Clone Wars: Underground - Chapter 1

 

    The storm outside raged like a maddened animal yet from within the soundproof windows the torrents were completely silent. Doctor Ellia Tian watched the flashing lightning with absorbed interest. Reckless and wild streaks of lightning clashed with the uniform perfection of the Kaminoan structures. It was beautiful. It reminded her of the storms on Chandrila. Storms were never present on Coruscant due to the automated weather system. She didn’t realize how much she missed it until she came to Kamino.

    Top of her class at Coruscant’s premier genetics school, Ellia had been hired to work at the Jedi Medical Facility but assigned to accompany Jedi Master Shaak Ti to Kamino. Although she was technically listed as an assistant to the Jedi Master, she was given a task by the Jedi Council to learn everything about Kaminoan technology and genetic science that she could. 

    Ellia didn’t look like a scientist. She was short for a human female and had youngling’s curiosity for the world around her. While many might believe that’s what makes a good scientist, it only made the short woman seem more like a child. 

    While on occasion some of the scientists indulged her questions, most of the Kaminoan scientists kept their secrets locked tight. Over the course of a few standard months, Ellia was able to piece together much of what constituted the methods of clone production and more importantly some key information on accelerated aging. This was one element that the tall, gray, and far too calm Kaminoans kept a tight seal on. 

    There were other things too. The Kaminoan scientists occasionally invited Ellia to observe experimental procedures. The scientists wanted to gather as much information they could about the effects of their own techniques and with an entire army of human clones, they had more than enough test subjects. Test subjects. Ellia’s thoughts wandered again to that dark place in her mind. The place that reminded her that these were humans. She tried not to think about it. Acknowledging that the clones were hatched from tubes to grow, fight, then die for the Republic made her uncomfortable. They’re just soldiers. That’s what they’re here for. That’s it. She comforted herself. Master Shaak Ti had found a balance, so could she.

    “What is the purpose of this sort of procedure?” Ellia asked Chief Scientist Ko Sai. 

    “Through removing certain traumatic events, clone troopers will be able to focus on the present without being limited by negative past events.” Ko Sai replied evenly. 

    Ellia thought it was strange that anyone would want their mind wiped, but then again, she imagined the battlefield would hold terrible memories. It was an interesting process that involved re-mapping parts of the brain. Not really her expertise, but she had been invited to watch one of the first procedures. 

    “This clone suffered post-traumatic episodes repeatedly after surviving a particularly stressful engagement.” Ko Sai motioned to a clone trooper secured to a medical table. His wide eyes darted fearfully around the room, catching her gaze briefly before the sedation kicked in. Ko Sai used the room’s specially designed brain scanner to locate the memory sectors of the brain. 

    “There are two locations we need to re-route.” She explained as she moved her finger across the screen. As she did this, the scanner placed over the clone’s head glowed and a laser beamed directly into the frontal lobe. The laser followed the movements the Ko Sai made with her finger on the screen. “The episodic memory and the emotional memory.” 

    Ellia’s brow furrowed and she pushed back a stand of honey-brown hair. How did the scientist know which memories to erase? “Aren’t you worried about removing too much memory?” 

    “The general knowledge portion of memory is located elsewhere. This clone will remember how to climb a wall and fire his blaster. But we will still put him through a flash training recourse.” 

    “I mean, what episodic memories will you erase?” 

    “Those will all be gone. There is no way to pick and choose which episodic memories to keep.” The scientist replied casually. Ellia bit her lower lip. She didn’t like the sound of that. Maybe it was okay for the trooper, his whole life had been training and the battlefield. Maybe he didn’t care to remember anything, but still, why would he want to forget everything? The Kaminoans were far detached from the clones they made. Ellia began to feel sorry for the men. She wasn’t sure if it was because they were human like her, or if it was because she knew that in general, they wouldn’t have a chance at a normal life. Then again, maybe this is the life they want. If they were made to be soldiers, who’s to say what they wanted and didn’t want. She pushed her thoughts to the back of her mind and returned to her small quarters to pack her belongings. After her short stay on Kamino, it was time to go. She’d gathered enough information to take back to the Jedi Medical Center of Coruscant. 

    Before boarding the republic transport that would take her back, Master Shaak Ti pulled her aside. She was tall and elegant and had a way of charming everyone she met. Ellia had done her best to serve her. 

    “The council has an important task for you. We want to find ways to preserve clones’ lives in the battlefield. It is something that the Kaminoans would not approve of. They would prefer us to buy more clones instead. The more we can keep alive, the better. Use what you have learned here and return to the facility on Coruscant. Tell no one of your project. You will report directly to the council at the Jedi temple only. Do not contact me again while I’m here.” Shaak Ti gave her a warm smile. “I know you can do it. I picked you personally for this assignment.” 

