlyforwards. His eyes flashed open just in time to see the ground mere inches awayfrom his head and to hear the thud that his body made as it hit the ground. Hecouldnt brace the fall with his hands nor could he attempt to stand up oncedown. As the clone squirmed, he felt a tight rope holding his arms together anddespite his best attempts he could not look up at who was his keeper. Then, astrong grip took hold of his short hair, pulling the ARC troopers head up. Thehelpless victim was forced to tilt his head back and grunted loudly as a largetransparisteel window loomed in front of him. Behind the clones back,something chuckled in a loud booming voice and the hold on the hair was lost,causing the clone to smack his head once more against the floor of what seemedlike a large office from his point of view.

You ARC troopers were always foolish to believe you had a choice or a say inmatters. You were soldiers from the day you were released from your cloningpods. My soldiers a laugh cackled behind the trooper, who was kicked aroundto his back.

A holographic image stared at the helpless clone and besides this figure loomeda large man clad in a deeper black than even the deep space. It was like a hollowspot in the room, lost in time and space and removed from this Galaxy. Anintimidating figure Jorso had seen only once before.

Lord Vader! the holographic image said and the dark figure bowed silently.Take care that this soldier of fortune never disobeys our orders again. As foryou, my dear bounty hunter, you will be very handsomely paid for supplying ourlost clone back to us the hologram said and dissipated.

The large black figure stood back up and stepped towards the helpless ARC,even though its large eyes stared beyond and towards something standingagainst the window. As the clone attempted to see who was behind his view, aboot came down on his shoulder, causing a sharp pain which stopped anyattempts at identifying the bounty hunter.

I want my money before noon, Vader a defiant and feminine mechanical voicesaid and the Dark Lord nodded.


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You will be rewarded, Mandalorian. In due time and when we are sure this onewill stay in our hold after you get paid the Sith Lord said and lowered his darkeyes to see the clone before his feet.

Take him away the dark booming voice said within the helmet and two clonesapproached from both sides of the ARCs view, grasping his shoulder anddragging him off towards the door.

--- --- ---

Darkness surrounded Jorso Ran, only the shine of the containment field engulfinghis body shone some light into the pitch black jail cell. The darkness wasnt bad,nor was the loneliness, but the silence of it all started to get on the ARC trooperlittle by little. He tried to amuse himself by whistling or humming some tune orthe other, but shortly thereafter was forced to stop as his mouth got dry. Dry assand in the middle of Tatooines great deserts. The trooper knew exactly wherehe was and had a clue as to how he would be getting out if he got the chance,but for now his objective was to try and piece together a reason for the Empireto take him so nicely in one piece instead of blowing him to smithereens on thefirst chance they got.

One horrible choice he did figure out; slavery. But if the Imperial Senate had anyintegrity left it would surely deny the Emperor of such labor force, wouldnt it?

--- --- ---

In the depths of Cinnagar, the hidden V-19 Torrent starfighter woke up from itsslumber as the signal of its owners transmitter began fading away from theplanet. The droid in control of the fighter knew its master would not like to bewithout a means of travel in the case someone decided to dump him on aremote planet and so began to prepare the fighter for a trip after the ownerstransmitting signal. It was a wise move on the droids part, especially since thiswas one thing the ARC was counting on in order to get off the dungeon ship inone piece. Without a means of travel away from the dungeon ship, his escapewould be extremely short-lived.

While the ARC was travelling through hyperspace at amazing speeds, the V-19Torrent starfighter lifted off the lower levels of Cinnagar and headed directly upwith its engines booming loudly at the crowd beneath. Stormtroopers watchedthe ship lift off, but paid not much heed to it since it left off from the area wherea Hutt happened to be running things. And of course, the local garrison was wellpaid to look the other way when odd ships came and went from the Hutts turf.Without even an effort to be shot down, the droid piloted the starfighter intoposition above the planets orbit and launched into hyperspace in chase of itsowners signal. Fortunately it even had a chance to catch up due to the hugedifference in hyperspace speeds between the huge bulky dungeon ship and theslim and sleek starfighter.

--- --- ---


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Awwh Was my dear sweet Mandalorian caught and locked up? a womansvoice called out form the darkness. Although the ARC peered into the blacksurroundings, he could not see any kind of figure anywhere. Jorso shudderedwhen the woman called him Mandalorian. Not because of what she said but how

she said it, for the word was filled with spite and anger.

