Chapter 0: The Story of Orion Squad

Clone Wars Journal Entry 1 – Location: Kamino

“My name is CT4157, or as my brothers called me, Ghost. I am a Clone Trooper for the Grand Army of Republic. I was also the current leader of an elite squadron within the 501st Legion, known as Orion Squad. My squad and I were born on Kamino, of course that’s where every other clone was born. I have lived a long, cruel, desperate life. And have seen so many things, things that I will be sharing in this journal. This is the story of Orion Squad. Let us start where it all began…Our home.”

On the planet Kamino. The Kaminoans were hired by a Jedi named Sifo-Diaz. He foresaw the Clone Wars long before it ever happened. As a result he begun to panic and asked for the creation of an army for the Republic. After being recruited by Darth Tyranus on the moon of bogden. The Mandalorian Bounty Hunter, Jango Fett was handpicked to be the genetic template for the Clone Army. Many clones were produced, but none quite as interesting as the ones who will become Orion Squad.

“In the beginning we see nothing, nothing but darkness. The only thing we could hear was the sound of murmured voices in the background. I couldn’t make out what they were saying, but I knew it was important. But then again I was just an infant in a pod, what did I know?”

Suddenly, the clone infant slowly opens his eyes and see’s the world around him. Everywhere he looked he could see bright, smooth, white surfaces. Until out of nowhere a tall figure approached him. The infant couldn’t properly make out its’s appearance inside it’s pod, but he noticed that it was very tall. It had a long slender neck, as well as slender arms and legs. It’s eyes were big and black, as if looking into a night sky. The tall slender figure stared down at the infant and spoke in a soothing, feminine voice.

“Welcome, little one. This is your first day with us on Kamino. Your designation will be CT4157. My name is Taun-We, and I will be your caretaker. We expect great things from you.”

Taun-We then presses a button on a console, causing the infants pod to drain it’s liquid and open for the first time ever. Taun-We then picks up the little infant clone and holds him close in her long slender arms.

“Come little one, it is time to introduce you to the rest of your brothers” Taun-We says in a soft tone. She then leaves the embryo growth area and carries the infant away.

Taun-We brings the infant into what appears to be futuristic style play room. Except there weren’t any toys. Instead the clone infants were all sitting in front of a TV screen, displacing various simulations of every known squad of Clone Trooper. 

The nurse places the infant with four other clone infants. They all stare at their new brother that was added to the group.

“Little ones, say hello to your new brother. I hope you all will get along, because you will be doing everything together. You will grow together, you will train together, and you will fight together… Now then, let us see what the future has in store you five.” Taun-We says as she boots up the clone selection screen.

Ghost looks away as a bright green light shines down on him and his brothers. The screen then randomly switches between various clone divisions. The screen then starts to slow down until it finally lands on a randomly selected clone squad. The image shows a various bunch of clone troopers with blue patterns on their armour. Taun-We smiles and nods as she looks down at the infant clones.

“Well how about that. You five will be joining the 501st Legion.” Taun-We said as she looked down at the young clone infants.

Ghost and his brothers looked among each other, and then at the screen displaying the 501st clone battalion. Although Ghost was only an infant, deep down he believed that this was the beginning of an epic journey. A journey he will be sharing with his new brothers.

Five years have passed on Kamino. Ghost and his brothers are now in their early teenage years. Ghost was sitting at what appears to be a computer desk next to his brothers. They were all wearing strange headsets with three antenna attached to them.

“Pssst, Ghost.” Ghost turned to his right and saw that the voice came from one of his brothers. The side of his headset read CT4156 on it.

“What is it Boomstick?” Ghost replied, trying to not get in trouble with Taun-We who was in the middle of a lecture.

“Do you think we’ll ever get to do some real training soon? I’m getting bored sitting here listening to this boring lecture”

“This lecture is vital to us if we are to serve in the Grand Army of the Republic one day.” Ghost then turned to his left and looked at his other brother sitting next to him. His headgear read CT4155.

Ghost nodded and then turned back to Boomstick. “Apex is right, Boomstick. If we are to be true soldiers one day, we have to learn as much as possible. Blowing stuff up is but one aspect of being a soldier.”

