Star Wars: Generations (Joev14 series)/Book 2: Secrets of the Past

 Recommended Age Rating: PG-13 (Descriptive Violence/Minor Blood) Written: August 2012 Series: Star Wars: Generations Previous book: Book 1: Lone Wolf</dd> Next book:</dt> Book 3: Silent Screams</dd> </dl>

Chapter 1: Fear has a Purpose
6.1 ABY, Kamino Ace lay on the ground of a Kamino cloning chamber at gunpoint, by his own DC-17m Blaster. His mind flashed back to a week and a half ago, when he had decided to come here.

I had just been rescued by a Mandalorian group called the Scavengers. They were led by a female Mando by the name of Nya. They had come to my rescue, saving me from several strange four-eyed creatures, whom I nicknamed, “The Nightmares” due to their horrifying appearance. Afterwards, Nya offered to bring me back to Mandalore, since I didn’t really have a place to go, and I graciously accepted. When we reached Mandalore, Nya offered to help me get on my feet in the city, and with her help I set up a home not too far away from hers. Nya and I often talked to each other; she was one of the few people who saw me as an individual, and not just another clone…

5.12 ABY, Mandalore Ace stood in his small home, and grabbed a screwdriver from the table in front of him. He had decided to do some major upgrades to his DC-17m, and add more attachments. He had two in mind that he was particularly excited about adding, A Shotgun Attachment, and a Flamethrower Attachment. He was almost done with the latter of the two, it was pretty simple, just add an adapter to the Deece that allowed a mini gas tank to be attached, and a nozzle that lit it on fire, easy. Ace snapped the attachment on, and put a min-gas tank clip in. He gently pulled the trigger, and a small puff of flame came out. He smiled at his success. The only downside to this attachment was the time that it could fire. Due to its small handheld size, it couldn’t hold more than about 12 seconds worth of gasoline to burn. The tanks were also reasonably large, which meant Ace would only be able to carry one or two on his person. Ace levitated the Tibanna gas cartridge with his mind while using his hands to put back together the rest of the weapon, it was useful, almost like he had a third arm, though he was still getting used to it. Nya walked into the room and glanced at the cartridge floating there, and Ace grabbed it with one hand, hoping she hadn’t noticed. She raised an eyebrow and said, “Yes, I did notice, and I’ve noticed you do that for the past three days.” He sighed and he said, “Don’t ask how I’m able to do it, I don’t even quite understand myself, I’m a clone, I shouldn’t be able to do that.” She nodded and said, “You want to figure it out though, don’t you?” Ace nodded and said, “I’ve been itching to go to Kamino ever since I discovered I could do it back on Endor. Even though you saved me, I would have still died long before then if I hadn’t discovered my abilities.” She put her helmet back on and said something that Ace couldn’t hear due to her having her sound cancelation turned on. A moment later she pulled her helmet back off and said, “We’re heading to Kamino in a week.” Ace’s eyes widened, he wasn’t sure he was ready to leave so soon. Then his eyes narrowed; he was ready. He had been ready for a long time, and he wasn’t going to let his fear get in the way. Little did he know that his fear might be the only thing that would keep him from getting killed…

Chapter 2: Lies
Ace stood aboard a Mandalorian dropship that was slowly making its way to one of the landing platforms on Tipoca City. He glanced to his right at Nya. She gave a slight nod back at him, and the ship landed on the platform. It was raining hard, and Ace breathed in, taking in the scent of his home that he had almost forgotten after almost twenty-five years of not returning there. He saw an elderly Kaminoan step outside and walk over to him. The Kaminoan began to say, “I am Sei Tin, what can I do for you, would you like to purchase-” She stopped and looked at Ace, looking a little bit scared, and she looked as if she was about to say something, then she stopped herself and continued, “Ah, a clone of Jango Fett, a rare sight since the war ended.” Ace wanted to ask what