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Clone Generations

A clone generation refers to the year a clone was decanted (i.e., removed from his growth jar). A “Generation One” clone is a clone decanted in the first year of cloning in 32 BBY. Generation Two the second year, Generation Three the third year, and so on.

• Rex, Cody, Bly, Ponds, and Fox are examples of Generation One clones. They were around 20/10 years old by the time of the First Battle of Geonosis and 26/13 years old by Order 66.
• Jesse, Kix, Hardcase, Waxer, and Boil are examples of Generation Two clones. They were around 18/9 years old by the time of the First Battle of Geonosis and 24/12 years old by Order 66.
• Omega is technically a Generation Two clone, as she was decanted this year. However, as she ages normally, she was around 9 years old by the time of the First Battle of Geonosis and 12 years old by Order 66.
• Droidbait, Cutup, Hevy, Fives, and Echo are examples of Generation Three clones. They were around 16/8 years old by the time of the First Battle of Geonosis and around 22/11 years old by Order 66. (Those that survived to that point anyway.)
• Hunter, Tech, Wrecker, and Crosshair are all technically examples of Generation Four clones. They were around 14/7 years old by the time of the First Battle of Geonosis and 20/10 years old by Order 66.
• Tup and Dogma are examples of Generation Five clones. They were around 12/6 years old by the time of the First Battle of Geonosis and would have been 18/9 years old by Order 66 had they lived. 

It takes approximately 4 months (by our calendars, I'm not going to try and figure out Star Wars' Galactic Calendar) for infant clones to grow. The Kaminoan cloners managed over 600,000 “units” each year/generation, usually in three "rounds" of over 200,000 clones each. Meaning by the time the war started, there were over 6,000,000 clones living on Kamino.

Clone Unit Alpha (later renamed Boba Fett) was one of the first clones to be created, and was a pure genetic replication of Jango Fett, the Mandalorian bounty hunter selected to be the clones' genetic template. Alpha/Boba was created several weeks before the Generation One clones but was decanted alongside the second set of them. (The Null-Class Clones were created before Boba, but more on my version of them later.) 

The “200,000 units and a million more well on the way” Lama Su referred to in Attack of the Clones was in regard to the eldest Generation One clones, the rest of the (slightly younger) Generation One clones, and the Generation Two clones a year away from completing their training.

Initially, the Generation One and Two clones were sent out around the same time to fight as men were needed for the growing conflicts. But fairly quickly Kamino started to send out Generation Three clones as the Republic lowered the clone GAR graduation age to roughly 16/8 years old when casualties piled up. (For example, I see Jesse and Kix as being on the younger end of the Generation Two clones, but they were sent out just a little before the eldest Generation 3 clones, which is where I place Domino Squad.) The Jedi were strongly against this but they were overruled by the Chancellor and the Senate.

(In The Clone Wars, regarding the Senate ordering an additional five million clone troopers, yes it was stupid. New clones wouldn’t be combat-ready for eight years at least and all it did was screw up the banks, but that was the point. It was a placating measure for a fearful, frankly out-of-touch Senate who didn’t fully comprehend the logistics of the clone army and it granted Palpatine room to consolidate more power.)

"Improved" Genetics

Jango Fett was selected by Darth Tyranus/Count Dooku to act as the clone army's genetic template. However, the Kaminoan cloners made "improvements" to his genome when creating the clones in order to create perfect soldiers. The clones weren’t copies of Jango, but rather copies of the best genetically-possible version of Jango.

Changes the Kaminoan cloners made to Jango's genome for the average clone included (but are not limited to) as follows:

• Increased muscle mass
• Increased intelligence/memory
• Improved metabolisms
• Improved immune systems
• Increased lung capacity
• Improved reflexes and agility
• Improved stamina

That being said it wasn't completely uniform across the board— the Kaminoans would induce slight (and somewhat random) gene variations into various groups so a whole generation of clones wouldn’t be knocked out by disease or any other potential problems that arise when you have millions of genetically identical individuals. (Tipoca City was a super sterile environment but they didn’t get a reputation for being renowned cloners by being careless.) Because of this, these improved traits weren't always consistent and some clones were stronger or smarter than others. Doing this also caused mutations to occur, but more on that later. 

• They also did this to create different "stocks" of clones (again, more on that later), such as those that would be more suited for a command position rather than the rank and file. They did this rather than create a standard "command stock" group (like they would later do with Commandos, more on them in a bit) because the process for further specialization beyond the baseline enhancements was more complicated and expensive. They were already doing this for the Commandos and couldn't spare the time or expense for a second further enhanced group. It was more cost-effective to simply pull the best of the best from the genetically-"improved" base clone troopers to train for command positions.

Jango's allergies to flower pollen and tooka fur were removed, as was his mild astigmatism. 

Clones were carefully engineered to all have the same blood type so if a clone needed a blood transfusion or organ donation, another clone could be used as a donor. (Although, the organs mostly came from clones who had been "decommissioned.” Clones who received these organs tried hard not to think about it.) 

And given creating a mature clone soldier would take a lifetime otherwise, clones were engineered to age at twice the rate of a normal human. This caused them great agony during their adolescent years as they had monster growing pains. (But despite the way they are modeled in The Clone Wars, I headcanon that clones appeared as their actual physical age, at least when they first started out. Older clones, like in Generation One, tended to gain a few premature wrinkles and gray hairs from the stresses of war.)

That being said, their genetic improvements meant that even at age 16/8 clones were mostly physically mature, being roughly the same average height as their older brothers, having only slightly leaner muscle mass, and being able to grow a decent amount of facial hair. (I figure that some teens tend to look old for their age, and stressful environments can cause puberty to hit early— this would definitely be the case for clones receiving harsh war training from an early age.)

* * *

Clones were not bred to be sterile! In Legends canon, this was a common practice when making clones for other species, but doing so in humans displayed much higher rates of mental instability, poor unit cohesion, an inability to adapt and think creatively, and decreased aggressiveness in battlefield simulations. So for the Grand Army of the Republic, the Kaminoans skipped it so they would have effective soldiers.

That being said, it's been noted by others that the Kaminoans wouldn't want anyone else getting their hands on their copyrighted perfect Jango Fett DNA in any shape or form. As such, clones could have either been chemically sterilized or received vasectomies before being shipped out. 

(Of course, vasectomies are only 99% effective, so do with that headcanon option as you will.)

* * *

While all the clones had improved genes that made them ideal soldiers, Clone Commandos such as Gregor or Scorch had their improvements taken a step further.

They were the result of tinkering further with Jango's genes in an effort to create super soldiers. Their skills and physical abilities went far beyond that of other clones and made them ideal for the special forces. While eventually any clones who proved themselves capable could become ARC Troopers, to be a Commando they had to be bred for it. And, as I mentioned earlier, since it was more complicated/expensive than creating a base clone trooper there weren't as many of them. 

All of this genetic tinkering (for both base clones and Clone Commandos) would occasionally produce unforeseen but desirable mutations in the altered DNA sequences. Kamino's Chief Medical Scientist Nala Se would be tasked with isolating and enhancing these mutations in individual clones for further study. These experimental clones would eventually become Clone Force 99, or the Bad Batch. But more on them later.

* * *

Of course, all of these weren’t the only changes the Kaminoan cloners made to the clones' DNA, but we’ll get to that later.

Mutations

As a result of introducing slight gene variations and other genetic tinkering, mutations occasionally occurred in the clones.

The most common were purely cosmetic mutations from any recessive genes in Jango’s DNA. Clones would occasionally come out with different colored hair or eyes— the most common being blue eyes or pale blonde hair. Another common mutation was red hair, as a typical young clone cadet’s hair had a reddish tint but would sometimes stay that way instead of darkening with age. Clones would also come out with paler/darker skin, or would be taller/shorter than their brothers.

While not considered ideal, Kaminoan cloners generally accepted cosmetic mutations as being within “acceptable margins of genetic deviation.” They would keep a closer eye on these clones to see if their mutations were indicative of any future "defects," but otherwise treated them mostly the same as any other clone. (Which was not great to begin with, but more on that later.)

• That being said, there was a bias against them for being off-template, resulting in an expectation they wouldn’t succeed as well as their template-accurate brothers in certain areas. As a result, the Kaminoans judged those with cosmetic mutations more harshly or wouldn’t let them enter certain career tracks. (More on that later.)
• Clones who were visibly different from the template in general often faced ridicule and teasing from their brothers.

Clones with “non-ideal” mutations— improvements failing and resulting in poor eyesight, deafness, malformed appendages, etc.— that could not be fixed surgically or with gene therapy but who were otherwise healthy were relegated to maintenance and sanitation positions on Kamino. The Kaminoan cloners did have a quota to meet and cloning is expensive, so they couldn’t afford to be too picky about quality. And with all the extra lifeforms in Tipoca City they needed extra help to keep things clean and running.

Only clones decanted with extreme, debilitating mutations that were deemed not cost-effective to fix or viable for a sanitation/maintenance position were permanently disposed of, or “decommissioned." At least, at the offset and in the first years of life. There were other possible reasons for decommissioning later on in a clone’s life cycle (but more on that later).