“Well-spoken CT4157, well spoken.”

Ghost, Apex and Boomstick all faced forward and looked at Taun-We. They started getting a tad bit nervous over getting busted for talking during the middle of a lecture. Taun-We however was not angry at the clone children as she spoke up again.

“As CT4155 said, this lecture is vital to all of you when you reach the certain age to become soldiers. This knowledge may save your life one day… Now then, shall we continue or do you have any further questions?” Taun-We asked as she pointed at the holographic chalkboard.

Suddenly another clone child raises his hand, causing Ghost and the others to look back at who it was.

“Yes CT4154?” Taun We asked.

“Forgive me if I’m stepping out of line by asking this. But why exactly are we training to be soldiers for the Republic? I fail to understand why we must train to fight when there is no war to fight in the first place.”

Taun-We was quite taken aback by this question. Deep down she knew what the answer to that question was, but she knew that if she told him, she would get in trouble with Lama-Su. After a long pause she finally was able to come up with an answer that seemed…appropriate for the children.

“Well CT4154 you are correct, there is no war to fight. But that does not mean you shouldn’t be prepared for it. We are currently living in a time where negotiations are failing with certain planets, and the Jedi have a lot on their plate with the betrayal of one of their own” Taun-We said. She then looks around at some of the other Kaminoans, hoping she didn’t say too much to the young clones.

Things seemed fine though to her relief. She then prepares to get back to her lecture until suddenly another clone child raises their hand. Taun-We mentally prayed that it wasn’t another question about their creation.

“Yes CT4153.” Tuan-We replied hesitantly.

“Um, who exactly are the Jedi?” He asked.

Taun-We will admit, she is kinda relieved that it was a question she can answer honestly. She then faces the clone child and answers him. “The Jedi are keepers of the peace. They are a group of individuals united by their ability to harness the power of the force. The force is an energy field that surrounds all living things.”

“Why do they need clones if they have all that power?” CT4153 asks.

“Because as powerful as the Jedi are, they are not warriors. They cannot fight wars for the whole galaxy in their limited numbers. One Jedi realised this and asked us to build an clone army for the Republic. That Jedi was named Sifo-Dyas, and he is the reason you all exist, and why you must train to become soldiers… Any other questions?”

All the clone children were silent. Taun-We took this as a no and continued her lecture. Ghost thought to himself as he paid attention to the lecture. “A Jedi is responsible for our creation? This explains some things, but we still don’t know the true reason why this Sifo-Dyas ordered our creation. Taun-We says it’s because they can’t be everywhere in the galaxy, but I feel like she was lying. Why did the Jedi REALLY ask for us?”

Ghost snapped out of his trance and continued studying alongside his brothers during the lecture.

Ghost and his brothers studied everything they needed to know on how to be a good soldier. They are now teenagers and are currently in their sleeping quarters. Ghost was laying on his bed reading a history book about the old republic.

“Hey Ghost, what you reading there?” Unfortunately his reading was interrupted by Boomstick. Ghost memorised where he was and turned to face him.

“Jeez you scared me, Boomstick… I was reading a history book about the old republic. The Jedi back then were very different to what we were told about them now. It says here that they were more like warriors, and they battled against a cult known as the Sith… It’s all pretty interesting stuff to me, though I can’t help but wonder why they changed their ways.” Ghost replied as looked back at where he was in the book.

“I honestly don’t know, brother. But what I do know is that the Separatists ain’t got nothing on us clones. Right X-Ray?” Thunder replied.

X-Ray peaked his head out from the top bunk above Ghost and peered down at Ghost and Boomstick. “From what I hear, they have droids fighting on their behalf agianst us. I don’t wanna make any assumptions, but I believe they might be on par with us.”

Boomstick then started to burst out laughing after hearing that. “You think a bunch of clankers are gonna be any match for us?!” Ha! Once I become a Heavy Trooper I’ll blow them all up!”

“And what makes you think you’re gonna be a Heavy Trooper?”

Boomstick turns around and faces another one of his brothers, who was carrying a box of tools for Daxter who was standing behind him.

