A ' den Skirata A ' den Skirata , originally known as Null - 12 , also known as N - 12 , was one of the six surviving Null - class Advanced Recon Commando s . Like the other Null ARCs , he was named and trained by Kal Skirata . A ' den was also the only one of the Null ARC ' s who became a sergeant and not an officer . He chose this out of reverence to his training sergeant , Kal Skirata , who formally adopted him in Mandalorian tradition . Biography . Early life . Null - 12 , more commonly known as A ' den , was a clone of the Human male bounty hunter Jango Fett . Part of the first group of clones developed by the Kaminoan scientists , Null - 12 was " born " in 32 BBY in the facilities of Tipoca City on the planet Kamino . Of the twelve clones in the batch , only six survived the gestation period : N - 5 , N - 6 , N - 7 , N - 10 , N - 11 , and N - 12 . When he reached two standard years of age , A ' den and his five surviving brothers were given basic flash training by the Kaminoans . This training taught the future ARC troopers — Advanced Recon Commandos — to speak fluent Basic and about fundamental war training . Specifically , this war training instructed the boys in how to handle various blaster weapons and also introduced them to simulated warzones , complete with live explosives . The battle simulations gave A ' den and the Nulls a fear of thunderstorms when they were little , as the thunder and lightning sounded just like the bombs going off . While A ' den and his brothers proved to be physically capable , the Kaminoans ' psychological tests revealed that the boys were not up to standard . Their scores were off the charts on the intelligence tests , but they could not match the preferred personality profile the Kaminoans sought . During exercises , they proved to be devious and uncommandable . Because of these defects - which were ultimately the product of the cloners ' tampering with their genetic makeup in an attempt to improve on Jango ' s template - the six boys were designated as Null - class and were scheduled to be reconditioned . In 30 B . B . Y . , Kal Skirata , a member of Jango Fett ' s Cuy ' val Dar , met with Jango on Kamino and the two were asked by Orun Wa to inspect the Null - ARCs and to give their professional opinions . Kal was expecting to see grown men displaying shoddy marksmanship , etc . , but was quite shaken to discover that the six ' defective ' clones were really only four years old , having undergone two year ' s growth . After Orun Wa explained that the boys were uncommandable and would be terminated for not meeting the strict quality control measures , Skirata immediately jumped in , adamantly refusing to let the Kaminoans kill the helpless boys . Fett allowed Skirata to take A ' den and the other Nulls to his quarters . It was there that A ' den had his first taste of sticky uj cake and was given a real name instead of his serial number . Skirata quickly became a father to A ' den and the Nulls , and they called him " Kal ' buir " , or " Papa Kal . " When he was busy teaching his other commando squads , he encouraged the Nulls to run wild throughout Tipoca City . One of A ' den ' s favorite activities during such times was swinging from the ceiling by a rappel line and shooting at the Kaminoan technicians below , an act his brothers always found quite amusing . The Clone Wars . War begins . The Clone Wars began in 22 BBY , when Master Yoda of the Jedi High Council came to Kamino and was responsible for the deployment of every available trooper to Geonosis , where the Jedi were engaged in rescuing Senator Padmé Amidala and the two Jedi Obi - Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker . A ' den and his brothers were deployed to the front so quickly that they did not have a chance to wake Skirata and bid him farewell . Five days after Geonosis , all six Nulls were scheduled to be chilled down into stasis to await their next deployment . Terrified of facing chill down , the Nulls quickly and efficiently shut down and barricaded themselves in the Special Operations barracks on Coruscant . It was only the timely arrival of Skirata that convinced the Nulls to stand down , and as a result he was re - enlisted as a Sergeant in the Grand Army . For the rest of the war , they worked in black ops for the Grand Army of the Republic though , ultimately , they only answered to Skirata . Gaftikar Resistance . In 21 BBY , A ' den was sent to Gaftikar to help a lizard species known as Marit s capture the planet ' s major cities from the local Human population , who were being supported by the Separatists . A ' den was sent there to pick up where Sull , an Alpha - Advanced Recon Commando who had suddenly gone MIA , had left off and train the Marits for the coming invasion . To aid the Null , a squad of clone commandos - Omega Squad - was sent to bring in additional supplies and help train the Marits , and even participate during the battle . A ' den treated the squad as his brothers , and even tried warning Atin Skirata , the squad ' s slicer , not to ask about the Marits ' stew . The commando asked anyway and was horrified to discover that the lizard species cooked and ate their own dead , as a form of respect . A few days before the Marits were going to attack , A ' den sent Darman Skirata and Atin to do a recon of Gaftikar ' s capital city . While there , the two commandos discovered that Sull , the Alpha - ARC who had disappeared , had actually deserted and was now working as a cab driver in the city . Darman and Atin called in their finding and arrested the traitorous clone , bringing him to the resistance ' s camp for interrogation . A ' den originally allowed Omega Squad to be present during the questioning , but then asked them to leave so he could have a one - on - one talk with the fellow ARC . A ' den allowed Sull to go free , even hooking him up with a transport off - world and the opportunity to disappear on Mandalore . Niner , Omega Squad ' s