    “Thank you Master Shaak Ti.” Ellia bowed, blushing at the compliment. 

    “And I have a gift for you.” The Togruta master reached into her adorned robes and drew out a small case. “A sample of Jango Fett’s own stem cells. Make good use of them, there isn’t much left.” 

    “I will!” Ellia’s eyes glittered at the case in her hands the way a child would at an Ithorian sweet bun. Jango, who was the template for the entire army of clones, was dead. Having this sample was extremely rare. Thoughts of all the things she could do with even the smallest sample of the original donor’s cells began floating across her mind. Limb regeneration or maybe Life regeneration. Age deceleration. There were so many possibilities. Her professor had told her once that genetics was a creative science. It was a belief that Ellia clung to.

    “Now, get going. And may the force be with you.”

    “And you, Master Shaak Ti.” Ellia didn’t ask how the Jedi Master had acquired the cells. She didn’t care to know. She hurried onto the shuttle, suddenly worried that at any moment a Kaminoan contingent would come rushing out the door demanding the return of the cells. She watched the figure of Master Shaak Ti getting smaller and smaller on the landing platform as the shuttle ascended into the sky. She released the breath she was holding and clutched the case containing the stem cells to her chest. She had a tall order to fill. No one could know. I can do this. She took another deep breath. 

Two years later. 

            Ellia remembered that night like it was all her life smashed together in a single standard rotation. Every second, every heartbeat was like a million. Everything changed. 

 

The day had started like any other.  The Jedi Medical Facility filled with doctors and patients. While she was also a doctor, but she’d spent the past three years as a scientist and researcher. Everyone headed to their stations for the rotation’s work.  Ellia Tian set her hot chocolate on the desk and pulled out her reports. Once everyone settled into their routine, she put the reports aside and pulled out her research. She reviewed the project she’d been given by the Jedi Council. Not even the senate knew about the core task she was given, though some of her findings had been shared. Already, she had discovered the genetic code sequence that would allow synthetic replication of the cells. Those cells were being used in a number of practical situations from generating blood for transfusions to growing new organs. Ellia knew she could do better. She wanted something bigger, even if it wasn’t as practical. She wanted it for the sake of discovery, to put the stem cells she had to the ultimate test. Months ago, she’d come up with a new project.

She was about to have a breakthrough. She was so close; she just knew it would be any day now. She’d spent weeks searching for test subjects. By test subjects, she meant dead clones. The only subjects she could round up were ones that died recently on Coruscant. She had them put into immediate stasis and then injected each one with cells from the synthetic code she had specifically modified. If all went accordingly, the dead would live again. It would only work for clones with Jango’s template, but the benefit to the army would be immense.

Ellia could barely contain her excitement as she monitored life signs from her very first test subject. He had been shot by a blaster a few months ago but put into stasis almost immediately. Recently, he was showing signs of regeneration despite having been dead for nearly an hour before she pulled him from stasis and put him in a bacta tank infused the with specially modified stem cells.  The second had died much more recently and was slower to show improvements.

She put her hand on the glass of the bacta tank. “Just think how much of a difference you’ll make if you live.” She told him. “I’m definitely pulling an all-nighter tonight.”

“Talking to your only friends again?” A voice came from the doorway. Ellia knew that voice. It was Jeshua Corman, a doctor who worked in the same lab. His manner towards her had changed when she declined a dinner date with him weeks ago. 

“They’re the best company here.” She retorted.

“You really should get away from your work sometimes. You know there’s more to life than-“

“Is there something you need, Jesh?” She cut him off.

“Ohhh, icy as ever.” He fake-shivered and deposited a data-chip on her desk. “Here’s the list of procedures for the day.” He gave her a cocky smile and left. He didn’t need to bring it to her personally, he could have just sent it to her datapad, but Jesh always seemed to have and excuse to drop in on her. 

Ellia thought she probably should go out with him, it’s what her mother would have told her to do. She had stopped all social activity upon her acceptance into the genetics program. It had been hard enough to test in, she had failed the entrance exam twice before she was accepted. Once in, she didn’t want to waste the opportunity and therefore lived and breathed genetics. Once she was placed at the Jedi facility, it had just been easier to keep her solitary lifestyle. The truth was, she’d forgotten how to be with sentients in social settings. She looked back at the two clones in their tanks.

“I meant it, ya know. You’re the best company here.” She smiled sadly. She wished she cared more about the social aspects of her life, but she loved her work even more.

Ellia’s office was littered with diagrams and flimsi notes. She liked to have everything visible so she could consult multiple points of data at once. It helped her pull things together. Shelves held small containers with plants, many labeled with modifications she had made. Genetics was her work, but also her hobby. She’d modified plants to accept different soil and water conditions. 