“Because I love blowing things up, I can’t help that. We’re all bred differently you know. You got a problem with that Thunder?” Boomstick replied.

“No, no problem. I’m just saying that you won’t be assigned the role of Heavy Trooper just for your love of blowing stuff up alone. Take me for example, my names Thunder, does that mean I’m destined to be an Arc Trooper, probably not.” Thunder says as he places the box on the table. Daxter then grabs the tools and begins working on a Gonk Droid sitting in the corner of the room.

“Hey Daxter, what’s that you’re working on?” Apex asked.

“Oh nothing, just a little upgrade to our Gonk Droid. I figured if we’re out on the battlefield, what if we run out of ammo? So I modified this Gonk Droid to act as an ammo dispenser to supply the men with extra ammo, grenades, missiles, anything we need to fight. What do you think?”

Ghost and the others were mildly impressed with Daxter’s idea. Ghost climbs off his bed and inspects the Gonk Droid.

“Not bad, Dax. This could actually prove useful to us when we finally leave Kamino and head out to war. You should tell our superiors about this-

Ghost was suddenly cut off by the sound of a voice over an intercom.

“Attention please. Could Clone Troopers 4152, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 please report to the training area for battle simulation training immediately, thank you.”

“Well Daxter, It would seem you can tell our superiors now, once we’ve all finished our training.” Apex added. He then turns to the others as he grabs his training gear. “Let’s move it boys, we can’t be late on our first day of combat training.”

The other clones all grab their training gear and prepare to head out. Daxter however stops and turns around to see that Ghost was falling behind.

“You coming Ghost?” Daxter asked.

“Yeah, yeah. I was just putting my book away so I can read it later.” Ghost replied. There is a long pause as he and Daxter were catching up with the others. He then speaks out again as they walked down the hallway. “Hey Dax, I’ve been thinking.”

“Careful not to hurt yourself, haha.” Daxter joked leaving Ghost unamused.

“Ha ha. Seriously though doesn’t it strike you as odd that only we were summoned to training. What about the clone that came before X-Ray? We haven’t seen him at all ever since we were created.” Says Ghost as they pass by a group of fully grown clone troopers.

Daxter will admit, he was a little curious about that as well. Ever since they were born they had not seen nor heard any mention of the first clone of the 415 series. He looks over his shoulder at Ghost as they walked on. “Now that you mention it, I don’t know. From what I hear, not every clone is fit for battle. Some of them come out defective. The first generation clones had their fair share of defects in the past. Maybe CT4151 was a defected when they made us in new ways.”

Ghost wasn’t sure what to say to that, but frankly he chose not to ask. He and Daxter then finally catch up to the other and they make their way to the training area.

Ghost and his brothers finally arrive at the training area. They were all equipped with special training armour, complete with blaster proof helmets for their protection. They joined up with other clone cadets who are all lined up outside the arena. As Ghost joined them he couldn’t help but notice one clone training in the arena to his left. He was roughly a few years older than the rest of them, and he wore a full set of Clone Trooper armour with blue patterns on it. What made him stand out from the other clones was his long shoulder pads, one of them had a symbol of a Loth Wolf on it. He also has an ID scanner antenna on the right side of his helmet. And he wore what looked like a black skirt around his waist.

“Whoa, check out that guy.” Boomstick says.

Ghost carefully watches the strange clone. There was something different about him. The ease in which he moved from cover to cover, dodging the blaster fire by the training droids. The unparalleled swiftness on how switches between targets. He was more skilled then most, and Ghost wondered who he was. Unfortunately though, the training was over and the mysterious clone left the arena. But not before looking over at Ghost for a brief moment before exiting the area.

“Who was that guy? He went through that training course and completed it all by himself. He must be a fully trained Clone Trooper, but if that were the case, why is he still here training and not putting his skills to use out there?” Ghost mentally asked himself.

He was suddenly cut off by the sound of a blast door opening above them. They see the Kaminoan prime minister Lama-Su walk onto the balcony and looked down on them.