she had been about to say, but he decided it was probably best if he didn’t. Nya said, “Yes, we are looking to have clones made, but first we’d like to look around.” Sei Tin looked suspicious, then said, “Of…course.” She walked toward the building and said, “Come with me, you must be freezing from this terrible rain.” Ace, Nya, and the other three Mandalorians that were with them walked into the building, and Ace glanced around. Much had changed since last time; the massive tunnel that they walked through that used to pass through a huge chamber that had been filled with young clones was gone. The room was dimly lit, and the huge incubators that rose up through the room were empty. They came outside and quickly ran through they ran across a bridge to enter another building, and Sei Tin said, “And this is our training facility, though it’s off limits at the moment due to…repairs.” Ace noticed her stumble as she spoke, and he glanced around. The hallways looked fine, and the training room that was in direct view looked fine to him. They kept walking and Sei Tin said, “And this is our bunker area, any clones that are being produced sleep in here, though with the exception of these two first rooms, the rest are empty.” Sei Tin kept walking, and Ace stole a glance into the third room. At first it appeared to be empty, but he realized that the covers were unmade, and there was an E-11 hung up on the wall. Ace rushed back to catch up with Nya, and was thankful that Sei Tin hadn’t seemed to notice he had left. He thought to himself, “Why is she lying to us?” Sei Tin pointed down the hall and said, “And this is our mess hall. Like the training facility it is currently off limits due to upgrades.” Ace watched another Kaminoan exit the room with a plate full of food and say, “Those buggers can’t stop stuffing themselves.” Sei Tin scolded him and said, “Rai, don’t be rude, can’t you see we have guests?” She put emphasis on guests, and Ace noticed Rai’s expression darken as he said, “Of course Mistress Tin, forgive me.” Ace slipped his helmet on and saw Nya do the same, and he switched over to noise cancelation communication. He said, “You’ve noticed she’s acting strange too?” Nya said, “How could I not notice? The way she looked at you as soon as she saw you. Sei Tin is keeping something from us, but she wants to tell us.” Ace concurred, and the two of them removed their helmets again. Sei Tin glanced ahead as she saw somebody walking down the hall. She immediately steered Ace and the rest of the group down a thin hallway and said, “And these are our restrooms.” Ace immediately knew she hadn’t wanted them to see who had been walking down the other hallway, there was no reason to point out the restrooms; there were tons of them throughout the building. Ace saw Tin glance around the corner, and she kept walking down the main hallway. Ace looked down the hall; whoever had been there was gone now…

Chapter 3: A Secret Best Left Hidden
They spent about another hour touring the building. Ace barely paid attention to what Sei Tin said after that, he had been born and raised here, he knew the place like the back of his hand. His mind was on the person he had seen walking down the hall when Tin had moved towards the bathrooms, he hadn’t gotten a good look at the figure, but he recognized him from somewhere, he just couldn’t remember exactly where. Nya poked him and yanked him away from his thoughts as she said, “Thank you for the tour, we’d like to spend the night if you don’t mind, and we’ve also got to discuss whether or not we’ll be needing your services.” Tin nodded and said, “Yes, of course, you may stay in the third room in the hall we mentioned. Though we must ask that you don’t leave your room after 8PM, regulations and such.” Ace wanted to point out that there were no regulations of that sort, when he was still a trainee he had left his room at 2AM in the morning, and thanks to him an ambush on the city was prevented. Ace, Nya, and two of the other Mandalorians went to the room that they had been told to use, and the third Mandalorian went back to sleep in the ship along with the pilot. Ace lay in the hard, slightly uncomfortable bed. He glanced at his HUD, the time was 11:21PM, long