I am more Mandalorian than you will ever be bounty hunter the ARC said,recognizing the voice as the same he had heard in the office and in the cantinaonly the day before. A finger traced along the clones bare stomach but he couldnot tilt his head low enough to see who or what was touching him.

Well, well. You do have some spirit left in you after all. But you forget one thing.Ive been a Mandalorian all my life. Ive lived with Mandalorians, trained withMandalorians and fought with Mandalorians the Twilek said as she circledaround the man.

So have I. And Id bet Ive seen more fighting and Mandalorian blood than youhave seen or will ever see unless you personally slaughter the entireStormtrooper corps Jorso noted and received a sharp painful experience fromsome sort of electric shocker in response.

You should behave properly around women, clone the woman said,emphasizing the word clone to remind him of her superiority over some sort ofgenetic surplus good.

Alpha-48 breathed deeply, calming his mind and body after the electricitycoursing through his athletic build. A giggle circled him, following the TwilekMandalorian around the containment field to which the man was locked in. AsKoy Ankia circled back in front of the cage, Jorso smirked openly to her.

You will yet talk about the locations of all your Jedi friends, clone shecommented and headed for the door.

I am Advanced Recon Commando Alpha-48, serving under the GalacticRepublic. That is all I am authorized to reveal the clone said, his eyes staringdirectly at the Twilek mercenary, who had stopped in her tracks once he began

to speak.

The standard answer of all ARC troopers did not please the woman at all, butinterrogation was not her duty or role in this charade. Her mission was to captureAWOL clones that had become treasonous and to hand them over to Imperials.Without asking questions or listening to stories, she would not be persecuted asa liability once her job was finished. But she knew as well as anyone else thatonce you were in the employ of the Empire, you would have to have very goodconnections to disappear. Koy shook her head at the clone and opened the door,flooding light into the room and revealing to the clone the whereabouts of thedoors; a mistake on her part. Much like the shock, which the clone now figuredout how to work in his advantage once the interrogators came in to figure outwhat he knew.


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--- --- ---

Miss Ankia, I believe it has come for you to observe a generous cash flow intoyour account the Imperial captain of the dungeon ship said as the Mandalorian

mercenary entered the impressively busy bridge of the boxy craft.

Excellent. He wont be getting out of a force field that strong without someunnecessarily big explosives the Twilek giggled and followed the captain to acomputer terminal from which they could conclude the business between them.

The captain began the setup for the transaction as he was instructed to do byLord Vader. It all went smoothly, even though these transactions always madeKoy Ankia nervous. There was always a chance of double crossing if one wasntcertain and there were always means to cheat ones eyes from seeing the truenumbers going on that bank account. However, this time neither would happen.As the captain was pressing in the required passwords to confirm thetransactions from the Imperial funds, an alarm rang on the bridge. Somethinghad caused an unscheduled jump out of hyperspace and sensors picked up thesource immediately. Someone had lobbed a grenade a tad bit too close to thehyperdrive, which now suffered from a nasty case of shrapnel piercing. Severalofficers turned from their stations to look at their captain and began givingreports on the situation. The sensors picked up a craft parting from the dungeonship, but could not give anything but a crude outline of the craft due to someform of jamming. Koy got an instant sweat on her beautiful curves and when shesaw the outline, she collapsed on the ground, cradling her head in her arms.

The captain ordered a scan of all cells to check if there was a prison break. Andindeed there was; five cells in total were empty and five more had had theircontainment fields disengaged. Once guard reports came in, the life forms insidethe cells without containment fields on were confirmed as those of severalguards and interrogators. It was a serious case of prison brake, and it had beendone very neatly, because no dead guards littered any corridor and there was nowarning ahead of time. The guards confirmed the loss of two Jedi, five mercsclosely affiliated with some of the nastiest crowds in the Galaxy and two politicalprisoners. And then there was one accused of treason; a certain former ARCtrooper. The captain immediately canceled the transaction he had just been

finishing up and ordered that Vader be contacted immediately.

--- --- ---

That was one nice escape you just improvised, soldier a voice came out in thecockpit of the small freighter which, despite some reluctance on the computerspart due to a change of ownership, was calculating a Hyperspace route to Tarisof all places.