Clone 99 (or rather, CT-9900), despite his mutation causing him to have a form of progeria, was the notable exception to this decommissioning practice as he was an experimental clone who had use to the Kaminoans despite his “defectiveness.” More on him later.

* * *

The rarest possible mutation that could occur among clones was that a clone would come out biologically female. It was so rare that it only happened twice.

The first was a third-round Generation One clone and was the result of a random mutation. Not being seen as viable for the army but still a curious specimen, she was eventually transferred to an off-planet colleague of Nala Se's named Dr. Royce Hemlock, and later given the name Emerie Karr.

The second was an experiment to create a largely unaltered clone that was receptive to a high M-Count transfer— she came out female also due to a random mutation and was given the designation Clone Unit Omega. (But more on her later.) 

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Clone "Stocks"

As mentioned in the previous section, clones weren't 100% identical across the board due to induced gene variations. As such, from the moment of decanting the Kaminoans would subject the clones to constant testing to determine what "stock" of clone they were.

Clones with cosmetic mutations were referred to as “Phenotypic Variant Stock."

• They were otherwise normal clones aside from their different hair, eyes, skin, or heights. Kaminoans kept a close eye on these clones to make sure their mutations weren’t indicative of any other future “defects.”
• They could simultaneously be General or Command Stock depending on where they placed in test scores. That being said, there was a bias against them for being off-template, even if there was nothing else “wrong” with them. No Phenotypic Variant in Command Stock ever ranked higher than a captain. (At least by the Kaminoans themselves.) Thus, they maintained a “CT” designation. 
• Rex/CT-7567 and Cut Lawquane are examples of this classification.

Clones with exceptionally high physical and intellectual scores— excelled in physical training, had keen minds for strategy and leadership, etc.— were labelled as “Command Stock.”

• They received extra training to become commanding officers in the army. (And thus were encouraged to be a little more independent than the average clone trooper.)
• Truly elite Command Stock received additional training to become the very first ARC Troopers, who would go on to train others of their stock and later, those who were promoted to ARC Trooper during the war. (But more on that later.)
• Clones in this stock who were put in the Commander Rank Track had a "CC" designation in their alphabetical-numerical designations. Otherwise, they kept their "CT" designation.
• Cody/CC-2224 and Gree/CC-1004 are examples of this classification.

Clones who didn't qualify for Command Stock and didn't have cosmetic mutations were labelled solely as "General Stock."

• There were various levels of General Stock, meaning some clones in this category were considered better than others and as a result they had a lot of different jobs available to them.
• For example, General Stock clones with high intelligence scores could be put on the Medical Track and train to be field medics and medical officers.
• Depending on their scores, General Stock clones could become pilots, stealth-op troopers, flight crew, infantry, navigation officers, equipment engineers, and so on.
• They made up the manpower of their units while Command Stock clones took over the leadership.
• They weren't expected by the Kaminoans to be anything more than that, but when the war actually started, many General Stock clones proved themselves on the battlefield and started climbing the ranks. It went to show that genetics and test scores weren't everything.
• They had a "CT" designation in their alphabetical-numerical designations. 
• Echo/CT-1409, Fives/CT-5555, and Jesse/CT-5597 are examples of this classification.

Clone Commandos were classified as "Elite Stock."

• As I mentioned before, they were specifically bred to be super soldiers in the Grand Army of the Republic. They had greatly enhanced physical abilities and skills when compared to an altered base clone trooper. 
• Like Command Stock, they also had a "CC" in their alphabetical-numerical designations. Unlike Command Stock, they had this designation regardless of if they were a commander or not. They could also have the designation "RC."
• Gregor/CC-5576-39 and Scorch/RC-1262 are examples of this classification.

Clones who were considered physically defective were referred to as, well, "Defective Stock."

• As I said in the previous section, they were clones who had non-ideal mutations that gave them bad eyesight, deafness, malformed appendages, etc., which were severe enough that the clones could not be “fixed” surgically or with gene therapy and sent back into General Stock. (But not severe enough that they were decommissioned immediately after decanting.) 
• Since they were otherwise healthy and obedient, they were relegated to maintenance and sanitation positions on Kamino.
• They were also referred to as "CT-99s" as they were usually given alphabetical-numerical designations with those numbers in them. It was basically Kaminoan short-hand for "this clone is mutated/defective."
• Other clones and trainers referred to them as “bad batchers.”
• Clone 99/CT-9900 and the Bad Batch (Hunter/CT-9901, Tech/CT-9902, Wrecker/CT-9903, and Crosshair/CT-9904) are examples of this classification.
• Although, they were a little bit different than typical Defective Stock. But more on them later. 

There was some crossover with stock classification.

• As mentioned earlier, Phenotypic Variants also found themselves among both the General Stock and Command Stock. (Usually General Stock.)
• Rex would be classified as both Phenotypic Variant and Command Stock given his hair and later position as a captain/ARC Trooper.
• The Bad Batch would be classified as both Elite and Defective Stock given their commando status as well as their mutations.

Frankly, the Kaminoans probably had more stock classifications and sub-classifications, but I'd be here all day if I tried listing them.

Nulls and Alphas/ARCs

From what I understand, in Legends Null-Class ARCs were black-ops clones who were the first ever clones produced and prototypes for the GAR, but were considered failures because they were just too independent and unstable. Meanwhile, the Alpha-Class ARCs were a group of 100 ARCs that followed the Nulls and were trained directly by Jango Fett. They were also more independent than the average clone but more obedient than Nulls. Both groups were specifically designed to have greater genetic enhancements than the average clone and independence. Given what current canon has established and I have personally established, they don't really... work. All the clones were more independent thinkers than what they designed for (as for why I think that was, stay tuned!) and had improved genes, so they don't stand out much in that regard. Not to mention the Bad Batch exists, and part of me wonders if they were based on the Null-Class clones. There are a lot of similarities.

But I know a lot of people like them, so I tried to reconcile their existences with what has been established. 

* * *

Null-Class Clones: The first twelve clones the Kaminoans made before Clone Unit Alpha/Boba Fett.

• They were a test to work out the kinks in improving Jango's DNA for the clone army.
• Only six survived incubation (the Nulls), and the six who perished were studied to refine the process and thus create the Clone Commandos and the rest of the clone army.
• It was quickly discovered that, while the Nulls had superior skills and physicality to the rest of their brothers, they were wilder. (Like the Bad Batch, their inhibitor chips were entirely non-functional.) They were fiercely independent and even had a few mental disorders among them as a result of their genetic modifications affecting their minds (just not in the way the Kaminoans wanted).
• The Kaminoans were going to decommission them and dissect their remains to see what went wrong but Kal Skirata intervened, offering to "buy" the Nulls (i.e., keep them in exchange for a lower salary as a trainer for the army).
• Lama Su agreed. Kal adopted the Nulls as his own sons and, when the war started, left Kamino with them to do their own thing, which is why we never see them in The Clone Wars.
• As they weren't officially part of the GAR and just thought to be "defective" by others, Dooku and Palpatine— being arrogant assholes— didn't see them as a threat to the Master Plan.

* * *

Alpha-Class Clones: A group of Generation One clones (not to be confused with Alpha/Boba) who were the elites among the Generation One Command Stock and the first to be trained as ARC Troopers. They were seen as the middle road between base clones and Clone Commandos.

• They were all trained directly by Jango Fett. He encouraged all of the Alpha-Class ARCs to be more independent and creative by the nature of their positions. This clashed heavily with the Kaminoans' preferred mental conditioning of the rest of the clones, but it was hard to argue with the results.
• They also received additional hormone therapy to increase their physical abilities. 
• After several years, Jango tasked the Alpha-Class with selecting one hundred other clones among the Command Stock to give ARC Trooper training to.
• The clones trained by the Alpha-Class included Bly/CC-5502 and Rex. They passed and earned the right to wear pauldrons and kama to signify their rank.
• That being said, ARC training under the Alpha-Class wasn't compulsory and not every Command Stock clone went through it— Cody is an example of this.
• (In Legends, Cody did have ARC training, but given he doesn't have a pauldron or kama, in the realm of my headcanons I'm going to say he abstained for personal reasons, which clones were not usually allowed to have. Maybe that's one of the reasons why.) 

For a long time it was regulation that a clone had to be Command Stock/in-training for a leadership position to be an ARC Trooper. But as the war began and ARC Trooper causalities piled up, clones among General Stock who proved themselves on the battlefield were given the option to be promoted to ARC Trooper and receive training for the position, like Echo, Fives, and Jesse.

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Inhibitor Chips/Behavioral Modification Biochips

The Behavioral Modification Biochips, made of specifically engineered cells, were implanted in every single clone embryo past stage three of development. In canon, the chips were ordered to be implanted at the behest of Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas as a failsafe against clones given orders by rogue Jedi. Apparently, it's common practice to put these chips inside of clones of any kind to maintain obedience and preferred behavior. When Dooku and Palpatine took over, they retooled them so they would force clones to comply with Order 66, snatching away with their free will.