“These new recruits are quite promising. Wouldn’t you agree?” Lama-Su asks to the individual who was walking towards the balcony.

The individual was wearing a full set of metallic grey and blue armour. His armour came equipped with an arsenal of weapons such as two wrist gauntlets with a variety of attachments. His left one housed with a flamethrower, miniature rockets and a concealed straight edge blade. His right one housed a set of jagged blades, a grapple gun and a poison dart launcher. He also had two sleek blaster pistols in his holsters on both sides of his legs. He also had a jetpack on his back with a missile sticking out of it. He was holding a strange looking helmet under his right arm, with a vizor that looked T shaped.

“Who is that?” Ghost asked as he turns to his brothers for clarification.

“That’s Jango Fett, he is the original host we were all cloned from.” Thunder replied.

“He is a Bounty Hunter hired by a man named Tyranus to assist in the clones development. He’s helped train many clones and they all turned out to be successful. Now it’s our turn.” Apex added.

Ghost then notices that there was a child standing beside Jango. He looked just like the clones when they were still kids. The only difference being the longer hair. The boy notices Ghost staring at him and responds by glaring back.

“And the kid beside him, who is he? What’s his designation number?” Ghost asked and turned to his brothers.

“That’s his son, Boba Fett. He’s actually the very first clone ever made here, codenamed Alpha. But what makes him different to the rest of us is that he is unmodified, meaning no growth acceleration, no emotional enhancements and the list goes on.” X-Ray replied.

“An unmodified clone? Why would our creators make something like him? We were given our enhancements for the sole purpose of being the perfect soldiers.” Ghost added as he stared back at Boba.

“This was all per Jango’s request. From what I hear, it was part of the deal he struck with Tyranus. He will assist in training us and in return he would have the first clone for himself… My guess is that Boba was made to carry on Jango’s legacy as a Bounty Hunter once he dies. Makes sense to me anyway.” Thunder replied.

“If Boba is an Alpha clone. Does that mean there’s also an Omega?” Ghost asked.

But before Thunder could answer him, Jango takes hold of a microphone and speaks to the clone cadets in the training arena. “Listen up cadets. You were all brought here for us to determine if you are fit for battle or not. This course was designed by me specifically for that purpose. It is a course only highly skilled warriors such as myself can pass without breaking a sweat. To pass the course, you must fight your way through simulated droid controlled citadel. Shoot any droids that stand in your way. And retrieve the flag on the top. Your whole squad must be present and accounted for in order to pass. My son Boba passed this course on his first try, and he’s far younger then all of you. You want to be soldiers? You gotta have the fighting spirit as one. You must follow the rules. Rule 1, never break formation. Rule 2, always follow orders. And the most important rule of all. Never leave a man behind. If you can still breathe, then live to fight another day. As long as you stick to those rules, you will pass with flying colours… Now, let the training begin.”

Ghost and his brothers watched as the first squad of clone cadets entered the arena. Time flies by pretty fast as each squad of five clones enter and exit the arena. Ghost continues to look up at Jango and Boba Fett, who were observing the clones squads and marking their progression.

“What the hell is he doing?!”

Ghost turned around to the source of the outburst. He saw that it came from Apex who was watching a random clone storm out of cover and into the training droids line of fire.

“Idiots gonna get himself killed!” Boomstick added.

“Relax Boomstick. These training droids are equipped with blasters that only have stun settings. Even if he does get shot, he won’t sustain any serious injuries.” Daxter replied in a confident tone.

They then see the clone that ran out get shot in the chest causing him to fall backwards and collapse.

“They may be set to stun, but I bet it still hurts.” X-Ray added.

A random clone runs up to the paralysed clone and attempts to revive him.

“Hey, you alright?!” The clone asked. But there was no reply from the paralysed clone.

“Forget him, I’m breaking for the citadel!” The clone then attempts to take the citadel on his own. Only to end up getting shot in the back by another training droid.

“Idiots.” Ghost says as he facepalmed and shook his head. His brothers all nod their heads in agreement.