past the time he had been told not to leave. He glanced at Nya, who was in the top bunk on the other side of the room. Her eyes fluttered open as she tried to stay awake, unlike Ace she wasn’t used to late and sleepless nights. Ace opened the door a crack, and the four of them stepped out of the room, with Ace at the front of the group and one of Nya’s men at the back. Ace gave the signal for them to quietly walk in the direction of the training facility. The four of them headed down the dark hallway, only able to see from the night-vision in their helmets. Ace glanced at the two elevators that lead to the twin Citadel Challenge Rooms, the final test for clone cadets. Suddenly one of the doors began to open, and Ace and the team quickly ducked into the other elevator to avoid being seen. In the last moments Ace got a glimpse of the person who had been coming out of the elevator, it had been Sei Tin. But she had been with somebody else; a human, the same human that had been at the end of the hallway that evening. Ace realized that they were moving upwards, and he pressed the down button, but they continued ascending. Ace turned around and stared as the other set of doors opened, and his eyes widened. Standing in the Citadel Challenge room were three figures, all identical, each of them holding a lightsaber. They turned to face Ace and the rest of the group, igniting their red glowing blades. Ace held up his DC-17m, firing at them, but his blaster bolts were deflected by the figure’s swiftly moving blades. One of them dove at Ace, and Ace ducked as the solid laser beam whizzed over his head. He activated his Vibroblade, stabbing it into the clone’s leg. The clone howled in pain and dropped his lightsaber, and Ace and him engaged in a hand-to-hand fight. Another one of the clones dove at Nya, and she pulled one of her WESTAR-35 blaster pistol, shooting at the clone. The clone rushed up and sliced the blaster pistol in half, and Nya threw it down as it exploded, stunning both her and the clone. The third clone dove at one of Nya’s men, who wasn’t fast enough at the draw and was decapitated. The clone dove for Nya’s other teammate, who ducked and fired his WESTAR-5 Blaster Rifle at the clone, killing him. Ace summersaulted and stabbed both his Vibroblades into the clone’s arm, and then kneed him in the face. The clone that had been fighting Nya suddenly dove at Ace, and Ace tried to block with one of his Vibroblades, but it sliced in half. Adrenaline pumped through Ace’s veins as he fell flat on his back, just barely avoiding being maimed. He glanced to his left to see the lightsaber of the dead clone, and he closed his eyes, focusing hard on the object. It twitched, and then zoomed through the air, landing in Ace’s hand. Ace ignited the blade, and felt a chill go down his spine, it felt as if pure evil was housed in the blade, but for some reason he enjoyed the feeling of it in his hands. He swung it upwards, blocking a blow from one of the clones, and he ducked down again as the second clone dove at him. He crouched, and then sliced his lightsaber through the second clone’s leg. The clone fell to the ground howling, and Ace finished him off by stabbing his lightsaber into the figure’s neck. He grabbed the second lightsaber, holding them both up and blocking a blow from the last clone. He felt chills run down his spine. Suddenly the clone’s eyes dilated and he let out a scream as he fell to the ground. Nya stood behind the dead clone, her second WESTAR-35 Blaster Pistol smoking. Ace smiled, and then dropped both of the lightsabers, shuddering as the feeling of evil left him. He turned, glancing around and trying to find his DC-17m. Suddenly he felt a crack on the back of his head, and he dropped to the ground, stunned…

Chapter 4: Captured
Which brings us to the present, with me lying on the ground with my own DC-17m pointed at my head. I stared into the eyes of the clone that held it to my face; he didn’t look anything like me. He wasn’t a clone of Jango Fett, and yet, there was a look in his eyes that reminded me of myself. I glanced around, Nya and the other Mandalorian had a clone holding them down as well, and I silently cursed at how easily they had been snuck up on.