Yup Jorso answered calmly, back in his usual attire of an ARC trooper. He hadmanaged, to very much his personal delight, to reclaim his armor, helmet,weapons and everything else during the escape.


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Whats your name? the voice asked, a hand placing itself on the shoulder padof the clone and a pair of eyes focusing on the side of the helmet fashioned witha pair of jaig eyes.

Jorso Ran, sir. Republic designation Alpha-48 the clone said before hitting the

switch which launched the small vessel into the hyperspace. He glanced to hisshoulder now that there was a free moment and the dark-skinned hand wasremoved from the shoulder pad.Indeed? I remember working with an Alpha-48 during the War the man saidand Jorso nodded in compliance.

I remember working with you General. But we will have enough time toreminisce later. Im taking the ship to Taris for now. I better brief the rest withthe plan as well the clone said and put on the autopilot before standing up.

No offense, General. I know you were an able pilot in the war, but they did takea hand and cripple a leg. It was a miracle you survived the fall the clone saidand stepped past the Jedi that only nodded and took a passenger seat in thecockpit for now.

As silence fell in the cockpit, the clone left for the common room where the folkshad already made themselves comfortable. Some had found pieces of armor thatfit them; most had found weapons which they could carry without anyone takingmuch notice of it. It was a ragtag bunch with some being healthy and full of lifewhile some had gone through so much interrogation that many formeracquaintances could hardly recognize them. Jorso came in to explain the

situation and after briefing them on the destination and the first course of action which was to split up and disappear - he sat down with the bunch and sighedquietly to himself.

I am sure I will be forced to come to each and every one of you in due time,because of one matter or another. But when I do, I expect that every one of youremembers that all of you owe me your lives. Im just damned happy none of youare Wookiee, because then Id really have my hands full the clone said andshook his head.

Lets try and get some rest before we reach Taris. Because this ship belongs to

a bounty hunter under Imperial employ, we will have to be quick about sellingthe ship and dispersing afterwards. We have about five hours left to get rest orscavenge anything you find on this ship. So have at it the clone said andchuckled to himself before setting himself down on the floor so he could getsome sleep. He was hoping his starfighter was still following his signal throughthe HoloNet so it would know to arrive on Taris shortly after he had arrivedhimself. It would give him a quick getaway from any Imperial pursuit. It was afoolproof plan.

--- --- ---

A dim light shone through holes within the ruins that were the Taris lower levels.It was a light made by an open fire, crackling and shifting along the walls of a


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shack built with haste and of scarce materials. A lone shadow blocked the pathof the light, caused by a sitting figure wrapped in heavy bulky robes that hadover the years been tattered and torn. Below the hood of the robes, a grey beardgrew downwards from the chin of an old man.

You still hold to the old Jedi ways? a voice called out from the darkness, hidingbeyond the reach of the light.

Yes. The ways of the Jedi are also my ways. When people forget the importantvalues, they will fail. The Republic may have fallen, but some still cling to it forwhat it stood for before the Clone War the robed man answered and glancedfrom below the hood into the darkness.

It could barely be seen, but not far from the shack there leaned a man against apile of rubble. Clad in white armor that was hidden behind a dark poncho, moreweapons hidden within and at his disposal than in an Imperial garrison. The mannudged himself off the wall and took a few steps until the light bounced off hislarge build and the outlines of his body became clear to the old Jedi.

I do not cling to the Republic, General. I was raised and trained to be a soldierfor the Republic. Not an elite guard for a lone man in charge of the Republic. AndI was certainly not trained to run around in utterly silly new armor oppressingdecent folk and forcing the hand of important Republic-aligned worlds. I am not aslaver or a pirate. I am still a soldier of the Republic and I will follow my originalprogramming for as long as I live the man said and crossed his arms in front ofhis chest.

Its too bad you clones were never taught the meaning of irony. The entireClone Wars was a war of oppression. We thought the Separatists were evil andoppressive and they likewise saw us as evil and oppressive. But your words arewise for ones coming out of a clone and I agree. You and I are both renegades,being hunted down for our knowledge and the threat we may possess whengoing against the Empire. There is something I have to ask of you, though. Theold Jedi and Sith relics from the Archives Holodisks, recordings, records,Holocrons, lightsabers I would like to come into their possession if you find anyupon your travels. When the Empire falls and something rises from the ashes toreplace it, there will once more be a place for Jedi and they will need the

guidance of the Jedi Order that is no more the robed man said and the clonenodded.