They then watch as Jango approaches the squad as they exited the arena. “Have you not been paying attention to my instruction? You broke formation, disobeyed orders, and what’s worse, you left a man behind. You broke all three rules in under an hour. That’s gotta be a new record. Bravo Squad, you are unfit to be soldiers, and you will be relieved of duty.”

“But sir-“ Another random clone tried to speak up, only to be silenced by Jango.

“The only butt I wanna see is yours, walking away from this arena, and straight down to maintenance!” He says as he points to the exit.

The Bravo Squad hang then heads in shame and leave the arena. Jango then looks over at Ghost and his squad. “Alright cadets, you’re up next. You better be an improvement over the last squad.”

“We won’t let you down, sir!” Ghost says proudly followed by a salute.

Jango nods and opens the arena gates, allowing Ghost and his squad to enter.

Ghost and his squad enter the arena. They enter a room that was stashed with a whole variety of practice weapons such as blaster pistols, blaster rifles, miniguns, sniper rifles and even rocket launchers.

“Holy gun heaven!” Apex says in awe at the sight of it all.

“Now that’s what I’m talking about! Look at all this fine weaponry!” Boomstick added. He then rushes over to the PLX-1 Rocket Launcher and picks it up. “Dibs on the Rocket Launcher!”

“Of course you’d go for that. You always go for the big guns, Boomstick” Thunder replies as he picks up the EMP Launcher, two DC-17 Hand Blasters, and to the others surprise, a jetpack. “Well I call dibs on the jetpack” He grabs the jetpack and straps it on his back.

Apex grabs a DC-15x sniper rifle and looks down its scope, trying to get a feel for it. Daxter grabs a DP-23 shotgun. He also picks up a fusion cutter, a couple detpacks and a detonator, and a portable miniaturised ammo dispenser. “Hey guys check it out. They actually included my invention in the training arena.”

“Nice job, Dax. I’m proud of you brother.” Ghost says with a smile. He then grabs a DC-15 Blaster Rifle.

“Going with the standard DC-15 Rifle ey?” Daxter replied.

“It gets the job done, so why not?” Ghost replied as he set the rifle from kill to stun. X-Ray picks up a standard DC-15s Blaster Pistol and places it in his holster. He then picks up a strange looking gun that looked somewhat like a gun shaped injector. The top of the gun had a vile of blue liquid in it. He then picks up a belt full of small bottles with the same blue liquid in it.

“I will do my best out there, but I feel more comfortable with saving lives rather than taking them. Therefore I shall provide medical attention to any of you who need it” X-Ray says proudly and place the belt of bacta liquid round his waist.

“Thanks X-Ray. Everyone ready?” Ghost asked. The others all nod and hold their weapons high. “Then let’s show our superiors that our squad is fighting fit!” The other clones cheer as Ghost presses the button to begin the training simulation.

As the doors open, Ghost looks around the whole arena, taking in as much as he can before the training starts. He takes a couple deep breaths in order to keep his nerves from getting the better of him. He once again look up at Jango, Boba and Lama-Su as they watched them walk out into the arena. Suddenly the training droids come online and they all stare down at the next clone squad.

“Ghost, there’s so many of them and so little cover, I’m starting to get a little scared.” X-Ray says. His hands shaking by the sheer number of droids they’re facing.

“Don’t be afraid, X-Ray. This will make our victory all the greater.” Ghost replied with confidence.

Daxter then places his hand on Ghost’s left shoulder. “Then you should be the to guide us through this. Whatever happens, we’re with you till the end.”

The other clones smile and nod at Ghost. Ghost nods back and he and his brothers stand in formation, preparing for the tests. Jango Fett raises his right arm high, signalling the Kaminoans manning the arena controls to get ready to activate it. “Let the test begin…Now!” He says as he brings his arm down fast.

The test begins. The training droids immediately open fire on Ghost’s squad. The squad race through the battlefield, blasting away at the droids. One droid stationed one of the towers was firing a turret at them. “Thunder, above you!” Ghost yells, warning him.

Thunder ignites his jetpack and lands on top of the tower. Before the droid could react, he takes it out with his blaster. He gives his brothers a thumbs up as they raced for cover.

