CC-6410 "Shepard"

## CC-6410

Co-Owner, Aran Operations

the Republic (Former)

Aran Operations

> "*They said that good soldiers follow orders. The best soldiers I know are able to act when the order is unjust, and flat-out wrong. We lost this war through our own hubris, our arrogance, and our blind following of a force we had no real knowledge of. We must right our wrongs, and do our part to return balance to the galaxy.*"
> ― CC-6410 to ARC-8192
>
>

CC-6410, designation "Shepard", was a Clone Trooper Marshal Commander that served as the 187th's leader during the clone wars, then as Special Forces Captain in a Rebel Cell, then became the Head of Contact and Contract Management at Aran Operations. He passed away in 16 ABY, reportedly of natural causes, a victim of the rapid aging process implemented in Fett Clones.

## The Story of a Legend

### The Clone Wars

Shepard was born and raised in Tipoca City, Kamino, and learned, trained, and passed as most other clones had. He was a graduate of Alpha-17's ARC training program, and was known for exceptional tactical efficiency. He began his service in a small post in the 48th Assault Division, then promoted to his first larger-scale NCO position in the 212th Attack Battalion under Commander Cody and General Obi-Wan Kenobi.

#### The 212th Airborne

Shepard became a Sergeant in the 212th's Airborne Division, where he lead and executed many successful missions. His armor would return from each deployment covered in any matter of ash, blood, mud, or blaster marks, damaged and worn. The user, however wounded he would be, would always return in high spirits, bringing his men home safely. He and his men became some of the first solutions when it came to a combat issue, and they were damn proud of their work.

At the Rank of Lieutenant, Shepard and his men would join alongside the General, Commander, and Ghost Company often, providing special forces-like support to them. Shepard gained a reputation through the 212th of being the first man through the door *every time,* either his twin sidearms being the first to clear a room, or his not-so-standard issue vibrosword entering a new victim surrounded by other soon-to-be victims. He joined the Command Table many times, adding strategy points to much of Cody's work, and began practicing sword combat against the General himself. Flaws were revealed and improved upon in a quick manner, and in no time he was one of the best that the Republic could ask for.

He was promoted to the rank of Captain just before the Battle of Umbarra, where he and his men were tasked with infiltrating Umbarran supply points and outposts ahead of the assault on its capital. His strikes were crucial to the weakening of the capital's defenses, but was delayed by a platoon being redirected by General Pong Krell to assist in an assault on an airbase not far from their position. He criticized the move during the final strategy meeting before the capital assault, but offered his men as a gap closer as they moved the positioning of one of Ghost Company's squads. This move proved to favor the 212th, as they experienced a quicker capture with Shepard's men taking most of the defense force on themselves. After their victory, during the Command debriefing, the report of Waxer's Platoon sustaining heavy casualties to the 501st under Krell's command came in. Shepard kept the mention of his objection to himself, knowing that there was nothing that could bring the men back.

With countless battles being added under his belt, his leadership only improving with time, and his skills as a CQC Specialist all but capped out, Shepard was brought to a meeting at Republic High Command to discuss the some power vacuums that were left unfilled. With Sergeant Vaughn being promoted Sergeant Major in the 501st after Appo's move up to Lieutenant, Captain Thire replacing Commander Thorn, and so on and so forth, the topic came to land on the 187th Legion, an advanced Legion under the Command of Jedi General Mace Windu. A unanimous decision between Generals and Commanders alike placed Shepard in command of the 187th, with a hefty promotion to Marshal Commander on the grounds of the Legion's need for self-sufficiency in the face of Windu's responsibilites as the head of Systems Army Alpha.

#### The 187th Legion, "Windu's Battalion"

Shepard's transition to his new position was brief, as he meshed well with the men under his command very quickly. He also requisitioned a new set of paratrooper armor, save for the helmet he brought from the 212th, which he painted and customized in Windu's signature purple.

Contrary to the belief that Shepard's men would not see Mace Windu often, they encountered him more often than they thought. Windu would often come to Shepard for status updates, mission assignments, and even just to bond with the men. Shepard would spar with him as he would with Kenobi, getting a feel for Windu's rather unusual lightsaber style, which he later learned from the General was one that he had created called Vapaad. Shepard was not as successful with Windu as he was with Kenobi, as Windu's swordsmanship outranked the clone *hard.*

 Windu's Battalion became known for difficult assignments, and operated under the same style that Shepard had implemented in the 212th, but on a larger scale. They had their successes, they had their failures, but they remained a tight-knit unit through thick and thin. Shepard heavily relied on every one of his men, notably Clone Lieutenant Law and his squad, and his appointed ARC Captain Walker, and counted on them to complete their objectives without a hitch.

The Battalion began frequenting operations with two other groups: The Special Operations Brigade, and the 909th Katarns. Shepard and the 909th's General Korvan Toldreyn grew to know each other decently well, bonding on their friendship with General Windu, and developed a decent leadership cohesion. He even took any chance he got to spar against Korvan, recognizing Windu's lightsaber style after their first deployment together. Shepard had few non-leadership interactions with Renegin, the Katarns' Padawan Commander, but watched his development with hope for a bright future.

Working with the Special Operations Brigade, on the other hand, led to Shepard travelling back to Coruscant numerous times for planning. There, he met a C-Sec Operative. A Chiss, strangely enough, by the name of Ceqi'zer'ari. The two grew a working partnership throughout his time there, as he directed troops to assist in her affairs while she handled most of the talking work. It got to a point where the two became near-inseparable, and when Shepard was seen on Coruscant, you could damn well bet that the little blue "Izera" was closely in front of him.