In Attack of the Clones, Lama Su said the clones were modified to be more docile and less independent than Jango Fett, and that they would follow any order given to them without question. The biochips were how they accomplished this. The biochip is essentially meant to be lobotomizing clones without cutting anything out and allowing the Kaminoan cloners to better manipulate their thought processes and brain chemistry. After all, it's hard to be angry that you're slave soldiers or think of betraying the GAR if you're incapable of getting worked up about anything. (Remember those episodes of Justice League where an evil alternate Superman used his heat vision on villains to lobotomize them? To the Kaminoans, ideally the clones would be more like those villains emotionally.)

And had the biochips remained unaltered and had maintained their original purpose under Sifo-Dyas, that would have been completely the case. But in making the chips ready for Order 66, they ended up sacrificing a lot of the chips' primary functions. As a result, the clones were a lot more independent and capable of free thought than advertised, as we plainly see in The Clone Wars. Lama Su and Nala Se likely warned Dooku about this being the case, but being the arrogant assholes that they are Dooku and Palpatine didn't care and told them to modify the biochips while subtly threatening them to make sure the clones were "trained" well enough to make up for these changes. (More on that later.) 

* * *

I'm not going to claim I completely understand how the brain works, but from what I was able to research, a person's thoughts are formed through a complex network of neurons firing electrical impulses and releasing chemicals called neurotransmitters, which essentially act as messengers to communicate between different brain cells, creating pathways that represent and process information from our senses and memories, ultimately leading to the formation of a thought.

Here's how I see things: the biochip, after its modification by Dooku and Palpatine, allowed them to hijack these impulses and overwrite them with pre-programmed ones by locking on to neural pathways created during "mental conditioning" (more on that later). The chip would only fully activate when Palpatine gave a verbal command— i.e., "Execute Order 66." (And only Palpatine— he was the only one who could give Order 66 and have it be followed without question. In canon, a Jedi survivor named Ferren Barr would trigger it later in some Purge Troopers to attack Inquisitors, but he could only do it using a Jedi mind trick.) 

The new impulses provided by Order 66 made the clones think the following:

• The Jedi were traitors to the Republic and had to be executed at any cost.
• Any clone who didn't follow the command had to be executed at any cost.
• Anakin Skywalker was to be left unharmed. (Note that when Tup's biochip activated prematurely, he ignored Anakin and went straight for Tiplee.)
• Chancellor Palpatine was to be addressed as "my lord" or "Lord Sidious" (because the man is petty and vain as hell).

And of course: 

• GOOD SOLDIERS FOLLOW ORDERS. The clones were to obey any order given to them without question. They were soldiers, nothing more. Nothing else mattered.

(Canonically, there were 150 executive contingency orders taught to the clone troopers. Orders to throw away comms, to perform an orbital bombardment on enemy planets, and even an order to remove the Chancellor from office if the Senate deemed him unfit. Order 66 was the only one that used the biochip and completely controlled the clones. But after Order 66 was activated, I don't think it's a stretch that the clones would be compelled to completely obey any of the other contingency orders thanks to GOOD SOLDIERS FOLLOW ORDERS). 

However, I headcanon that the biochips also allowed Palpatine to impose his will over the clones in another way.

• He could also use the biochips to put the clones into a temporary "standby mode" where they weren't aware of their surroundings and became more susceptible to Force suggestions and false memories. For example: "Hey, remember that clone we were supposed to be questioning? Well, he totally attacked me out of nowhere. I didn't do anything to make him upset at me. Clearly removing his chip has made him deranged. Please go hunt him down."
• Palpatine likely did this frequently to the clones of the Coruscant Guard to keep them under his control and to cover up some of his more suspicious actions. The Coruscant Guard was conditioned to be loyal to Palpatine first and foremost, but I don't doubt he made sure to cover his bases.

* * *

However, the biochips were not foolproof. Beyond observing the clones' behavior while training and conditioning them (more on that later), there was no real way for the Kaminoans to know if the biochips were working properly until the moment they actually activated. When the time came for Order 66, there were cases where the biochip only partially worked when first activated in some of the clones, like Crosshair. There were cases where it didn't work at all like the rest of the Bad Batch. Both cases were incredibly rare though and when they did happen, it was in clones who either suffered a severe head injury in the past that damaged the biochip, whose conditioned neural pathways weren’t developed enough for the biochip to lock on to properly, or were mutated to the point their brain chemistry wasn't completely compatible with the biochip anymore. The Bad Batch only resisted because they were a combination of the last two.

Otherwise, the programmed impulses were just too strong to resist for the vast majority of clones. Even ones who had more independence from the start, like Command Stock and ARC Troopers. At least, when Order 66 first went out.

For you see, Order 66 was the largest function programmed into the biochips. Overwriting the clones' thoughts and personalities took a lot of power within the biochips to complete and maintain. Thus after the order was finally given, the biochip slowly started to lose effectiveness in many of the clones. As the months and years passed, many started to question why they killed their Jedi and why they followed every single terrible order without question— such as Commander Grey or Commander Cody. But this was not a guarantee— there were just as many clones where the biochip remained functional for decades after the fact, though they were known to suffer from paranoia and psychosis as they got older.  

* * *

While the biochips' programming remained dormant in a clone's brain, the stored impulses still had an effect on a clone's subconscious mind. This commonly manifested in terrible nightmares about killing their Jedi.

Prior to Order 66, clones who had gotten interested in psychology theorized that it was a result of a secret, unrealized resentment toward Jedi because technically, the Jedi "ordered" them for the war and thus "owned" them. Other clones who deeply adored their Jedi argued heavily against the theory.

But it was universally agreed among clones that they were not to mention any of this to the Jedi, Kaminoans, or "natborn" superiors. The clones' selling point was their complete loyalty to the Jedi and the Republic— the clones believed their nightmares would be seen as grounds to decommission them.

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Kaminoan Treatment and Conditioning of the Clones

The Kaminoans saw the clones as products, not people.

It's why, canonically, the clones had alphabetical-numerical codes instead of actual names. It was in order to remove any sense of individual identity, and any form of individualism was likely heavily discouraged as the Kaminoans reinforced the idea that the clones weren't people. They were products, cogs in the machine.

• This didn't prevent the clones from making up nicknames for themselves in private, but more on that later. 

And those alphabetical-numerical codes were probably a lot longer than the 4-digit ones we usually saw, with nods to generation, round, decanting batch, extraction group, clone number within the decanting batch, stock, etc. It was just easier to say the last four or so digits. I will now proceed to attempt to make sense of a nonsensical number system: 

In a round there were 20 decanting batches made up of roughly around 9,799 clones each, with extraction groups within those batches containing over 750 clones. However, numbering for the extraction groups started at 20 and ended at 32. Why? Either because that's just how the Kaminoans rolled or it was the only way I could make Fives and Echo's numbers work. 

• For example, Rex's full number was probably something like CT-01-01-17-30-7567-9850. First generation, first round, seventeenth decanting batch, extraction group thirty, clone number seven thousand-five hundred-sixty-seven, Variant Stock/Command Stock.
• Fives could be CT-03-01-05-27-5555-75. Third generation, first round, fifth decanting batch, extraction group twenty-seven, clone number five thousand-five hundred-fifty-five, General Stock.
• Echo could be CT-03-01-05-21-1409-75. Third generation, first round, fifth decanting batch, extraction group twenty-one, clone number one thousand-four hundred-zero-nine, General Stock. (And yes, I know his number was originally CT-21-0408 but they then changed it to CT-1409 so I just decided to mash them together for the sake of my sanity.)
• Defective Stock clones were given shorter, simpler numbers since there were fewer of them and they weren't considered viable for the army. For example, they could have a number like CT-0046-99. Clone number forty-six, Defective Stock. (Which is where "defective" clones got their nickname of "CT-99s.")
• The Bad Batch were also exceptions to the numbering system due to their positions as experimental clones. With clone numbering ending at 9,799 (since numbers starting with 98 or 99 were considered shorthand for Phenotypic Variant or Defective Stock), Nala Se gave all experimental clones numbers in the 9900s. For example, Hunter was simply CT-9901, nothing else. 
• Clones who had a 00 in their extraction group slot were clones who previously went through reconditioning. (Which is how I explain CT-00-2010, AKA Droidbait. More on than later.) 

Canonically, clones are implanted with an ID code chip in their left wrist, the spot marked with a faint iridescent tattoo (similar to a barcode). I headcanon it was a subcutaneous chip implanted immediately after clones were decanted, with the tattoo being added when they reached age 10/5. It was impossible to remove and, when scanned, the ID code chips revealed the clone's designation, rank, service record, and medical records. The Kaminoans used these ID code chips to tell individual clones apart at times when there were no other indicators. And before the war, there typically weren't any, not even nametags on clothes because it was too much trouble to make individual nametags (or rather, alphabetical-numerical designation tags) for millions of clones. The ID code chips were seen as more efficient.