If you think they are worth my attention, I will pick them up as I see fit. I will tryto contact you the next time I come near Taris over my progress with the relics,General Windu. the well-built man said and glanced over his shoulder at a largestarfighter landing nearby with a large cloud of dust and smoke being throwneverywhere.

May the Force be with you, Jorso Ran the Jedi said and lowered his head intomeditation while the clone parted his presence without another word.


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As the clone sat down in the cockpit of the starfighter, he finally sighed andshook his head before closing the dome. The droid onboard the fighter beepedand whistled, requesting a destination. Jorso leaned back in his seat and took thecontrol for himself. There was no place where he would be safe from the Twilekbounty hunter or the Imperials. He would need a place to lay low for a while and

wait for some sort of sign of what to do with the rest of his days. It would have tobe meaningful and something that would be for the Republic and not privateenterprises

To Nar Shaddaa

Chapter II Finding a Meaning

The bustling city-moon of Nar Shaddaa, possibly the sleaziest and most violentmoon on the Outer Rim. Where Nal Hutta was the brains of Hutt space, Nal Hutta its moon was the heart. A crossroads of all paths of life and where even theEmpire dare not invade. The armies of mercenaries and bounty hunters that theHutts had in their beck and call could match even an Imperial sector army.


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Yes, this was the place to come when on the run from the law, as long as itwasnt the law of the Hutts.

A man in a long trench coat and a wide-brimmed hat walked through check-in atone of the many Nar Shaddaa spaceports. A Hutt cartel officer looked at the man

suspiciously for a moment before his eyes were drawn on three Gamorreanguards beating up a small-time crook trying to reach the shuttles. In that briefmoment, the man had walked past him. The officer turned, his hand going to reston the hilt of his heavy blaster with a light clack as the blaster shifted in itsoversized holster. Suddenly, the man in the trench coat stopped with his earsperked up. He looked over his shoulder at the Cartel officer and his eyesnarrowed.

Hi chuba da naga? the man spoke in Huttese and the officer raised an eyebrowbefore taking a step towards him.

Drop the Huttese, your pronunciation sucks. We dont see many with oldRepublic starfighters the officer answered and the man turned around fully.

Whats it to you? The cartel doesnt care who lands here as long as they dontcause trouble the man in the trench coat said and his other hand went to thefront of his trench, pulling one side open and placing itself softly on the holster ofan Arc commando pistol holstered on his belt. Now the officer could see that theman was wearing full body armor in white with red markings.

No, but the Cartel would want to know the officer said before stepping right

up to the man so he could lower his voice, what a man suited in Imperial armorand carrying Imperial weapons is doing on their moon.

Jorso looked the officer over several times before finally removing his hand fromhis blaster and letting the trench coat to close again.

I am no Imperial and my armor and arms are neither. If the Cartel truly wishesto know of me, they can call Varla the Hutt on Cinnagar.

The namedrop worked, although the clone knew very well that only a badreputation or a distinct failure to a Cartel boss in Hutt space would call for being

dispatched so deep into the Core worlds. The officer removed his hand from hisblaster as well and nodded in approval. Jorso turned once more and left, walkingcasually into a crowd heading towards the nearest taxi pad.

Meanwhile, the Cartel officer picked up his holocomm and pressed severalbuttons on it. The holocomm flashed in light before an image of a Twilek beganforming above it in a blue hue. The Twilek greeted in Huttese, but the officerinterrupted him swiftly.

We may have a problem brewing on Nar Shaddaa. I stumbled on someone whocould warrant the honorable Marlo the Hutts interest. This mercenary Hedropped the name of that lout Varla.


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Interesting. Have your boys follow him. Be discreet! If he is an asset we canuse, we do not want him to be killed in a useless firefight. Not yet

Understood

--- --- ---

So who is this guy anyway? a gruff, heavily accented voice asked in a smalldark room.

We dont know for certain. He calls himself Jorso Ran according to sources inVarla the Hutts little gang in the corw worlds. They say hes a one man army,but nobody is that good a Twilek man answered in Huttese.