Ace watched as Sei Tin walked into the room, a terrified look on her face as she said, “You should have listened to me, now you’ve doomed yourself, there’s no escape now, you know too much.” Ace looked up into the eyes of the clone as he spoke for the first time, “Yes, but first you will watch your friends suffer.” Ace was forced to look out the window, and he yelled, “NO!” As a missile was launched at the Mandalorian Dropship, killing the Pilot and his teammate. Ace turned to look at the other Mandalorian who was with them, and watched as a lightsaber was ignited through his back. He turned to look at Nya, and she looked back at him, a look of terror on her face. Ace’s memories went to the past, and he remembered the deaths of every single one of his previous teammates, of CT-29-5592, and CT-29-5595, of Hammer, who died to save him and his team, of Circuit, who refused to kill a Jedi Youngling, of Snake and Greeneye, who perished because of Ice’s lies, of Jolt and Spike, who followed him to the very end in an effort to fight for justice, even at the cost of their lives. Ace’s eyes narrowed as he thought, “No, it’s not going to happen again.” Ace closed his eyes and focused, and then he stood up, holding his hand out. The clone that held his DC-17m fired a stream of bullets at Ace, but they all deflected off Ace’s hand. Ace opened his eyes, and jabbed his free hand, which still had the Vibroblade attached, into the clone. He grabbed his DC-17m, and fired at the clone that held Nya, and he pointed it at Sei Tin, who had a shocked look on her face. Ace said, “Uh-uh, stay right where you are you lying scum.” She turned to look at Ace, a fearful look in her eyes as she said, “I had no other choice, they would’ve killed me if-” Suddenly a barrage of laser bolts came down from the ceiling, killing the Kaminoan. Ace summersaulted and grabbed ahold of Nya, using his free arm to create a Force Barrier around them as more blaster shots came down from above. Ace glanced upwards; all over in the upper windows where Jedi and higher ranking clones used to watch and evaluate younger clones; were hundreds of Imperial Stormtroopers armed with E-11 Blasters firing down upon them. Ace thought for a moment, trying to figure out a way to escape, he couldn’t move without dropping the Force Barrier, which would result in their deaths, and if he didn’t think of something soon, the Force Barrier would be crushed under the firepower. Ace saw the lightsaber of one of the clones; he didn’t want to use it, but he had no choice. He used the force with his other hand, struggling to hold the barrier up as it zoomed towards him. He dropped the shield for a split second, as the lightsaber landed in his hand. He deflected several shots, then reactivated the barrier around him. Ace tossed the lightsaber to Nya and said, “Cut a hole in the floor with this.” Ace used both hands to hold the barrier up, and it strengthened. Nya ignited the blade, and flipped it over, stabbing it into the ground and cutting a sloppy circle in the floor. The floor dropped out from underneath them, and Ace grabbed Nya’s hand with one arm, and used the force to slow their decent with the other. They landed in a massive room that was set up with wires and equipment, and Ace guessed this was the electronic setup that controlled the Citadel Challenge. He didn’t have much time to observe the place, because moments later he looked up to see eight Stormtroopers with jetpacks jump down through the hole had made. Nya shot down one of them with Ace’s DC-17m, then tossed it to Ace and pulled out her WESTAR-5 blaster pistol. The two of them slowly backed towards the elevator shaft, and they jumped down it. Ace used force push on the remaining four jet-troopers, and they plummeted downwards yet again. They landed at the bottom of the shaft, and used the Force to pull the doors open. He froze, standing in front of him were six more of the clones, and one of them said, “Surrender.” Ace was exhausted, he couldn’t go on. He and Nya raised their hands up into the air, conceding…

Chapter 5: A Choice
Ace sat in a room, he glanced around. His arms were locked in clamps, attached to the chair. He tried to focus on opening them with the Force, and he felt a surge of electricity jolt his head. He stopped, and opened his eyes as a figure walked into the room, cackling. Ace watched him, his eyes widening. The figure looked at Ace and said, “As you can see, we have made sure that you are unable to use certain advantages against us.” Ace said in a barely audible voice, “Palpatine.” The figure let out another cackle as he came into full view and continued, “You are curious about your past, aren’t you?” Palpatine nodded, as if he knew exactly what Ace was thinking, and he said, “As you may have discovered, you are in fact linked to the Force. You are unsure why, since you are a clone of a man