#### The Battle of Coruscant, and the Execution of Order 66

Windu's Legion were stationed at Coruscant after a successful campaign, resting and relaxing after a long stretch of hard work. Shepard was meeting with Windu and other members of command after the Chancellor's State of the Republic Address, when reports of the Seperatist fleet breaching Coruscant's fleet defenses came flooding in. Windu took command of an investigatory team, while Shepard mobilized his forces and positioned himself within the Special Operations Brigade Center, directing his men to assist in the defense of SOB units, and sent a detachment to assist CorSec in patrolling sectors, though he was hesitant to place his men under the command of other units.

His skepticism was proved valid during the ensuing battle. Shepard's men suffered heavy casualties as they were used as frontline defense, receiving little assistance from the other defenders. Shepard ended up commandeering many of the Special Operations Brigade's teams to ensure victory, as well as minimize the losses of his beloved men. In one sector under CorSec, ARC Captain Walker and three of the 187th's paratroopers were the only survivors of a three platoon-wide defense. Shepard expressed his fury towards Commander Fox, whom he had put so much faith in to defend the Capital of the Republic.

Post-battle, Shepard sent the 187th to assist in cleanup, security, and citizen's aid throughout Coruscant's sectors. He took the time to receive reports from different warfronts. He conferred with Commander Rex and Captain Vaughn on battle strategy for the newly formed 332nd's siege of Mandalore. He offered insight and wished luck on a paratrooper insertion strategy with General Kenobi, Commander Cody, and their new paratrooper Captain for the Battle of Utapau. He sent praise and wishes of luck to Korvan, Renegin, and the 909th in their previous and current affairs. After saying his goodbyes to General Windu, who was apparently investigating something with the chancellor, he recalled Captain Walker to discuss their next moves as the Clone Wars seemed to be coming to a steady decline, then slipped away to spend some time with Izera. The two spent a good while together before Shepard was ordered back to the SOB Headquarters, where Walker was still waiting. As soon as Shepard got to the command table, his holocommunicator pinged, and the Republic's fall began.

When Order 66 came, Shepard's men were ordered to integrate with the 501st Legion and assist in the termination of the Jedi Order. Shepard and Walker themselves were addressed by Palpatine specifically, ordering the pair to investigate and confirm the death of their close leader, Jedi General Mace Windu. Their programming, though both were resistant to it, took hold. They went into their search, spanning whatever nooks and crannies they could find. After hours searching the impact area and finding nothing, they were ready to report back to Sidious, but were met with a direct message from an ARC trooper working with the SOB, one that Shepard had worked with before. The message was security feeds from multiple sources in the area, showing exactly what had happened to Windu that warranted the search for him in the first place. A flow of memories this proof broke the two from the grip of their programming, emotions returning to them and flowing freely. Shepard and Walker decided then and there that they wanted no part of what was to come, and officially broke ties with the Galactic Republic, soon to become the Galactic Empire.

The pair stole Coruscant Guard Officer's armor, leaving some of the last remnants of the 187th escaped from the planet without a trace, and sat down with each other on what to do next. Walker decided that he would go and search for some of his old companions, other ARC troopers, and see what had become of them. Shepard decided that he had seen enough traces of the war, and decided that he would simply begin working against the Empire in whatever way he could, starting with some contracts posted by the Hutt Cartel to disrupt Imperial advances on their assets, and assisting a familiar Chiss with her work.

### Creating Connections and Finding a New Purpose

Shepard gained a bit of a positive standing with the Hutt Cartel, taking work that only aligned with his beliefs. While many ridiculed him for it, he knew that if what he was doing wasn't right, then he shouldn't be doing it. Bounties, smuggling, and security runs were his specialty, and he was damn good at it. He made a good living off of it, as well, having more credits from his work with the Hutts than he could ever need as a former Clone Commander. On the more covert side of things, he was contacted by Izera back on Coruscant.

#### Safe Passage

Shepard's return to Coruscant felt like a stab to the heart, all the memories of events before Order 66 flooding back. His mind flicked to the fates of his brothers that left the Empire after the order, as well as his former Generals. Kenobi, Windu, Toldreyn and Renegin, all assumed to be dust to the wind. The thoughts of the past were silenced by one of it's figures pulling Shepard into the shadows, as Izera embraced her friend for the first time in a long time.

After catching up, the two moved to an apartment that she was working out of. There, she explained her operations in Shepard's absence, which detailed tracking and smuggling surviving Jedi and younglings from their hiding spots and offworld. She was leading a cell of ex-Republic and C-Sec Officers that specialized in investigation, giving them an edge that they believed the Empire currently lacked. While the group, bar Izera didn't trust Shepard at first, they grew to admire and respect his skills. Shepard was a superb undercover trooper, and was able to spoof TK numbers and slink around undetected

Over time, the group's efforts bore some fruit, acting in secret as they assisted the few survivors they found offworld. Shepard and Izera even played part in the rescue of Cal Kestis providing information to starship Captain Greez Dritus and ex-Jedi Cere Junda companion as the former Padawan escaped the clutches of the inquisitorious. As time passed, survivors became more scarce, and the group began to seperate and go about their own lives. Shepard and Izera stayed in close contact, the two's bond having evolved over the span of the group's life.

#### The Son

To be continued as more of Blackedemics' memes are added to the lore