“That’s it boys, stay together… Apex, on your left!” Ghost yells as another training droid appears out of the ground next to Apex. Apex responds by 360 no scoping the droid, taking it out.

“Thanks for the heads up, Ghost.” Apex replies as he was catching his breath. Jango, Boba and Lama-Su were observing the clones progress. Jango was mildly impressed so far with their performance compared to the last squad.

“They seem to be working together well, unlike Bravo Squad” Lama-Su commentates as he continues to observe them.

“it’s still early.” Boba Fett added. “Anything can happen to screw it all up.”

Jango said nothing as he was more focussed on watching the clones. Ghost then signals Boomstick to take out the large group of training droids approaching them. Boomstick grinned and jumps out of cover. He then fire’s his rocket launcher at the droids, blowing them to pieces. He then holds his hands out as bits and pieces of droids landed all around him.

“Look guys, I made it rain nuts and bolts! Hahaha!”

“Keep it together, Brother. We’re not out of the woods yet.” Thunder shouted at them as he flew over the arena.

“Thunder, watch out!” Daxter yells. But it was too late. Thunder’s jetpack gets shot, causing him to crash land out in the open. A bunch of training droids switch targets and go after him instead.

“I’m going after him. X-Ray, your with me. Apex, Cover us. Daxter, you and Boomstick clear us a path to the citadel!” Ghost commanded. The others all agree in unison and do what they were ordered to do. Ghost and X-Ray make their way over to Thunder, blasting any training droids that were closing in on him. Daxter and Boomstick charge towards the Citadel, while Apex covers them from a distance.

Ghost and X-Ray reach Thunder and quickly pull him behind cover. Ghost helps sit him up against the wall while X-Ray checked his vital signs. “He’ll be alright. Though the crash has his body slightly banged up. It would probably be wise if we stay back here while you continue on.”

“No! In order to pass, out whole team needs to retrieve the flag at the top of the citadel… Just do what you can to make sure he’s ready to fight again. A good soldier never leaves a man behind.” Ghost tells him.

“It’s ok, X-Ray. He’s right, this is a team effort. So let’s get this over with already.” Thunder added. X-Ray chooses not to argue and immediately gets to work on healing Thunder. Ghost takes this opportunity to re-join his other brothers who were nearing the citadel.

Daxter and Boomstick reach the citadel wall. But the walls turrets activate and all open fire on them. “Take cover!” Boomstick yelled as he and Daxter dive to the bottom of the citadel where the guns can’t reach them. Apex was still sniping the training droids from a safe distance. As soon as he noticed there were no more droids on the field, he joined the others.

Ghost and Apex join up with the others and formulate a plan to climb to the top of the citadel. “Well Ghost, we made it this far, now what?” Apex asked.

“We can’t scale this wall with those turrets fixed on us. We need to take them out first in order to make it up there safely.”

“Makes sense, but how do we do that?” Daxter asked.

“If one of us can draw their fire, then the rest of us should be able to take them out.” Ghost says. He then looks up at the turrets and thought to himself. “question is, who’s gonna do that?”

Apex then stands up and readies his sniper rifle. “I’ll do it. Just be ready to shoot them as soon as I run out.”

The others nod as Apex rushes out into the open and starts shooting at the turrets. The turrets switch targets and open fire on him. Apex then gets behind the furthest cover, allowing the others to get out of cover and start shooting at them. Unfortunately, their stun shots did nothing to damage the turrets, causing them to start targeting them again.

“Crap, it didn’t work!” Boomstick said in a panic, “What do we do now?!” He asked.

His panicked screams were suddenly silenced as a blast of blue energy comes out of nowhere and blasts the turrets, causing them to short circuit and go limp.

“Whoa, nice shot Apex!” Daxter shouts out to him.

“That wasn’t me… That was-“

They then see Thunder fly in on his jetpack holding the EMP Launcher he picked up earlier. X-Ray was running underneath him towards the others.

“Thunder!” They all cry out in unison.

“Go guys, now’s your chance, go!” Thunder yells back at them.