And since the clones were not seen as people, the Kaminoans acted indifferent at best and cold at worst to them. They weren't the clones' parents or caretakers, they were the clones' creators and handlers and they acted accordingly.

• If the clones got treated even remotely as people by anyone besides each other, it was by select Mandalorians among the people Jango Fett hired to train the clones before the war, and later the Jedi when they finally arrived on Kamino and bounty hunters the Republic brought in to train the clones after the war started. 
• Even then, the Kaminoans discouraged all trainers from getting too close to the clones, reminding them they were there to prepare the clones for war, not be their friends or parents.
• (Some of the trainers ignored them, as much as they could anyway.)
• (When she arrived to help train the clones, Shaak Ti definitely ignored them.)
• But as a result, growing up the majority of clones in the army were largely deprived of any kind of warmth or affection beyond what they got from their brothers. 

There are common headcanons floating around that the clones faced harsh physical punishments at the hands of the Kaminoans and the trainers they hired, but it's likely that wasn't entirely the case. Remember, the clones were seen as products, and the Kaminoans wouldn't want to hand over a damaged product to a client as prestigious as the Jedi Order (under the assumption most of the Kaminoans didn't know about Darth Tyranus. Lama Su, Nala Se, and Taun We were likely the only ones with any inkling of what was actually going on, and even then they didn't have the whole story). 

In order to provide the best possible "product," the clones' physical health was obsessed over. There would be regular blood tests to check their nutrient levels and that their improved immune systems were working at optimal levels, regular checkups to determine they were in the proper weight and height ranges for their age groups, regular reflex/sight/hearing tests to determine if those were developing according to their standards, specially designed diet plans to ensure optimal muscle and skeletal growth, UV treatments and Vitamin D tablets to make up for Kamino’s lack of sunlight, vaccinations for every conceivable disease in the galaxy, and more. Even how often a clone was using the bathroom was reported on and the clones didn't even have private showers! The Kaminoans cleaned clones using large rooms that acted as giant sonic showers that could sanitize dozens of clones at a time. (Think of that prison scene in Andor.) Kamino may have had an abundance of water, but this method was seen as more efficient and sanitary. As far as the Kaminoans were concerned, the clones had no privacy and no bodily autonomy.

• (That last part definitely changed after the Jedi got involved, but more on that later.)

Not to say the clones were treated like they were made of glass. The clones were being trained as soldiers, and that training was both constant and very physically taxing (more on that later). Injuries were common and expected, but the Kaminoans were sure to treat them immediately as not to impede their future ability to be soldiers.

If there were any kind of physical punishments, it was at the hands of the clones' trainers before the war started. That could range from being forced to do physical exercises to the point of exhaustion/passing out to receiving a beating— it depended on the individual. The Kaminoans did dock the pay of any trainer who seriously "damaged" any of the clones, so the trainers that did take it upon themselves to personally punish clones usually kept it to a minimum, such as a few punches/kicks to the stomach (as we see with Bric and Cutup in "Clone Cadets"). 

• That being said, there were a few trainers who definitely took corporal punishment further than a punch to the stomach. And they didn’t always get caught.
• (Again, some of that definitely changed after the Jedi got involved, but more on that later.) 
• (And not to say all the trainers even took part in extreme physical punishments. Some did assign extra exercises and drills, but they were more reasonable amounts and they also did more mundane things like forcing clones to copy regulation manuals by hand or cleaning refreshers with the space opera-equivalent of toothbrushes.)

That all being said— while the Kaminoans did not partake in physical abuse of the clones (outside of what was deemed "training," because an argument could be made that some of that was abuse), they regularly put the clones through verbal and psychological abuse.

The Kaminoans called it "mental conditioning."

* * *

Clones were canonically (yes, I am using that word a lot here— the Kaminoans were so awful I don't have to headcanon much about just how awful they were) subjected constantly to rigorous training, simulations, and testing.

"Mental conditioning" for obedience and loyalty was also a part of this— which is a nice way of saying brainwashing. Normally the biochips would have handled most of the clones' proclaimed obedience and docility, but modifying the biochips for Order 66 reduced that ability and thus the clones were more independent and free-thinking than advertised. Dooku (and Palpatine) warned the Kaminoans that they better make up for that or else. As a result, the Kaminoans were very paranoid about the clones' biochips working and that they were responding to mental conditioning.

The clones were put through various programs that conditioned them and cemented several beliefs/behaviors:

• Obedience when given orders. 
• Military-grade discipline and self-control. 
• Loyalty to the Republic— to die for the mission and the war if necessary.
• Loyalty to the Jedi— to obey them and die for them if necessary. 
• They were soldiers and that was all they needed to be. They were bred for war. They were expendable and ultimately replaceable, especially when compared to a Jedi. It was an honor to live for and die for the Republic and the Jedi. 

This was achieved in a variety of ways, from being overtly told these things in classes, to training certain behaviors and reactions in the clones during training/simulations, to subliminal messaging through flash-training/learning modules. Most aspects of a clone's life contained some form of mental conditioning to prepare them to be obedient soldiers. And thus a close eye was kept on clones who showed too much willfulness, rebelliousness, anger, or any other emotion or behavior the Kaminoans saw as problematic. This also included clones who couldn't keep up in combat training due to not being able to take instruction well or work together with their fellow clones. 

The biochips' ability to overtake a clone's mind relied on hijacking the neural pathways created during mental conditioning, and even helped them form more easily. All of the above examples were considered signs that the biochip wasn't operating correctly and the clone was potentially "defective." A common (and again, canonical, because damn these guys were terrible) punishment was putting a clone into a retraining pod, which was essentially an isolation tank. The clone would be cut off from the outside world and forced to perform hours upon hours of tedious mental exercises (which I figure included more overt and subliminal messaging) until released.

• "Defective behavior" was a bigger "problem" in earlier clone generations as the Kaminoan cloners were fine-tuning some of the processes of the biochip and training, as well as the fact the Command Stock and the first/later ARC Troopers were encouraged to think more creatively and independently by nature of their positions. It clashed with what the Kaminoans wanted to achieve, but it was hard to argue with the results. 
• Subsequently though, later clone generations were subjected to even harsher conditioning to make up for it (which is how we got clones like Dogma.)

Any clone who showed repeat "defective behavior" despite the retraining pods or other mental conditioning programs was slated for disposal/"decommissioning." I.e., they were killed and their blood/organs were harvested for later medical use. The Kaminoans even made sure to verbally threaten decommissioning so the clones knew exactly what they were in for if they kept resisting their conditioning.

There was already a stigma against "defectiveness," as Defective Stock clones got relegated to sanitation/maintenance positions. For clones bred to be soldiers, this was seen by many of them as not fulfilling their intended purpose and being given a pity position. However, being the kind of "defective" that got them decommissioned was even worse— at least in sanitation they lived and still had a purpose. Being decommissioned meant that they were unwanted, unneeded, and a complete and utter failure at the one thing they were created to be. They were better off as spare blood and body parts than serving the Republic, the Jedi, and their brothers on the battlefield. 

"Defective" became the ultimate insult between clones, and offenders often got punched in the face for it during combat training, in the cadet dorms when the Kaminoans weren’t watching, or in the barracks after light's out once the war started. 

As a result of this stigma and the Kaminoans' actions, clones who were resistant to the mental conditioning learned very quickly to put on an act if they wanted to avoid such a fate, and the fear of being labeled "defective" persisted even after the war began.

• Clones were not supposed to feel excessive sorrow or frustration or stress. They were "bred" to withstand all that. Clones who broke down and succumbed to any of those emotions after being deployed were seen as potentially "defective" by other clones. 
• For example: Chopper, who took droid fingers and strung them into a necklace because he felt he was owed that much. Another member of his squad claimed that he "always knew (Chopper) was defective" in response. 
• Not to say other clones were entirely unsympathetic to each other. It was a common practice for clones to cover for each other, either by talking in private about how they felt or just outright ignoring "defective behavior" when it became apparent. Bringing any attention to "defective behavior" meant there was a chance the Kaminoans would catch wind of it and send the clone to be "reconditioned" (again, more on that later) or decommissioned. It was largely seen as kinder (and safer) to let their brothers work things out on their own. 
• Overall, clones were very good at compartmentalization and big subscribers to "I'll keep all my emotions right here and one day I'll die."
• (Again again, that definitely changed after the Jedi got involved, but more on that later.) 

* * *

The way I see it, the Kaminoans could excuse a lot of physical "problems" with a clone in order to meet their quota. The clone is blonde? Droids won't care what color a soldier's hair is, and they wear helmets anyway. Clone isn't as strong or as skilled? Keep them in the rank and file infantry, they'll still have use there. Clone was decanted near-sighted? Give them laser eye surgery and put them on the field, or give them glasses and assign them to maintenance/sanitation, they still follow orders well and can be of use there.