Oh I wouldnt say that Ive seen some weird things in my life

The two looked at a small screen, showing another dark room somewherenearby. As they looked on, they saw little movement. That was, until the dooropened. A lone man walked in, closed the door behind him and switched on thelights. He was carrying a large bag on his shoulder, having picked it from his shipshortly after signing into this small and dusty hotel. Ample time for the cartel toset up bugs everywhere.They watched on as the man removed his hat and trench coat, revealing his fullARC armor and the weapons hanging off it. Two pistols, a knife and a rifle on hisback were the ones they could count. A bandolier swung over his shoulder hadgrenades, ammunition and what looked like proximity mines. He set the large

bag on his bed and opened it, pouring out the contents. It was a helmet, strippedbare from all accessories. The other stuff was well, accessories. Jorso grabbeda chair and sat next to the bed, starting to work on updating his helmetshardware and repairing damage sustained to it during the escape from thedungeon ship.

Thats some arsenal hes packing. And thats just on his person. Who is this guyanyway?

I know that face The sources may be right. He can be an asset. We should doeverything to get him as an enforcer for Marlo.

What? What do you know of this guy?

I worked as a smuggler for the Republic at one point in the war. Saw these guysin action. Hes a clone trooper, alright. But not just any trooper. I think hes oneof the elite soldiers. Some sort of Commando or something.

Right So how do we get an old Republic commando affiliated with a Hutt likeMalro?

He was working for Valra, wasnt he? And Valra is a two-bit thug compared toMalro.


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--- --- ---

It had been days of following this one man for the human and Twilek cartelenforcers. Uneventful days. The clone had been to the spaceport to arrange for amiddle-man to sell his starfighter and the astromech with it. Although the clone

seemed to have strong feelings for the ship and the droid, he still parted withthem, going back to see it one last time before the sale was ratified and creditsswitched pockets. And what did he do with the money? He bought a bigger shipnot soon thereafter. Over a course of two days, the clone went throughunderworld contacts he had seemed to gather and had managed his own way tothe Hutts, although the wrong one unfortunately. He went to Jabba, crimelord ofTatooine and the biggest Cartel boss. With that audience and a trade of creditsand the whereabouts of Valra as well as the Hutts strength and position in thecore worlds, the man received a Crescent-class transport.

The very next day after the audience with Jabba, he toured the spaceport withone of Jabbas lieutenants on Nar Shaddaa and saw the ship for the first time.Thirty meters long, the ship with a simple sleek delta-wing design and a massiveengine at the rear was fitted with the Mark II military upgrade. Jorso had actuallylaughed out loud as he saw the ship, like it were a dream come true for him. Ashe climbed on the hull of the black-and-grey ship, he examined every one of thefour point-defence laser cannons mounted on the hull in small remote-controlledturrets. Apparently not satisfied with the fitting, he made a further personal dealwith the lieutenant to fit it with a new hyperdrive, two forward-facing heavy lasercannons and a new more powerful shield along with a small repeater blaster onthe underside of the hull.

What the two cartel men tailing Jorso found out during their days on the casewas astonishingly little. It wouldnt please Marlo the Hutt, but it would certainlyhave to do until the man was brought himself up to the Hutt.

--- --- ---

After a week of tailing the clone, the two men were walking down one of themany streets of Nar Shaddaa. They had followed their mark down to the turf ofMarlo the Hutt himself. Ahead loomed the palace of Marlo, with its domedrooftops and a grotesque and large statue of a Hutt that bore resemblance to no

particular Hutt in existence.

Jorso was browsing the small stalls littering the streets, selling all sorts of goodsfrom food to weapons. All of them paid their dues to Marlo, which is why theycould sell on the street so close to the palace.The two enforcers stood across the street, the Twilek leaning against a wall andthe human some way off to the side for a different angle at their mark. Jorso hadturned to purchase something from a stall, when a large group of pedestrianswalked by. As they had passed, the clone was no longer at the stall.

The two enforcers glanced at each others direction before rushing to the stalland looking around to try and get a visual on the clone. Having failed, they


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separated. The Twilek rushed into the crowd to search for him there, the humanrushed to the alleyway next to the stall.A column of steam rose from a vent on the wall of the alleyway, piped down fromthe industrial level down below somewhere. The human rushed through it, onlyto stop dead on his tracks right after the smoke. A blaster barrel was pointing

him right between the eyes with the clone in full armor and helmet on facing himdown.

What do you want from me? Jorso asked, his finger lightly massaging thetrigger, anxious to shoot someone after several weeks of not getting to do it. Thehuman looked at the visor on the helmet for a moment before raising his openhands to chest-height.