Evening came and Ellia watched her fellow scientists close down their workstations and prepare to leave for evening meal. They would all be returning home to their families for the evening. Ellia chose to stay. It didn’t matter where she slept, she had no one to go home to. Tonight, she would stay with her two clones, one of which was exhibiting heightened brain function for the first time since his death. 

Working late, she was the only one at the military division of the JMF. All was quiet as she poured over her research. That’s when the blaster fire started. It was immediate, very loud, and just outside. Not a few shots but constant blasting. Panic struck Ellia as not long ago Coruscant had been under attack. The Separatist forces plunged a knife straight into the core of Republic territory with not only Count Dooku but his general, Grievous, laying siege to Galactic City. 

Ellia rushed to the office window to see the Jedi Temple approach engulfed in an all-out battle. She stared with wide eyes at the fiery scene abruptly unfolding before her. A blast went off inside the temple and smoke began streaming from the entrance. Impossible! How could this happen again so soon? She couldn’t see who the attackers were, all she could see were clone troopers storming up the entryway. Whoever was attacking must already be inside. Another explosion rocked the temple and sent shudders through the facility. The Jedi Medical Facility was directly adjacent to the temple itself and provided a clear view of the terrifying attack. 

Ellia ran to the emergency comm but the doors to the lobby crashed open and soldiers began bursting through. For a split second she thought she was about to be shot. She quickly noticed that these clones were the wounded. Some carried dead soldiers. Her facility was the closest med station to the action and the wounded and dead were quickly filling up the lobby. Some of the medically trained troopers began attending to their fellow soldiers.

As she hurried to help, Ellia wondered how the Jedi Temple could have possibly come under attack. They were in the heart of Republic Space.

The soldiers who came to the lab had wounds that were all cauterized cuts and slashes like a very hot knife had sliced through them. Ellia, however, knew a lightsaber wound when she saw one. She went into a frenzy directing the med-troops to supplies and equipment. One of the less wounded turned on the media news and that’s when they heard it. The Jedi, their generals in the war, had betrayed them all. They had attacked the Chancellor in his office. The brave soldiers of the Republic Army had courageously stormed the Jedi stronghold to defend the citizens of Coruscant. Ellia couldn’t believe it, but she was too busy administering to her new patients to think about the bigger aspects of the situation.

After the commotion, A fresh unit of clones entered the facility, which by now looked more like a war hospital. Ellia was fighting off shock by keeping busy tending to the wounded. She noticed the red against the stark white of the new troop’s armor. The wounded and dead were wearing blue. These new red troopers were the senate’s special guard. Their leader walked up to Ellia.

“Are you the only one here?” He asked.

“I am in this area, I was working late.”

“I am Commander Fox. We’d like to thank you for your help. We will now see the remainder of-” He cut off, his helmet directed at one of the bacta tanks in her office. “Where did you get this man?” He almost shouted.

“I don’t procure my own test subjects. He was brought here.” She replied in a confused voice.

Fox studied the man in the tank. There was an apparatus covering most of his head, but he thought he could almost see a distinguishing mark through the semi-transparent plasti-wrap. He could have sworn it was the renegade clone that had attacked the Supreme Chancellor, except that he’d shot and killed him a few standard months ago. It just couldn’t be. He had more pressing matters at the moment. 

“My men will transport the injured to better-equipped medical facilities and help clean up the mess.” He looked around. There were a lot of dead. “Do you have an incinerator?” 

“Yes, of course.”

“We’ll get those killed in the Jedi attack out of your way as well.” He shouted an order and the red troopers began transporting the blue ones out of the lobby. Incinerator? Dead? Was he planning on burning the bodies?

Ellia couldn’t really put “Jedi attack” into her mind and make it make sense. What bothered her more was that Commander Fox seemed to have no issue accepting it or the idea of burning up the clones killed in the attack. She glanced up at her bacta tank and remembered Fox’s reaction to the clone. Shot. Commander Fox was staring at the clone who’d been shot. He seemed very agitated. 

She checked to make sure she was alone, then put in a call at her terminal.

“Hello?” A familiar face popped up on the holodisplay.

“Brenni! Hi.” Ellia sounded a little shaken.

“Elli! Hey you’re not at work are you? Are you safe? Did you hear about the attack?”

“I’m fine, but I need to know something.  Where did you pick me up that first clone corpse?”

“Oh, that guy…it was some warehouse I was stocking. The commander there shot him. I didn’t see the action, but I heard the blaster. I knew you were looking for bodies, so I told that Jedi there that I had a cryochamber onboard and offered to take him to the military morgue.” She flashed a smile. “Pretty quick thinking, huh!”

Ellia’s didn’t know how to respond. No wonder the commander had reacted the way he did. It was probably him who shot the clone. She knew the military rarely took such drastic actions against their own. This guy must have done something really bad. If she didn’t act quickly, she’d be in a lot of trouble. 