The clones snap back into action and begin climbing the citadel, using the disabled turrets as stepping stones to climb up. Thunder then swoops down and grabs Apex and X-Ray’s hands, and flies them up to the top. The clones all reach the top at the same time and all grab the flag, removing it from the marker, causing all the lights in the arena to turn green, in response to their victory.

“Yahoo! We did it, boys. We did it!” Ghost shouted with excitement. He and his brothers all cheer as they raise the flag in victory. “It was a team effort. I couldn’t have done it without you, my brothers.” Ghost says as he faces his teammates.

Jango, Boba and Lama-Su were very impressed with their victory. “Well now. It would seem Taun-We has raised these clones well. They are perhaps the finest soldiers I have ever seen. Wouldn’t you agree, Jango?” Lama-Su asked as he faces him.

“Well, maybe you were right, Dad.” Boba spoke up causing the others to turn and face him. “After all, these five came the closest to beating my record than any other squad we’ve seen. They must be good if they were able to achieve that.”

Jango pats his sons head, rustling his hair as he looks back at the clones bellow, celebrating their victory.

A couple hours later back in the living quarters. Ghost and his brothers were conversing over their victory. They were all wearing medals as proof of they are no longer cadets and have graduated to Clone Troopers. Their praising of one another was then interrupted as Taun-We entered their room. The clones got out of their beds and confronted her.

“Congratulations on completing the citadel. With this achievement, you have all graduated and are now ready to become true soldiers for the Republic… You did exceptionally well out there, CT4157. Guiding your team to victory like you did.”

“Actually ma’am. With all due respect. I would prefer if you called me Ghost. That is the name my brothers gave me.” Ghost replied. He then looks back at his brothers with a smile.

“You have indeed formed a strong bond with your brothers. That is a great asset that all clone squads require if they are to survive in the galaxy. I told you from the first moment you were born, that you were destined for greatness. I know you will do us proud… Ghost.”

Ghost bowed his head to Taun-We, as did his brothers. They then hear the door open behind her and wondered who else had walked in. Ghost was surprised to see that it was the same clone trooper he saw in the arena. The one who was highly skilled and wore blue patterns on his armour. He noticed that he had a satchel on the side of his waist with the strap resting on his right shoulder.

“May I present your new leader. This is CT4151, otherwise known as Commander Fang. He will be taking over from here. I bid you all farewell, and good luck.” She says as she exits the room. Ghost and the other immediately stand at attention as Commander Fang approaches them. He carefully looks them over and then addresses them.

“I have been watching you lot in the arena. I have to say I was very impressed. As you all know, I am actually the first clone created from the 415 generation. I have been training here far longer then you have. And I am pleased to see that my fighting spirit has been inherited by you lot as well… The reason for my visit is that I believe you are all ready to leave Kamino and become part of my squad.” Fang then walks over to Ghost and addresses him directly. “You were skilled at guiding your team to victory. What’s your name cadet?”

“Ghost, Sir!” Ghost replied. Fang then turned to the others and asks for their names too. Each clone give him their name with pride in their voice. Fang then steps back and salutes them back.

“Well Ghost, Daxter, Apex, Thunder, Boomstick and X-Ray. I look forward to fighting alongside you in the upcoming war. From this moment on you are all proud members of my “Orion Squad”…At ease.” Fang orders and then proceeds to leave their room. The clones all relax and start talking to each other again.

“Haha! Next stop, Arc Trooper!” Boomstick shouts with excitement.

“Easy there big guy. We need to face some combat first.” X-Ray replied. They all then head out of their rooms to celebrate. Daxter however stops and notices that Ghost is once again falling behind.

“Something else on your mind, Ghost?” He asked.

“Thanks for believing in me in the arena, Dax.”

“It was nothing to do with me. You were quite the leader out there, Ghost.”

“No leaders. We are a team. All of us.”

“Orion Squad is lucky to have a clone like you, Ghost.”

Ghost then places his hand on Daxter’s shoulder. “Not as lucky as I am… To have a brother like you.”

Daxter smiles and the tow of them leave together, and once again try to catch up to the others.