We were ordered to follow you. Make sure you dont cause trouble that wouldput you at odds with the honorable Marlo the Hutt.

Jorso stared at the human intently for a moment. Suddenly, the human smackedthe blaster out of Jorsos hand and hit him in the chest, followed by a kick in theknee. Jorso took a few steps back, his eyes narrowing. Howd the man managedto get the drop on him so easily?Jorso quickly straightened himself, blocking the next few hits from makingcontact before swiftly roundhouse kicking the man back. Jorso stared at thehuman, who instead of recoiling went back on the attack. Blow after blow camein his direction, most of the ones meant for more vital areas blocked while therest hit the hard white armor. As the human didnt even cringe at the pain itshould have caused, the clone quirked an eyebrow. This enforcer had piqued his

interest and perhaps listening would be the wise road to go down on.

Suddenly as the mans blows became slower and more agitated, Jorso lungedwith his fists flailing into action. He hit the man several times, although most ofhis hits were blocked or diverted. The two were quite evenly matched for amoment, before Jorso managed to grab the attackers offhand and twist it out ofits socket. The clone kicked the mans knee, twisting the arm further to bring theman down on his knees. Sharp cries of pain echoed along the walls of thealleyway.

Stop! Stop! Alright, you got me ARC the enforcer cried out and Jorso did as

requested. He let out the vibroblade hidden in his gauntlet of the hand thatwasnt holding the enforcer. The humans eyes widened.

You are one of the Alpha batch, arent you? I could tell from the somewhatrobotic way you carry yourself. RC-8725 at your service. Its an honor to fightsomeone with the Jaigs. The human enforcer spoke hurriedly and Jorso oncemore quirked an eyebrow. He let go of the dislocated arm and stepped back.Beneath the beard, the major scarring and the long hairdo, the human did lookrather familiar. Finally the clone relented and slid the vibroblade back inside thegauntlet and slowly removed his helmet.

Alpha-48 Captain Adenn. Nowadays Jorso Ran, he said solemnly, I haventseen any clones around outside the Stormtrooper Corps.


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Well, we are few. I hear some Commandos and ARCs got walked out, but notmany. Mandalores been buzzing with all the Jangos walking around. I hear it alot through Marlos contacts. Look, Marlo needs someone like you in his serviceand you obviously have an itchy trigger finger. What do you say? the former

clone commando said and Jorso simply stepped back to reclaim his blaster pistol.

No. I already worked for a Hutt. I dont see why theyre such a sought afteremployer. Jorso spoke quietly, twirling the pistol around his finger beforeplacing it back into the holster.

Look, Marlo hates the Empire. He thinks theyre bad for business. Maybe youcould find common ground with him. He might even have some raids open foryou, if you take some more oddjobs for him.

Jorso slowly shook his head before putting his helmet back on. He looked at thefellow clone once more before turning around and starting to walk. The enforcerslumped slightly, looking at the man walk away from an opportunity of a lifetime.

Just think about it Jorso! he called after him as the clone disappeared behindanother plume of smoke.

The enforcer was left knelt on the alleyway. He took hold of his dislocated armand inhaled deep before pulling it back into the socket. It would take days if notweeks for that not to sting anymore. Maybe Marlos medical droids back at thepalace could help him out with lessening the pain and making his recovery a bit

speedier.As the clone was getting up, the Twilek finally found the alleyway and rushedthrough the plume of smoke. Seeing his fellow enforcer and friend roughed up,he grabbed his blater and looked around frantically while stepping to support thehuman.

Dont bother. Hes gone, but I got him a message that Marlo wants him. Helleither come in or leave the moon.

I dont think Marlo wants to take that chance.

Too bad, that spaceport is Jabbas. Marlo cant get his hands on it withoutstarting something inside the Council.

--- --- ---

The spaceport cantina was small, rough and busy. Plenty of people going in andout through the three entrances. By the look of the goons sitting in severalbooths and along the counter, the place was a second home to several cartelgangsters while on leave from their regular duties and missions.