What they couldn't excuse or allow was continued disloyalty, rebellion, and disobedience— not when their top selling point was the absolute obedience of clone troopers, and not when Darth Tyranus (and Darth Sidious) had so much riding on the eventual activation of Order 66. It was easier to kill those clones than (by their point of view) keep wasting time on them.

A notable exception to the practice of decommissioning disobedient clones was the Bad Batch, but more on them later.

Jedi Arrival and Change, Good and Bad

As I have stated multiple times across this section, much of this changed when the Jedi Order got involved. Shaak Ti and the Jedi Council were horrified by the decommissioning protocols (even if they didn't know the full reason behind them) and put a stop to as much of it as they were allowed. And given they were technically the Kaminoans' clients (despite not knowing they were the clients until Obi-Wan's Kenobi's discovery of Sifo-Dyas' actions), the Kaminoans had no choice but to respect their wishes— if only to keep up appearances if nothing else.  

Several new protocols were put into place:

• Clones who failed training due to "defective behavior" (disobedience, not taking instruction, not working together with other clones, etc.) were assigned to maintenance/sanitation instead of decommissioning. This was almost the case with Domino Squad. 
• Some clones, while grateful they weren't being killed anymore, resented this change as they wanted to join their brothers on the battlefield, not be stuck with all the Defective Stock clones they teased and resented while growing up. (After 99's sacrifice though, Cody convinced the Kaminoans and the GAR that even "defective" clones, be it personality or genetically, had use in the army. But more on that later.)
• Trainers were no longer allowed to punish clones with exercises until exhaustion/passing out, and the Jedi cracked down on any other corporal punishment they gave. (Not to say some didn't still slip through the cracks. Again, the example of Bric and Cutup.)
• Use of the retraining pods was severely restricted. The Jedi weren't allowed to end their use completely, as the Kaminoans convinced the Grand Army of the Republic and the Chancellor (not that Palpatine needed any real convincing) they were essential in creating loyal and obedient clones. But they were no longer used as liberally. 

The Jedi additionally encouraged individuality in the clone troopers. They started using their preferred names and reinforced the idea they were not expendable and replaceable (the latter of which was very hard and slow-going to achieve). They encouraged the clones' right to privacy and bodily autonomy, such as allowing tattoos and non-regulation haircuts. They even tried to talk to them about their feelings and how the war was affecting them. Clones were initially defensive about this and claimed they were fine, but little by little over the course of the war the Jedi got them to open up. (More about all of this later though.) 

• At the beginning of the war, Rex would have never openly punched Crosshair for his words or been comfortable confessing to Anakin that he wanted a chance to get at least one of his lost brothers back. By Skako Minor, he was. 

The Jedi Order's actions drove the Kaminoans crazy as they felt it was undoing all their hard work in making sure the clones would be perfect products/obedient soldiers. So naturally, the Kaminoans decided to find ways around it.

* * *

Even before the Jedi showed up and started shaking the status quo, the Kaminoans were developing other ways to use the biochips to modify a clone’s behavior. After the war began, the Kaminoans started utilizing mind-wiping— using the biochips' ability to overwrite thought processes to erase a clone's memories of their identity. This became known as "reconditioning."

• Once reconditioned, a clone would go through a harsh retraining course and then either be sent back out into the field, or reassigned to a maintenance/sanitation position. Nala Se attempted to do the latter to Fives in the Orders Arc.
• Mind-wiping/reconditioning was a painful process, and not every clone survived it— though the Kaminoans covered up any deaths that occurred.
• This was done to a few clones before the war as the Kaminoans tested the process. One of them, as I mentioned earlier, was Droidbait of Domino Squad. 
• And it's what Royce Hemlock was trying to do to the Bad Batch in the series finale. However, since they had removed their chips, it wasn't working as well and he had to make "alterations to his methods." 

Reconditioning was seen as worse than decommissioning by many clones, because if they were decommissioned they at least died as themselves. But if they were reconditioned, it erased the hard-earned identity they worked so hard to develop. The practice for covering for brothers’ “defective behavior” grew even more prevalent as a result.

Additionally, a way to strengthen the programmed impulses the biochip sent out was discovered, though only after the death of Tup when they studied his corpse and biochip. Before Tup, there was no standard for or record of a biochip partially working. The impulse-strengthening process was performed on Crosshair in the first episode of The Bad Batch.

The Jedi, while they didn't know about the existence of the biochips until everything with Tup and Fives, did know mind-wiping/reconditioning happened. The Kaminoans even presented it to the Chancellor, the Senate, and the GAR as a compromise between the Jedi's desire to end decommissioning and the need to ensure obedient clone soldiers. The Jedi were against it but the Chancellor/Senate and the GAR had final say on their soldiers while the Kaminoans had final say on the quality of their "products"— they reserved the right to "recall their product" if needed.

The idea of the advertised perfectly loyal and obedient soldiers possibly betraying the Republic was something the government didn't want to risk (Palpatine especially for obvious reasons). And if they weren't going to kill them, reconditioning was the next best thing.

The Jedi had great influence in how the clone troopers were treated. Making sure they were treated well was one of the reasons they agreed to join the war. But that influence only went so far.

Chapter Text

First Years of Life

It was a long, ten-year road to the Clone War, and life for the clones was far from easy even before the battles began. So naturally I’m going to take you through it step by step.

As I mentioned in the first section, it took approximately 4 months for infant clones to grow, after which they would be decanted (i.e., removed from their growth jars). Once decanted, the infant clones (called “decants” by the Kaminoans and later “tubies” by older clones) would be implanted with an ID code chip in their left wrist, grouped into cohorts of several hundred clones, and brought to one of Kamino’s numerous clone nurseries.

Decants/Tubies would remain in the nursery until they were approximately 2 years old, or 4 years old biologically.

• While there were a few Kaminoan overseers, most of their care (feeding, changing, etc.) would be handled by automated systems and specially designed droids.
• There were thousands of clones who needed tending to and everything was completed with peak efficiency in mind. As such, there wasn’t much room for warmth or affection for the infants.
• (Although several years later, older clones in the Medical Track would take shifts in the nursery to help care for their younger brothers. It was a popular duty among the future field medics and medical officers, and they would sometimes ask for volunteers from other tracks just so more brothers would have a chance to care for the tubies and show them the warmth they didn’t get themselves.)

During this two-year period, their milestones were carefully monitored and analyzed to make sure there were no developmental delays or potential “defects.” The tubies would have strict physical regimens to strengthen core muscles and eventually develop the ability to crawl then walk. They would also be presented with a learning module that helped develop their ability to speak— the module was based on Jango Fett’s own speech patterns, which is why all the clones had his accent.

As they reached toddler-equivalency, tubies were constantly given puzzles and flash-learning modules to stimulate their rapidly developing brains. Neurological development was of great importance to the Kaminoans— otherwise they’d be providing an army of grown men with the minds of children. Part of the reason clones were modified to have increased intelligence and memory was so they would have heightened data-processing abilities and thus be more receptive to flash-learning/training.

Special attention was given to clones who reached their milestones the fastest and excelled at the puzzles/learning modules. They were clocked as being potential Command Stock.

This would continue until the tubies reached age 4/2, after the which they would leave the nursery, be given their pale blue uniforms, and move to the juvenile barracks.

* * *

From age 4/2 to age 10/5, young clones (referred to as littles by older clones) would begin their considerable education under the Kaminoans.

Canonically, clone classes were very intense, utilizing screens and focus-enhancing helmets that aided in memorizing information. The littles would be assigned to an odd class or an even class (with a gold or black fitting on the helmet respectively to signify the class) to foster a sense of teamwork and competitiveness.

• I headcanon that clones would also learn to write during this period, and be trained to become ambidextrous in preparation for the army. It was seen as crucial they be able to use their other hand if the dominant one was put out of commission once they became soldiers.

I imagine through the use of screens, focus-enhancing helmets, and flash-learning modules, the littles would begin learning a variety of subjects. Given their very short childhoods, clones had many things they needed to learn in a limited amount of time before their training truly began. This included but was not limited to:

• Mathematics
• Galactic history and law
• Military history and law
• Sciences
• Strategy and combat tactics
• And just about anything else they would need to know as a soldier.

They were regularly tested and re-tested on their knowledge, and the odd/even classes would be pitted against each other to have the best scores. The “winning” class received a small reward, usually in the form of a piece of candied fruit. (Of course they were still completely nutritionally balanced, the Kaminoans obsessed over the clones’ nutrient levels.)

The littles would also be given simulations to complete and more advanced puzzles to solve to develop their problem-solving abilities and logical reasoning. It would also develop their teamwork if they were assigned work alongside their brothers.

• The simulations served as introductions to combat situations, such as being given a hypothetical battle in a certain environment with certain obstacles in place, and then planning a battle strategy for it.
• The puzzles included deciphering codes, finding patterns, introductions to slicing/hacking, and memorization games.

The clones would also begin rudimentary physical training during this three-year period, usually in the form of obstacle courses and learning the basics of close quarters combat (CQC).