It has been a week since the clones of Orion Squad graduated. Ghost and his brothers standing in the middle of a landing platform where all the republic gunships were held. They were all wearing full sets of gen 1 Clone Trooper armour. Unlike the other thousands of clones standing there, their armour had different coloured patterns on them. Ghost’s armour had black patterns on it. His right shoulder pad had a skull on it. He was holding his blaster rifle close to his chest as he stood to attention. His belt had several grenades attached to it, and the holster on his left leg had a secondary blaster pistol in it.

Next to him on his right was Daxter. His armour had yellow stripes on it. His helmet was a different shape compared to the others. His was more round while the standard helmet had a little fin on the top. It also had a wrench symbol on his shoulder pad. He was holding his shotgun. His belt was equipped with his fusion cutter, detpacks and detonator. On his back was a backpack that contained the ammo dispenser unit and an auto turret.

Next to him was Apex. His armour had red stripes on it. His right shoulder pad had a sniper scope symbol on it. He was holding his sniper rifle. His belt came equipped with grenades like Ghosts. He also has a holster with a sidearm blaster on his left leg. He also has a recon droid attached to his back.

On Ghost’s Right side was Boomstick. He wore blue stripes on his armour. Like Commander Fang, he has a little antenna on the right side of his helmet. His left shoulder pad has a symbol of a rocket on it. He was carrying a huge rocket launcher which was mounted on his right shoulder. His belt didn’t hold grenades, but it did have extra rockets for the launcher and mines.

Next to Boomstick was Thunder. His armour had green stripes on it. On his back was a new jetpack which also had green patterns on it. His left shoulder pad had a lightning bolt on it. He was holding his EMP launcher. He too had a blaster pistol in a holster on his leg as a secondary weapon. His belt had a variety of grenades. Such as regular explosive grenades, EMP grenades, and flash grenades.

Finally It shows X-Ray. His armour had purple stripes on it. His left shoulder pad had a First aid symbol on it. He was holding his bacta healing gun. Both his legs housed holsters for two blaster pistols. And he was wearing the same belt with extra bacta liquid bottle in it.

“ATTENTION!” As the clones stood at attention, Commander Fang approaches the clones and faces them.

“Listen up troopers! Today is your graduation. From here you ship out to fight the Separatists in the start of a great galactic war dubbed “The Clone War.” From this day forth you are no longer cadets. You are troopers. And you will help the Jedi restore peace to the galaxy. Our first act as soldiers of the Grand Army of the Republic, is to assist the Jedi who are fighting for their lives on the planet Geonosis. Let us show them how independent and loyal we are to them by saving their lives… Forward march!” Commander Fang ordered.

The clones all march in unison for the gunships. Ghost and the rest of Orion Squad join up with Fang and they all board the same gunship as him.

“This is it boys. Our first mission in the field.” Ghost says to them as the gunship takes off and leaves the Kaminoan facility.

“What do you think we’ll encounter when we reach Geonosis?” Asked X-Ray.

“I don’t know. But whatever it is, we’ll face it together as a team.” Daxter replied.

Ghost looks out the window as they flew further and further away from Kamino and exited it’s atmosphere. The gunships then dock in several republic cruisers hovering over the planet.

“It feels like yesterday since I was born and raised down on that ocean filled planet. Now here I am, shipping out to fight in the first galactic war since the days of the Old Republic… It will be difficult, but I must have faith in my brothers, and in Commander Fang. For we are Orion Squad.” Ghost thought to himself.

His thoughts were interrupted as the gunship landed in the cruiser’s docking bay and the other clones exited the ship.

“You with us, Ghost?” Commander Fang says, snapping him out of his thoughts.

“Always sir.” Ghost replied with a nod. He then exits the ship and joins his brothers as they head deeper into the cruiser. It then shows the cruisers leaving Kamino and jumping into hyperspace, heading straight for Geonosis.

Clone Wars Journal Entry 2 – Location: Kamino Orbit

“And so, my days of training are over. The time has come for me and my brothers to take our rightful place in the galaxy. None of us knew what this war had in store for us. But I have faith that we’ll fight on till the end… For this was not only the beginning of the Clone Wars. But the beginning of the journey of Orion Squad.”

To Be Continued