sergeant , was adamantly against letting Sull go free . The two Sergeants engaged in a heated verbal battle , and A ' den became so enraged that he forced his comlink into Niner ' s hand and challenged him to rat on the Alpha - ARC to command . Ultimately , Niner could not do it and stalked away . With Niner out of earshot , A ' den continued his angry speech about the clones ' unfair lot in life to his commando brothers . Soon after Nyreen Vollen , a pilot A ' den had met on earlier undocumented adventures , took Sull to Mandalore , A ' den , the Marits , and Omega Squad prepared for battle . While Omega called in air strikes on the capital and A ' den single - handedly placed charges and jammers around several key locations in the city , the Marits and a complement of clone infantry began the ground assault . Their efforts were rewarded with the capture of the major cities and thus the planet . The Marits ' achieved their original goal of proportional representation with their subsequent merging into the local Humans ' politics . A few days later , A ' den went to Coruscant to visit Fi , Omega ' s medic , who had sustained massive brain damage during the battle on Gaftikar . Order 66 . A ' den eventually returned to Coruscant , where he was finally reunited with all five of his brothers and his father . Over a nice lunch , Skirata formally adopted A ' den and the other Nulls as his sons , an act that made A ' den extremely happy . A few days before Chancellor Palpatine enacted Order 66 , A ' den introduced Vollen to Skirata and became convinced that the two should marry . He went off with Vollen on her freighter to help her find out what had happened to her first husband , and so was off - world when Order 66 came through . A ' den eventually met up with his Null brothers , Skirata , half of Omega Squad , Walon Vau , Bardan Jusik , Atin ' s wife Laseema , Ordo ' s wife Besany Wennen , Besany ' s friend Jilka Zan Zentis , and Jango Fett ' s estranged sister Arla Fett at their homestead on Mandalore . He was also present for the cremation of Darman ' s Jedi wife , Etain Tur - Mukan , who had died while trying to escape Order 66 . Rise of the Empire . During Order 66 on Coruscant , Darman and Niner of Omega Squad had been left behind . Skirata , with help from his Null sons , came up with a plan to rescue the two men . A ' den originally wanted to go to Coruscant to help with the extraction but was convinced otherwise by his brother , Ordo , because he had a dark tan that would make him stand out if they had to go undercover as regular clone troopers . A ' den then remained behind on Mandalore , helping with the daily goings - on at the homestead . Personality and traits . A ' den was both different and similar to his Null brothers . Like them , he was mentally disturbed from his flash training on Kamino and could snap at any moment . As a Null , he was also called " death on legs " by his father and was sometimes regarded as eccentric by the other clones . A ' den was very cynical of Palpatine and the Republic , and was annoyed at the latter ' s reluctance to attack the Confederacy of Independent Systems at its heart . Like the rest of his Null brothers , he harbored a deep hatred of Kaminoans , especially Ko Sai . Unlike his brothers , A ' den was very jovial in nature . He joked often and smiled so much that he had white lines by his mouth , showing where the skin creased constantly . His lighthearted nature made him an oddity among his fellow Nulls , who were often more morbid and sullen . Despite his inherent happiness , A ' den could also become very angry very quickly . This was revealed during his argument with Niner over whether or not Alpha - ARC Sull should be allowed to go free after going AWOL . A ' den was also the most talkative of all of his brothers and had no qualms about gossiping . Shortly before the formation of the Galactic Empire , A ' den met and befriended Nyreen Vollen , who believed clones should have the same rights and life - spans as ordinary beings . Nyreen , or " Ny " , would later aid the Skirata clan by bringing deserter clones to Mandalore to begin their new lives . Kal Skirata was A ' den ' s father , and the man who saved the Null ' s life on more than one occasion . A ' den and his brothers referred to Skirata as " buir " , " papa , " and did everything they could to please him . Skirata desired to give his boys and every GAR clone a full life - span , making it his life ' s mission . His fierce love for his sons made them totally devoted and loyal to him and his plans . A ' den was very close to his fellow Null - ARC brothers - Ordo , Mereel , Kom ' rk , Prudii , and Jaing . While on Kamino , A ' den used to explore the Tipoca City complex with his brothers . They even started playing tricks on the Kaminoan cloners , and A ' den ' s stunt of shooting at the aliens caused much merriment among the Nulls . During the Clone Wars A ' den was often separated from his brothers , but he was always happiest when he was finally reunited with his family . Equipment . As an Advanced Reconnaissance Commando , A ' den was trained like the Alpha - batch ARCs and used much of their same equipment . He wore white plastoid composite armor with green markings that heralded him as a sergeant in the GAR . He also wore a black kama and had a rangefinder on his helmet . During the resistance on Gaftikar , A ' den wore plain civilian clothes ; however , he switched back to his usual armor as the time for battle approached . Behind the scenes . A ' den Skirata was created by Karen Traviss for the " Republic Commando " series . A ' den first appeared in " " , the second book , and was a minor character in the other novels . A ' den means " wrath " or " rage " in " Mando ' a " . In " The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia " , the entry for CT - 80 / 88 - 3009 , or A ' den , erroneously indicates that Null - 12 and CT - 80 / 88 - 3009 are the same individuals .