Jorso sat alone unarmored by the counter, sipping a refreshing ale andcontemplating what hed do next. Most of the credits he had, funneled from thebounty hunter Koy Ankia and received from the sale of her ship and his, had


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gone toward the purchase of this new ship and the retrofitting. He would needmore to stay afloat for longer than a few months and raiding Imperial transportswasnt lucrative enough in respect to the dangers. Also, even if he was lethal andsuicidal in many aspects and very unconformist, he did not see himself as apirate. Perhaps he could be a privateer, but nobody had risen up against the

Empire yet that hadnt been crushed and who he could get in contact with thatwould allow him the pleasure.

His thoughts were disrupted by a man stumbling up to him, crashing against thecounter. The spacer pushed himself up from the counter and glanced over at theclone, his drunken smile dissipating quickly. He slurred something at Jorso, whichthe clone promptly ignored. The slurring went on for some time longer before thedrunken man pushed himself off the counter and hit the glass out of Jorsoshand, smashing it against the table and spilling half-a-glass of the contents. Theclone sucked his upper lip, letting out a noise that indicated quite clearly that hispatience was running dry. Then the man finally managed to slur something outthat made at least some sense; the word coward.Jorso stepped off his stool and straightened himself in front of the spacer beforeclearing his throat.

Youre drunk. Which is why I will give you one chance to walk away. Jorsospoke up, the man looking at him sort of strangely for a moment like his braindidnt quite fire on all cylinders for a while there.

Shhho, whassa gunna do about it I dont? Im- Im a wanted man in ssssheveralsshtar sshystemshh the man continued, making an effort into the pronunciation

of his threat.

The spacer glanced down to make sure his drunken hand went to the blasterhandle. As he drew his gun and looked up to see where it was he was meant tobe waving it, a bulky fist smashed right across his jaw, dropping the spacer onthe first hit. Jorso loomed over the man for a moment, making sure he was outcold before sitting back down and raising his finger to the bartender to pour hima new one. A bulky bouncer came up and promptly picked up the spacer over hisshoulder, carrying him off to the curb where he became someone elses problem.

After the incident and the bartender handing over his ale, the clone withdrew

from the counter and walked along the side of the room, eyeing the boothsquietly to himself. As he found one that was vacated in one of the corners, heslid in between the table and couch. He leaned back as he sat down and sippedon his ale. He took a small datapad from his pocket and began flipping throughit, eyeing the information on it with great interest. He was reading an ancienttext about Mandalorians, their views on honor and religion. Jorso hadntpreviously cared about the ways of the Mandalorians. He had his clan - the GAR -and he didnt care for the gods, partly because Jango never spoke of them asmuch as the other Cuyval Dar. Jango did not raise them as sons and Mando, heraised them as elite soldiers and in image of his own experiences and beliefs.The difference between the Alpha-class and Null-class ARCs and even with theCommandos was the way they were trained and how much Mando culture theywere immersed in. To a point, Jorso was glad and sorry at the same time over


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the close tutelage of Jango. For the whole war, he always despised the Nulls andto some extent several Commandoes, for they were more like Mandomercenaries than loyal Republic soldiers. Yet now that he was clanless, cast outfrom the one life he knew, he began to re-evaluate his feelings towards theserenegade clones.

He opened another page on the datapad, a historical record rather than a study.But this one was not about the Mandalorians, but rather about the AntarianRangers that were once the supporting force of the Jedi, before the Clone Wars.He fought with many Antarian Ranger Generals during the war and now that hebegan studying the Mandalorian culture and ways, the difference between thetwo organizations was small. The largest difference was that while theMandalorians were often on the side of the Sith, fighting for honor and glory, theAntarians followed the Jedi Order and acted selflessly, ready to sacrificethemselves without mind for glory or honor.

The clone gulped down the rest of his ale and raised his eyes from the datapad,only to discover a set of eyes peering straight at him from the booth across theroom. Two Gotal were staring at him, but when they noticed his eyes on them,they turned away and continued as if nothing had happened. The clone pulledthe brim of his hat lower and closed his trench coat after putting his datapadaway. He quietly stood up and walked out of the cantina, heading for the dockwhere his new ship was being refitted.

--- --- ---

Are you sure hes trustworthy?

No, but hes our best choice on this world.

Are you daft? There are others

No, there arent. And you know it as well as I do. Hes exactly what we seek.Just let me handle the talking.