who was never Force Sensative, nor is it possible for Force Sensativity to be given to a clone without having a Force Sensative donor.” Ace looked in the other direction, trying not to make eye contact, both because he was afraid, and he was giving away his own thoughts from looking at Palpatine. Palpatine walked over to Ace, making eye contact again, his splintered and broken teeth drawing up in a smile as he said, “Long ago, back in the days of the early Republic, I came to the Kaminoans, searching for a way to live forever, my body wouldn’t last, and I needed a way to pass on my presence.” Ace already knew where this was going, and he was completely horrified as Palpatine confirmed his thinking, “Several expirements were done, to try and create a clone that had its own concousness, as well as mine to pass on. You were one of the results of that, along with you and your team.” Palpatine continued, “Didn’t you ever think about why your team was made up of seven clones instead of the standard five. It was because there were originally ten, but three of them died. The other seven were deemed failures, and trained as normal clones.” Ace had been told that he had in fact been part of a group of ten, but the others had been killed during a battle before Ace had even been a month old. Palpatine continued, “But you weren’t complete failures. Even you must have noticed the effects of my DNA in you. You and your team had different personalities. You were quicker at thinking, and didn’t always follow orders. And 5597, he was more rebellious, and the anger inside him burned, to the extent that he went insane.” Ace felt the puzzle pieces all fit together, it made sense, but he wished with all his heart that it didn’t. Palpatine looked at him, “Don’t deny it, you’ve faught it before, but you enjoy the feeling of killing. As a sniper you felt a thrill from hitting somebody in the back. You enjoy the feeling of holding this blade in your hands.” He said as he held up the familiar lightsaber handle. He continued, “You can’t fight it, you were born, and bred to be like me, take this blade, and follow me as my new apprentice.” The piece of metal that was attached to his head, and the clamps that held him down opened, and he stood up. He took the blade and ignited it, and he felt a strange thrill go through him. Palpatine held up his hand, and a clone pushed Nya into the room. Palpatine walked over to her and he said, “The only thing standing between you and power, is this.” He pointed at Nya, and continued, “I’m going to do you a favor, and remove that obsticle.” Time seemed to slow down as he heard Palpatine, and realized what was about to happen. Ace yelled, “No!” And tried to stop Palpatine, but it was too late. Ace watched as the red blade stabbed through her heart, and she let out a blood-curdling scream as it passed through the front of her armor. She fell to the ground, dead. Ace looked at Palpatine, who was cackling with laughter as he said, “Let the rage fill your soul, let it guide you to strike down those you hate and dispise, with it, you can do anything!” Ace felt the anger rise up in him, and he opened his eyes. The determined brown eyes that were once there, were replaced by a bright yellow pair; ones that burned with a hatred that Ace had never known. He stared at Palpatine, and was about to rush at him. But Ace closed his eyes as he remembered the story he had heard of Anakin, the way he had let his hatred control him, how it had eventually cost him all the ones he had loved, and in the end, it cost him his soul. Ace closed his eyes, and threw down the lightsaber. his eyes opened again, this time neither his old brown eyes, nor the hate-filled yellow ones emerged. Instead, a pair of bright blue eyes, glowing with a power that for once, made Palpatine’s evil splintered grin turn to a frown. Palpatine looked at Ace and said, “No, she’s dead! You have nothing, nothing to gain from, nothing to live for anymore!” Ace shook his head and said, “That’s where you’re wrong.” Ace’s body began to glow, and he threw out his hands, a wave of pure energy surging off of him. The ripple of energy flew through the air, knocking Palpatine and his young clone backwards. Ace walked over to the dead body of Nya, and held hands against her wound, closing his eyes again. Palpatine let out a shriek as he said, “Impossible!” He and his clone ran for the door. Ace let them go, they weren’t worth chasing. He focused hard, and the blue glow of energy formed around his body again. He held it in for a moment, and then channeled it through his hands once again. He opened his eyes, watching as the power left him. The energy channeled into Nya’s wound, taking on the form of raw liquid force energy. Ace watched in amazement as the energy seemed to make itself one with Nya, and the wound closed. Nya shook her head and sat up, saying, “Ouch, feels like raw force energy just made itself one with my stomach, and my stomach lost.” She caughed, and a tear of joy trickled down Ace’s face…