• Again, the odd/even classes would be pitted against other to complete obstacle courses in the fastest times, either as individuals or by working in teams.
• Learning basic CQC was where clones would usually first meet the members of the Cuy’val Dar— one hundred men and women Jango Fett summoned to Kamino to aid in training the clone army, such as Kal Skirata or Dred Priest. (Of these one hundred men and women, seventy-five were also Mandalorian. But more on them later.)

And again, special attention was given to clones who excelled at simulations, puzzles, obstacles courses, basic CQC, and leadership in teamwork scenarios. They were usually the tubies who reached their milestones first back in the nursery and further proved their potential as Command Stock.  

All of this would continue until the clones reached age 10/5, after which they would officially become cadets. They would receive new red and blue uniforms, the faint iridescent tattoo marking the location of their ID code chips on their left wrists, and then be moved into the cadet barracks.

Training to Be Soldiers

There were two phases to being a cadet: junior cadets and senior cadets. Time as a junior cadet usually ran from ages 10/5 to 16/8, while time as a senior cadet ran from age 16/8 to graduation at age 20/10.

Once junior cadets, clones were officially classified as either General or Command Stock based on their test scores— both intellectual and physical— from the previous five years. (The exceptions to this were the Elite and Phenotypic Variant/Defective Stock clones. Elite Stock were specifically bred to be Commandos so their stock was known from the beginning. Meanwhile, Phenotypic Variant/Defective Stock were usually clocked within the first five years due to physical differences.)

After junior cadets had their stock classification, they were sorted further into training groups of five (known as “batches”), which was again based on their test scores from the previous five years. (This was again meant to foster cooperation and teamwork among clones.) A clone’s “batchers” or “batchmates” might have been from either the same or different decanting batches or extraction groups, but they were usually from the same generation and round.

• A “batch” could refer to both the group a clone was decanted with and the group they trained with. It was not uncommon for clones to be close with brothers in both their “decanting batch” and their “training batch.” 
• Clones would usually remain with their training batch until graduation, and often got put into the same army units. There were note exceptions though…

After all the sorting was done, they were given bunks next to each other in the cadet barracks and their training began in earnest. And from that moment, training was nonstop. There were many areas to cadets’ training— all clones regardless of stock or career track were trained in the following:

• Weapons handling
• Marksmanship
• Endurance
• Drills
• Close quarters combat (intensified and expanded on from when they were younger)
• Demolitions and ordinance
• Basic first aid/triage
• Basic slicing/hacking
• Basic stealth
• Combat tactics/strategy (intensified and expanded on from when they were younger)
• Interrogation techniques
• Military regulations, ethics, protocols, code of conduct, etc.
• And anything else the Kaminoans deemed essential for a soldier to know.

All practical training was supplemented with flash-training modules in order to help the clones accumulate the necessary knowledge and skills at an accelerated rate.

If Command Stock, a clone would begin additional training courses in tandem with these universal training courses in preparation for future leadership positions— Marshall Commanders, Commanders, Captains, Lieutenants, and Sergeants.

• Among the Generation One clones, the 100 most elite of the Command Stock were chosen to be the first ARC Troopers— they became known as the Alpha-Class and trained directly under Jango Fett.
• After four years, Jango tasked the Alpha-Class ARCs with selecting another 100 members of the Command Stock to themselves train as ARC Troopers.

After the first six months of training was completed, General and Command Stock clones were sorted further into different possible career tracks based on their test/training scores, and would receive supplemental training courses on top of the universal training courses.

• For example, I’ve mentioned before that those who had high intelligence scores and excelled in the basic first aid courses could be sorted into the Medical Track to become field medics and medical officers.
• While all clones took part in flight simulators, clones who excelled in them were moved to the Pilot Track.
• Clones with high intelligence scores who were skilled in slicing/hacking, even from as far back as the odd/even classes, were moved into the Slicer Track and became part of Intelligence Units when the war started.
• Clones skilled with explosives joined the Demolitions Track, which could produce demolition squads or bomb-defusal squads.

These are just a few examples, but there were many career tracks a clone could enter. That being said, many of the tracks had a minimum intelligence/physical training score that had to be met before a clone was allowed in it. For example, if a clone was a good slicer but didn’t meet the minimum intelligence score, they weren’t sorted into the Slicer Track.

Meanwhile, after the first six months of training Command Stock clones were also sorted into additional leadership career tracks based on their test/training scores.

• All Command Stock were considered on the same level when first sorted into their stock. It was only over these six months and with more in-depth testing that their ranks were decided. Command training batches would often have multiple different ranks within them, creating a sort of command structure within them.
• Clones sorted into the Marshall Commander or Commander Rank Track had their designations changed from “CT” to “CC.”

• Due to the bias against them for being off-template, Phenotypic Variant Command Stock were never sorted by the Kaminoans into anything higher than the Captain Rank Track. The Kaminoans did, however, allow them to become ARC Troopers (… with some convincing by the Alpha-Class ARCs and clones in the Marshall Commander Rank Track).
• However, some were promoted to Commander by the GAR after the war started, like Rex during the Siege of Mandalore.

After the first three years of training, clones became senior cadets and received new red uniforms. While continuing the previously mentioned training courses, they were given chances to actually apply it in combat scenarios.

• Senior cadets were given training armor and started running real-life battle simulations in one of Kamino’s various training courses, such as the Citadel course we see in “Clone Cadets.”
• They would participate in practice patrols around Kamino, and be tasked with training junior cadets in order to aid the trainers the Kaminoans hired.
• When the Generation One Command Stock senior cadets were age 18/9, the Alpha-Class ARCs selected 100 of them to themselves train as ARCs. It wasn’t compulsory though, so some clones turned it down and their spots were filled by others.

By the time they were 20/10 years old, they would graduate, receive their Phase 1 armor, and be considered ready for the war when it started.

* * *

Granted, as I mentioned before this entire process— from decanting to graduation— changed a lot after the war started, but more on that later.

Chapter Text

Struggles

While the previous section may be the general overview of how clones grew up and started training, it only gives the barest idea of how difficult it was for them. Let’s change that!

It started as far back as when the clones were tubies. As I mentioned before, most of their care was handled by automated systems and droids. (And not any loveable droids like we come to know in Star Wars.) Baby clones didn’t get any affection from the Kaminoans, and from an early age, clones learned it was pointless to cry because it wasn’t going to get them any sympathy. By the time they were adults, crying was seen as a defective behavior and they did their best to avoid it (at least before the Jedi got involved as I’ve mentioned before, but more on that later).

Arguably, that could be seen as the earliest form of mental conditioning the clones went through. But it was after they left the nursery and began their education as littles that the mental conditioning for loyalty and obedience got into full swing.

• Every morning the young clones would swear an oath to the Republic (kind of like the pledge of allegiance American kids say in real life).
• They would learn about the Republic— planets who were members, the history of the Republic, Republic law, civilian ethics, etc. It was constantly reinforced out loud and in lessons the importance of serving the Republic and protecting its people and ideals no matter the cost.
• Clones would also first learn of the Jedi Order during this time. This included the history of how the Jedi Order was formed, the basic tenets of their belief system, what powers they were known to possess, and the fact that the clones were made for the Jedi. As far as the clones knew, the Jedi Order were the ones who ordered their creation in preparation for a future war. As such, it was the clones’ purpose to serve them. They would protect the Jedi, help the Jedi protect the Republic, and die for both if it came down to it.
• They would also begin learning the basics of military behavior— how to address superior officers, saluting superiors, standing at attention, the importance of obeying orders (especially the importance of obeying orders), self-discipline, etc.
• They learned that when they grew up they would be soldiers— that was their purpose and all they needed to be.
• These were supplemented with subliminal messaging during flash-learning/training modules.

As junior/senior cadets, this indoctrination only intensified.

• Military regulations, ethics, protocols, and code of conduct were constantly reinforced and combined with continued lessons about the Republic in order to further develop a sense of patriotism, loyalty, and obedience in the clones.
• It was emphasized they could die in war, but they couldn’t let that stop them from doing their duty. If a brother died on the battlefield, then they did exactly what they were bred for— they died protecting the Jedi who ordered their creation and protecting the Republic, and they needed to honor that sacrifice by pushing on. Succumbing to grief over a brother’s death was considered “defective behavior” (though the clones still found ways to mourn, but more on that later).
• This is where that idea of duty and purpose got really hammered in— they were made for the specific purpose of fighting in a future war the Jedi foresaw with their strange powers. That they would be the ones to serve the Jedi and protect the Republic as its soldiers. That without these things they wouldn’t exist. But since it was their reason for existing, they needed to do everything they could to honor it because they had been chosen for this grand purpose.
• Ultimately, that was the (supremely messed up) point of using a clone army— they fought so civilians wouldn’t have to.
• And again, these were supplemented with subliminal messaging during flash-learning/training modules.

So one can imagine that when they started having nightmares about killing Jedi, it was very distressing for the young clones. Or just how much worse those nightmares got when they had real Jedi to feature in them. (One could also imagine that when it came out that no, the Jedi Order didn’t want to create a clone army, it was just the one guy who went off in his own, it definitely crossed some wires. More on that later though.)

