Clay A'den was a Human Jedi Padawan during the Clone Wars.
Biography[]
Early life[]
Clay was born on Coruscant in 34 BBY. He was taken, to his family's pride, by the Jedi Order, to be trained as a Jedi Knight.
Growing up at the Temple[]
When he grew up and began his training, he constantly found himself upset because people on Coruscant thought the Jedi were mystical beings worth being worshiped for their abilities. There was no anonymity as a Jedi, and Clay knew his life wasn't any more valuable than the average citizen. These thoughts grew into all around silence. He only spoke when spoken to, and never made conversation with other Padawans. One feud grew that didn't end until at least the Battle of Coruscant. His silence led another trainee, Ahsoka Tano, to believe he hated the Jedi. She spread rumors that Clay hated the Jedi way of life and wanted to ally himself with the Sith because he admired them. She also called him a disgruntled aristocrat slaver. He responded by apologizing and then kicking her down. She kicked back, but he sidestepped it before leaving the hallway and locking down all points of entry except for the ceiling hatchway and maintenance access bays. He felt that making Ahsoka navigate the tunnels would put her in her place.
First year of the Clone Wars (22 BBY)[]
After the Battle of Geonosis, the Clone Wars tore through The Galaxy like a deadly virus. Clay was assigned a master and put on active duty. He was originally a commander of the 69th Infantry Battalion, but, when his master was killed, he was transferred to serve next to Commander Reno in the 747th Orbital Drop Shock Legion. While recovering from the death of his master, he was deployed at the Battles of Bespin and Metalorn, and the skirmish of Drunost. He learned about the Battles of Christophsis and Teth, and the Mission to Tatooine, and just laughed, wondering how Ahsoka and Rex would fearlessly fight their "glorious battles to save the Republic" when they were jumping out of a very fast vessel from high orbit, ducking in between streams of anti-infantry and -aircraft fire and dodging Vulture droids, all while relying on a basic jetpack and micro-repulsor armor to survive the landing. He felt that they were arrogant because they could do a few lazy dodges and disable a shield generator, or climb up a cliff. He made a mental note to push them out of a spacecraft the first chance he got, then realized that they would be even more arrogant because they survived. He would have to personally show them how stupid their achievements looked.
Argument on Coruscant[]
Alright, you're not getting it. How many times have you jumped from a ship?"
"Once. Skytop Station. You think you can top that altitude?"
"You're still not listening. I'm talking about one where you were shot at and actually jumped from space."
"Oh. I guess we've never done that. But we did climb a cliff. Something your unskilled Jedi commander wouldn't attempt if his life depended on it."
"Hey, di'kut, he's older and more skilled than your commander. And he has climbed a cliff, only he used his hands, not a rope and harness. You still can't top us, chakaar."
"Don't go all Mandalorian on me, Jory...
—Captain Jory to Captain Rex, arguing about the dangers of each other's deployment method.
After Clay returned to Coruscant on leave, he found Captain Jory arguing with Captain Rex. Rex was insisting on the dangers of climbing a cliff and being Force-Choked into submission. Jory was trying to prove the dangers of jumping from high orbit into the atmosphere of a Separatist planet. Clay was about to get involved to try and quell the argument when Reno intervened. The argument rose to a higher level,and finally it required the interventions of Tano, Skywalker, and Clay to solve. Rex snuck away to avoid punishment, and Clay recorded it so that "none of his men would rely on that coward when in battle". After the troopers were settled, Clay was about to leave, but was force shoved by Ahsoka. He stood up, made a remark about how bored and stupid she must be to knock people down, then left with Jory complimenting him from inside the helmet comlink.