Chapter 6: Another Choice
Ace stood on the platform that the Mandalorian Dropship had once stood. He looked around; the Imperials had already begun to flee, but Ace didn’t care to follow them, all he wanted was a way to get himself and Nya back to Mandalore safely. He spotted a Lambda-class Imperial Shuttle on a platform nearby. He walked over to it, and several Imperial Stormtroopers that stood guarding it ran as soon as they saw him, screaming for Ace not to kill them. Ace obliged, though not because they had asked him to; he wasn’t out to kill anybody at the moment. He got inside the shuttle, and found that it was empty. He started it up, and it lifted into the air, its wings unfolding. He looked back at Nya, who was sitting in the communications chair, trying to contact Mandalore and make sure they wouldn’t be shot down on their way back. Ace watched her brush her long pink hair out of her face. She was 90% human, and had an ancestor that was a Zeltron, a species that had strange neon hair colors. She glanced at him, smiled, and then turned back to the comm. He thought for a moment, Nya had been the one to save his life back on Endor. She had trusted him almost immediately, and had helped him through all this. She had a determination that reminded Ace of himself. Nya shut off the comm and said, “Alright, they know we’re coming and have ordered the weapons on Mandalore not to fire upon us when we arrive.” Nya raised an eyebrow and waved her hand in front of Ace’s face, “Hello? Did you hear what I said?” Ace nodded, and said “Nya? Can I ask you something?” Nya gave him a strange look and said, “Sure?” Ace stammered a moment and said, “Why did you help me, especially when you knew your life was put on the line?” Nya looked surprised at the question, and looked at him as if to say, “I thought you would have figured it out by now?” Then she said, “It’s because I trust you, the moment I first met you back on Endor, you had a look in your eye that was completely trust worthy, like you wouldn’t lie to me if I asked you anything.” Ace nodded, that was the answer he had expected, and had been hoping for. Ace paused for a moment, then he said, “I was hoping you’d say that.” Ace’s heart pounded, and he said, “Then I’d like to ask you something. Nya? Would you…would you trust me…forever?” Ace said, barely able to get the words out. Nya’s face flushed red, and she opened her mouth, but no words came out. They sat there for a moment, and Ace was afraid that she was going to refuse. But finally, after what seemed like an eternity, she managed to nod and said, “Yes.” Ace was so happy, he almost crashed the ship. His eyes widened as he was about to hit a piece of space rock, and he yanked the ship to the left, his face turning red from embarrassment. Several hours later, they landed on Mandalore, and Nya waved to him as she said, “I need to get a few things, and let the defense Force know that we might have real Imperial visitors at some point. Ace nodded, and headed back towards his home, his heart alight and his head swirling with thoughts. He had gone through the most terrible and wonderful experiences of his life, all in a matter of days. He had started his life as a simple expendable clone on the planet of Mandalore. He had been trained through hard battle, as a simple soldier, and wouldn’t have been given more than a line of text in a casualties list if he had died. He had gone through Order 66, where he was told to kill younglings, expected to follow the order without hesitation. He had hesitated, and at the time he had thought it to be just a defect, but there had been a reason, he had felt compassion, and perhaps even a glimpse of love, something that clones were not bred to have. He had passed through the Imperial Era, watching as his brothers were shot down left and right, and replaced by pathetic fools who slaughtered people without a second thought. He had thought about it a long time, and had then decided to follow his heart, and he had led several other clones to do the same. He hadn’t fully understood why he had acted this way; again, clones weren’t bred to have these traits, but now he understood. Even though he had been bred from the DNA of Palpatine, a Sith, and the Emperor of Evil, he chose to let compassion lead him, and not hatred. He had done what was impossible for even the most powerful Sith, or even the most kind Jedi. He, a lowly clone who had originally been bred for evil, then thrown out like trash when the project failed, and then ordered to be executed for being a traitor, he, who had almost let rage consume him. Ace opened his eyes, his eye-color changing once again from brown to blue, this time permanently. “I…” Ace thought to himself, “…Am a Jedi.”…