Not to mention, the threat of decommissioning hung over their heads during this entire period and that certainly shaped their behavior. As I mentioned before, the Kaminoans kept an eye out for any “defective behavior” that could be a sign the biochips weren’t working and mental conditioning wasn’t as effective. Young clones who got caught acting out got sent to retraining pods, and those who didn’t learn their lesson were decommissioned. This was also the case for clones who lagged behind in training, being unable to work alongside their brothers in teamwork scenarios or follow instructions from trainers.

• Remember when I said there were note exceptions to training batches staying together until graduation? Well, it was not uncommon for two separate batches to become combined if either lost enough members to decommissioning.
• As I mentioned before, clones were told it was their duty to die for the Republic if necessary and succumbing to grief over a dead brother was “defective behavior.” They got unwanted practice for this mindset when they lost brothers to decommissioning. They couldn’t let the Kaminoans see they were sad, so they learned quickly to compartmentalize and focus on training. (Again, the clones still found ways to mourn, but more on that later.)
• And I headcanon that because of the retraining pods, there were a number of clones who were claustrophobic. (Which made sleeping in their tube bunks a nightmare.) However, since succumbing to a fear like that was seen as “defective behavior,” they always tried their damnedest not to show it.

So understandably, clones felt pressured to conform. But that made it even more difficult for clones who couldn’t conform no matter how well they behaved. I.e., the Phenotypic Variant Stock and the Defective Stock.

• Due to the Defective Stock being relegated from soldiers to sanitation/maintenance and “defective behavior” resulting in decommissioning, there was prevalent belief among many clones that being “off-template” meant there was something inherently wrong with a clone. That they were inferior compared to template-accurate clones— even if that difference were as simple as blonde hair.
• This idea was (inadvertently for once) reinforced by the Kaminoan cloners, as they were the ones who decided what stock a clone was and they had a bias against Phenotypic Variants. They claimed that since Phenotypic Variants’ mutations were purely cosmetic there was no reason to treat them differently from other clones, but at their core they were perfectionists with too much professional pride. Phenotypic Variants weren’t template-accurate, so they wouldn’t be as “successful.” It became obvious they thought less of the clones with undesirable mutations they couldn’t “fix” or delegate away to sanitation positions, and all the clones caught on to it.
• As a result, “Phenos” would be the subject to frequent bullying by their brothers. This could range to being tripped up during training to getting pulled into fights. Many training batches were resentful of “Pheno” members and often excluded them from what little recreation they were allowed.
• However, many “Phenos” were grateful that at least they weren’t Defective Stock (or “bad batchers,” as clones and trainers referred to them). I mentioned a few sections back the stigma against “defectiveness.” As a result both off-template and template-accurate clones tended to either ignore them or makes things harder for them, such as purposely making messes for them to clean up or breaking things for them to fix.
• (So one could imagine what all this made life like for the Bad Batch, but more on them later.)

That being said, these weren’t universal attitudes. There were just as many training batches who were protective of their “Pheno” members, and would defend them viciously against their bullies. There were just many clones who treated “bad batchers” kindly and helped them where they could, even cleaning up after clones who purposely made messes. It went to show that despite being genetically identical, they had their own individual thoughts and beliefs. (Not that they wanted the Kaminoans to catch on to that— hence why they had to be careful about when they fought. But more on that in a bit.)

* * *

And those were just the struggles from a psychological standpoint. The struggles from actual training were equally hard.

For starters, keep in mind all of this occurred while the clones grew twice as fast as a normal human. As I mentioned earlier, that meant clones had a limited amount of time to learn everything the Kaminoans felt they needed to know. As a result, their lives were a nonstop cycle of enduring constant training, simulations, and testing in order to create the best army the galaxy had ever seen. Again, as I’ve mentioned before, all aspects of a clone's life contained some form of conditioning to prepare them to be obedient soldiers. Endless mental and physical drills bled into everything they did. Canonically, this even included what little “recreation” they were allowed— for example, as teenagers they participated in sports and games, but only ones that resembled battle situations.

And again, this was while they aged twice as fast, so they did all this while experiencing agonizing growing pains. From the time they were littles to the time they reached adulthood, life was pain. The Kaminoans carefully designed diet plans to aid their accelerated growth and would usually give them pain killers for their pains, but after they became junior cadets there were training scenarios where they received the absolute minimum dose so they could train in pushing through pain on the battlefield to complete an objective.

If that alone gives you an idea of how utterly sadistic training could be, trust me, I headcanon it being a lot worse in certain areas. Here are a few examples: 

• Resistance Training: Clones would train to withstand certain environmental pressures. For example, they would spend time in chambers being exposed to extreme heat or cold, or were forced to hold weights for long periods of time. They would hold on to metal bars off the ground so their trainers could see how long they could maintain their grips. They would go for endurance runs outside the walls of Tipoca City where they faced Kamino’s endless rainstorms, and do it both in and out of full armor.
• Live Fire Training: As the name implies, clones trained to avoid active fire from enemy weapons. This was done with either stun rounds or paintballs. Repeated stuns were painful, and many clones came away with bruises from being hit with paintballs. Clone Commandos had it worse— they faced actual blaster fire during their training sessions far earlier than base clones did, and these did result in a few fatalities. Which annoyed Kaminoans, if only for the reason that Clone Commandos were more expensive to make and they had a quota to meet. (It should be noted that live rounds were never used on the Bad Batch, as they were experimental and more valuable than regular Clone Commandos— hence why they were so surprised when Tarkin later used live rounds against them.)
• Battle Simulations: As senior cadets, clones would be brought to large training arenas meant to simulate a variety of environments and hold mock battles. This ranged from courses like the Citadel training course to more specialized fields, like artic combat or desert combat. If they failed a battle simulation, they would be forced to repeat it until they succeeded. Clones who still failed despite numerous chances were slated for decommissioning (until the Jedi took over— then they were reassigned to sanitation/maintenance). However, some battle simulations were designed to be no-win scenarios just so they could see how the clones handled them. (Definitely caused the clones a lot of stress because they weren’t warned which simulations were no-win ahead of time.)
• Medical Training: While most surgeries and more intensive procedures were performed by droids, clones in the Medical Track still needed to practice on actual bodies. Sometimes this meant helping in the infirmary. Sometimes it meant practicing on preserved cadavers— and the only cadavers on Kamino were those of their decommissioned brothers. It was so horrifying that the medical clones silently swore themselves to secrecy as not to ostracize themselves from the rest of their brothers.
• Sleep Training: Clones had simulations that tested how long they could stay awake, sometimes for days at a time. They were taught early how to properly use stim shots to keep themselves from falling asleep.
• Interrogation Training: While clones were flash-trained on interrogation techniques to use on their enemies, this specifically referred to how clones practiced resisting being interrogated themselves. I.e., some of the Cuy’val Dar would actually torture clones and they would try their best not to crack. This ranged from using interrogation droids on them to electroshocks, and the whole time clones would practice repeating their alphabetical-numerical code, rank, and affiliation as their only response. The trainers weren’t allowed to take it too far as the Kaminoans didn’t want to irreparably damage their “products,” but it was still very painful. The higher the rank a clone placed in, the more intense the training was.

And speaking of the Cuy’val Dar— as I mentioned in previous sections, a number of them treated the clones very poorly.

• There were trainers who punished clones who lagged behind in or failed training exercises with doing extra drills and exercises until they either grew exhausted or passed out. (The Jedi ended this practice after they arrived.)
• If certain trainers felt they were being disrespected, they might deliver a punch or kick to a clone’s stomach or face. Sometimes they gave them a full beating and blamed it on the clone messing up in training so their pay wouldn’t be docked by the Kaminoans for “damaging the products.” Not all of them got caught. (Again, the Jedi cracked down on this practice after they arrived, but some still fell through the cracks.)
• I fully subscribe to the bit of Legends canon where Dred Priest and Isabet Reau had their own little after-hours clone fight club in a mockery of Mandalorian Battle Circles. Another Mandalorian trainer, Mij Gilamar, found out and tipped the Kaminoans off. The duo was punished but ultimately allowed to stay because they had (by Jango and the Kaminoans’ standards) good training results.

And the worst part? The clones were conditioned to obey orders and respect their superiors. They felt like they couldn’t fight back against the cruel Cuy’val Dar members so they had no choice but to let the mistreatment continue no matter how angry it made them. (And again again, this changed when the Jedi arrived. While much of the mistreatment by the new trainers went unreported still, a number of clones grew comfortable enough to talk to Shaak Ti, who in turn did her best to make things better.)

* * *

And this was all only the tip of the iceberg. From mental conditioning to grueling training, life was a challenge for clones as the Kaminoans and the Cuy’val Dar did everything they could to hammer them into the strong and obedient soldiers of the Grand Army of the Republic. In many ways, they succeeded.

In others, they failed completely.

Individuality and Family Bonds

Despite their conditioning and being treated as products by the Kaminoans, clones found ways to not only be individuals, but gain a sense of humanity while growing up.