Two cloaked figures walked between several containers, approaching the openramp to a ship. As they walked up the ramp, they looked around hastily to make

sure nobody spotted them. Finally up inside the ship, the two men removed thehoods from their heads and made their way further inside towards the largelounge area.As they entered the lounge, they looked around hastily. They saw no sign ofanyone on the ship despite the fact they saw the owner get on with their owneyes.

Suddenly, the turbolift doors opened and out stepped a man in battered whiteand red-marked armor with two blaster pistols drawn. The barrels pointedimmediately at the two men and the faceless man stepped forwards again, theturbolift doors closing behind him. The T-shaped visor and the Jaig eyes stared atthe two figures in what seemed like indescribable menace.


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The two figures took a hasty step back, raising their hands to stop him quickly.Jorso looked at the two for a moment, studying their appearances and hornsbefore narrowing his eyes behind the visor.

What brings two Gotal to my ship without invitation or announcement? the

armored man questioned, his pistols continuing to point at the two.

Please! Please put down the guns and Ill explain everything one of the Gotalhastily answered and stepped towards the clone.

The armored clone pondered for a moment before deeming the two Gotal nothreat to him despite having snuck aboard his ship without permission. If theywere there to kill him, they would have attempted to do so by now.He brought his arms down so rapidly that the Gotal flinched, the other one evencowering slightly behind his friend. Jorso then spun his blasters and holsteredthem smoothly on the low-slung holsters attached to his utility belt.

The armor Jorso wore was different now from what it had been when working forVarla in the Empress Teta system. Scavenging was a marvelous thing. His chestwas covered by Phase I ARC trooper armor, painted over with red stripesmarking his former rank and covered with scars and holes from various fightsover the years. His helmet was on the outside a Phase I ARC trooper helmet witha rangefinder attached, but on the inside he had updated all the hardware andsoftware components, including upgrading the HUD on his visor. His legs werePhase II clone trooper armor with a Kama going down to below his knees, nearlyto mid-calf. His belt was a modified ARC utility belt with added slings to bring the

holsters down to about mid-thigh. A large pauldron went over both his shoulders,painted red and black, with a black and silver bandoleer slung from his leftshoulder across to his right hip, from which it went back up via his back.

Speak! Jorso ordered, leaning on the wall next to the turbolift door with hisarms crossed.

Well, uh We saw you in the cantina earlier and you must be a clone right.Youre experienced in combat and that sort of thing, while we arent, the Gotalbegan to explain and Jorso simply nodded.

Well, we heard that the Empire captured some Antarian rangers from Antar 4some two days ago. Theyre being held in a refitted Separatist base on Antar 5until they can be transported to a prison world, or in the case of low-rankingmembers, executed. We were hoping you might help us out here. The two of usused to finance the organization and I hope that a clone such as yourself mightsee that they do not deserve to be executed or thrown into a bottomless pit likethe prison worlds.

So you come to me, not a smuggler or a bounty hunter or a merc. You chooseme, Jorso quietly spoke before sighing and leaning off the wall. He stepped uptowards the Gotal and looked at him for a moment.


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His hands came up and the second Gotal cowered again. However, Jorsos handswent to his helmet and he swiftly pulled it off his head to reveal his somewhatbattered features and a steadily growing stubble. A long scar went across his lefteye vertically and his weary eyes looked them both over as he placed his helmetunder his left arm. After shaking his head in disbelief in himself, his right hand

came out and opened up.

Youve got yourself a rescue mission. Jorso said and the Gotal in front of himtook his hand, shaking it wildly from happiness.But! I want something in return for this. I wont state my terms here and now.You will get them when I return with the Rangers.

The two Gotal looked at each others briefly before turning back to Jorso.

Well, we dont have much credits anymore. The Empire seized our businesses awhile ago the Gotal still holding to Jorsos hand said.

Credits were not what I had in mind. Theres something else I will require ofyou. For now, go about your business. I will contact you with this frequency onceI have the rangers. But it might take a couple of days before I can lift off. If theEmpire hasnt executed them yet, theyre waiting for a prison transport and thatwill take at least a week. I will get your friends out before it arrives on Antar 5.

The Gotal shook his hand again with joyful glee before the two men rushed offback out of the ship. Shaking his head slowly, Jorso walked up to the HoloNetstation on his ship and set the helmet down next to it. He began tapping in

keywords, ranging from Antarian Rangers to Antar 4 and 5. He would need toknow more so he could plan ahead how to approach this new mission of his.

Documents

The Ronin Revised