“Yeah. I was just completing my notes.” Ellia lied.

“Okay. Hey. Take it easy. You work too hard.”

“I will. Bye.” She was barely listening by now. 

She looked at the chaos in her lab. Men dead on her floor. Death and chaos. She turned her gaze at the two slowly returning to life in the bacta tanks. She couldn’t let them die again! Commander Fox couldn’t know. She had to save them. 

She had to save the man who’d come here with the blaster bolt in his chest. The one she’d watched over carefully, hoping with each passing day that he’d show some sign of life. It was the one who had just today shown heightened brain activity. The man she’d talked to everyday, wishing him well, chatting about the war and her research. They were more than test subjects. They were men, like the ones lying dead on the lab floor. This was her life’s work, but it meant more than that. She had to save them.

She unhitched the tank’s lock and pulled the lever, the pressure raising the man in the first tank out. The assistant droid placed him on a hover cart as she drained the special bacta into a number of pouches. She wouldn’t be able to take the tank, but she could take the bacta. She placed a bacta patch over his nose and mouth. The wound on his chest was healed, but the modified bacta’s real purpose was to stimulate the brain. It needed constant flow of the stuff to keep the man from slipping back into the clutches of death. Although she understood the science behind the living cells regenerating the dead ones, the first time she saw the brain activity in the man, it had felt like sorcery. It reminded her of how with a little water and soil, a brown dried seed could sprout to life. 

“Okay Mr. Five, or your file called you Fives, let’s go.” Ellia pushed the hover cart with her patient and the bacta bags into the turbolift. She shimmied into the lift, squished against the inside wall and the cart with the unconscious man. She held her breath as the lift shot downwards into the depths of the building. When she got as far as she could go, she got off and found the entrance to a lower building. Ellia had never gone down this far before.

The lower area was another medical building of a time long past in Coruscant history. It had once been on the surface, but as centuries past it was built over. She had heard stories of the underworld. Not the crime-ridden layers of the commercial areas, but the depths of over-construction that left corpses of buildings stacked so many times that it was impossible to tell one building from another as they had all become meshed together. She pushed him into another lift and they descended further. The air became staler and filled with other less pleasant smells. She found an old medical office and secured the cart. She felt bad about leaving him completely defenseless in an unsecure area, but she had little time. 

Hurrying back to the lab, she refilled the tank and ordered her droid assistant to place one of the dead men into the freshly filled tank. This man had somewhat longer hair and it floated over his temples. At some angles it could have been confused for shadows of a tattoo. That was probably what gave him away to the commander. The most important part was the hole in the man’s back. He’s been hit by a blaster bolt that seemed to have ricocheted off of something and struck him at an odd angle. Fox hadn’t got a look at the back of the clone in the tank. Ellia hoped this would make him further doubt his suspicion. 

She wanted to save a few more of the dead. She began loading the ones that had been alive when they entered the lab into her spare tanks behind the partition. The closer to life they were, the easier they would be to bring back. Hopefully, Commander Fox hadn’t counted the number of troopers he’d left on her floor. She only had four more tanks. She looked at the rest of the dead.

“Sorry.” She whispered. She knew she didn’t have enough tanks for all of them. Their fates were decided by chance tonight.

It wasn’t a standard minute before Commander Fox returned with his men. They hauled the rest of the dead clones to the incinerator. Ellia wondered if they would have done the same with men from their own company. She’d learned that the clones who were attacked were from the 501^st battalion. They weren’t usually on Coruscant. She knew the red-armored company had been notorious for their skill but also their pride. They tended to think themselves elitists among other clones. Maybe that was why they were unceremoniously dumping their fallen comrades from another battalion into the fire. Although she really couldn’t say what was going through their minds. For all the research she’d done on clones, Ellia hadn’t really ever gotten to know any of them. That had never bothered her before tonight. It had always been easier to think of them as blank soldiers; hosts of numbered products, like the Kaminoans saw them. Deep down that uneasy feeling she got around clone began to rise. She tried to push it down. All she had to do was not think of them as normal humans. But now I’ve risked my own life to save theirs. Did I do it for them or to finish my project?

It was morning before Ellia finally sat down to take a breath. The news media was running constant coverage. The report was that the Jedi had turned on the Republic and killed their own clone troopers right there at the temple. The Jedi even tried to kill the Supreme Chancellor. With such an act of treason, the Jedi were dealt with swiftly. Ellia felt uncomfortable about her situation being employed by the now disgraced Jedi. She felt even more uncomfortable knowing she was harboring at least one fugitive, even if it was in the name of science. What would they do if they found out she had secreted away six clones? Then there was her research. Everyone who knew about it was dead. The thought of Master Shaak Ti dying is what finally brought the tears to her eyes. What was she going to do?