The first and most common way of claiming individuality was acquiring a nickname/chosen name. Alphabetical-numerical codes were very long, and even using the shortened versions caused some overlap between generations, rounds, and decanting batches. So when out of earshot (or whatever they use to hear) of their Kaminoan overseers, clones gave themselves and each other their own names.

• There was some debate over how the practice began, but the most common theory among clones was that Cuy’val Dar members couldn’t be bothered to remember numbers so they started giving the clones nicknames. The clones liked it and adopted the practice themselves.
• Names could come from anywhere. Sometimes clones would give themselves a name, taking inspiration from information they flash-learned like the names of animals, or from their experiences training. A skilled sniper might take the name “Bullseye” if he thought highly of his skill.
• Names could also be given by trainers and brothers alike, which could be derogatory depending on the situation. A clone known for his flying skills might earn the name “Ace,” while a clone who tripped face-first into a commissary serving tray one kriffing time might be saddled with “Potatoes.”
• (Side note- Private First Class Potatoes eventually became a member of the 327th Star Corps under General Aayla Secura. He liked to rub it in his former bullies’ faces whenever they crossed paths during shore leave.)

Granted, nicknaming was a stronger practice among Generation One and Two clones. After Generation Three, mental conditioning started to become harsher and there were many clones who didn’t take names until after the war started and they left Kamino for the first time. But more on that later.

The next method of individuality was partaking in “defective behaviors” when the Kaminoans weren’t watching. They were watching most of the time, but clones tried to snatch fleeting moments of privacy where they could be more open. Not that all clones did— some responded to their conditioning too well and avoided it like the plague despite encouragement from their brothers. But those who managed to overcome their conditioning, even just a little bit, took part in the following:

• For starters, fights! Clones who were bullies might attack their victims, clones who were bullied fought back, clones who defended their bullied brothers would fight bullies in their stead, or they simply had a disagreement they couldn’t solve with words. Clones just did their best to keep fighting either for CQC practice, in empty hallways or supply closets, or in the barracks where the Kaminoans gave them the least amount of supervision. They had to be careful though, because clones caught fighting were punished with either extra drills, scrubbing refreshers with toothbrushes, or time in the retraining pods depending on who caught them. This was seen as defective behavior because clones were conditioned to avoid showing anger, but that didn’t prevent fights from breaking out. (As I’ve said before, they got skilled at putting on an act.)
• And it wasn’t just physical fights— quarrels happened! The Kaminoans fostered a sense of competitiveness in the clones, and that at times led to arguments— arguments over who scored higher in blaster practice, arguments over who fault it was they failed a battle simulation, or once again, they just had a disagreement. Again again, they just tried to keep it to a minimum. They would just save it for the barracks or occasionally in front of trainers, the majority of which didn’t care as long as they didn’t get physical and finished their exercises. This was seen as defective behavior because clones were conditioned to avoid giving in to their emotions, but that didn’t prevent arguments from happening.
• The Clone Gossip Network™ was a thing of legend. Clones would observe their trainers and the Kaminoans and gossip in the barracks at night. Which trainers were sleeping together, which trainers were stealing food from the commissary, which Kaminoans secretly want to become interpretive dancers instead of cloners. A common game was to come up with a ridiculous rumor and see how many brothers ended up believing it. (This would continue when the war started, but more on that later.) This was seen as defective behavior because clones weren’t encouraged to be creative off the battlefield. Not to mention gossiping like this was disrespectful towards superiors, which they were conditioned not to be.
• The Clone Black Market— clones had a system for acquiring contraband and trading items between brothers. Granted, it wasn’t a lot. Clones would stash away the candied fruit they got as rewards or good rations from the commissary to trade with brothers who had what they wanted of both. It expanded when a handful of kinder Cuy’val Dar would sneak little things like real candy or playing cards to clones as rewards for doing well in training. The less reputable Cuy’val Dar would share off-world items with the clones in the Medical Track if they snuck drugs to them. (Clones couldn’t take drugs themselves because of their regular checkups.) This was seen as defective behavior because clones weren’t supposed to want things for themselves. They belonged to the Republic and Jedi, they weren’t supposed to be able to own things.
• Pranks! I definitely see little pranks happening, like making faces when a trainer’s back was turned or swapping places in class and hoping no one thinks to check the ID code chips. Just little things the clones did to amuse themselves, though they were careful because getting caught meant either being forced to copy down the regulation manual by hand, forced to run extra drills, or tossed into a retraining pod (again, depending on who caught them). That being said, the intensity of the pranks definitely escalated after the war started and they were away from Kamino. (More on that later.) This was seen as defective behavior because clones were conditioned for self-control and obedience. Pranks were a subversion of that.
• Art! Several clones were budding artists, practicing drawing on blank datapads with a stylus or using crayons/flimsipads smuggled to them through the Clone Black Market. These clones would later be among the first to decorate their armor, and later provide nose art for gunships and starfighters (and pin-up art for their brothers’ entertainment.) This was seen as defective behavior because, again, clones weren’t encouraged to be creative off the battlefield. Showing an artistic mind was punished very harshly by the Kaminoans and artistic clones did their damnedest to hide it while still on Kamino. Clones who got caught/severely punished would try to get back into it once the war started, only to discover they had forgotten how.  

And once again speaking of the Cuy’val Dar, their influence on the clones further shaped their identity and sense of individuality. Jango Fett himself was a Mandalorian, and seventy-five of the Cuy'val Dar were Mandalorian as well. By nature of their training methods, it was hard for the clones to not to adopt aspects of Mandalorian culture as their own.

• The use of the Mando’a language. Clones picked up parts of the language quickly from their trainers, and over time it became a pidgin version of the language they used themselves. They would have phrases they used that Mandalorians didn’t and vice versa. (After the war started and they left Kamino, many clones would make the effort to learn the language properly in their limited free time.)
• Brothers All. In Legends, Jango Fett trained the Alpha-Class ARCs and Commandos in Mandalorian values, including teaching them the Mandalorian war chant Vode An, meaning “Brothers All.” I see the Alpha-ARCs/Commandos learning this chant first, then passing it down to the rest of the clones until it became the personal war anthem for the entire Grand Army of the Republic.
• The Resol’nare. Speaking of values, Jango and the Cuy’val Dar shared some aspects of the Resol’nare with the Alpha-Class and the clones, such as defending oneself and family, contributing to the clan's welfare, and rallying to the cause. This was meant to instill a sense of loyalty and warrior’s spirit among the clones, and would eventually lean into their sense of brotherhood. (More on that in a bit.)
• Mandalorian honors. Canonically, some trainers would bestow symbols of honor on clones who performed valiantly in training. One such example was the symbol of the jaig eyes, a mark of honor bestowed on soldiers for exceptional acts of bravery. Captain Rex is one example, and Captain Fordo from Legends is another. I see no reason to headcanon anything different.
• Mourning rites. When seeing clones try to hide their sadness at losing their brothers to decommissioning, the few kind Cuy’val Dar members secretly taught them Mandalorian ways of mourning. This included the concept of brothers not being gone, but simply marching away with the phrase “Nu kyr'adyc, shi taab'echaaj'la.” This also included a daily remembrance for the deceased: “Ni su'cuyi, gar kyr'adyc, ni partayli, gar darasuum.” I'm still alive, but you are dead. I remember you, so you are eternal. They instructed clones to say this followed by the names of the dead, which was another reason clones clung to the idea of names. No one wanted to be remembered as just a number.

The progression of information usually went like this— Jango and the Cuy’val Dar taught the Alpha-Class and Commandos the most about Mandalorian traditions/values first, and they in turn taught it to their brothers in the Command Stock, who in turn taught it to their brothers in General Stock. And all that was supplemented with what the Cuy’val Dar also shared with all of the clones in the interim when they weren’t training the Alpha-Class/Commandos. 

Not to say every clone subscribed to the Mandalorian ways of their template and trainers. Some felt it was pointless as they were clones and not true Mandalorians, others just didn’t really like it. To follow those ways became a choice, which was something not every clone could say they had. Additonally, following Mandalorian ways was more common among earlier generations. Younger ones experienced it less and less, with some not even knowing any Mando’a by the time the war got underway. Older clones would in turn share it with their younger brothers, but more on that later.

(And a certain group of four clones, due to being somewhat isolated from “Regs” and being largely ostracized by them, wouldn’t be exposed to Mando’a until a certain former Reg joined their squad. But again, more on that later.)

Meanwhile, the Kaminoans were infuriated by Jango and the Cuy’val Dar doing this as clones were not supposed to have a culture. However, like with encouraging ARCs and Command Stock to be more independent/creative, it was hard to argue with the results. Sharing Mandalorian culture helped strengthen the clones’ sense of loyalty, resolve, and unit cohesion, improving their performance during combat simulations. Still, clones were largely encouraged to keep it to themselves by their trainers so they wouldn’t anger the Kaminoans, and Kaminoans ordered them to keep it to themselves so they wouldn’t seem too cultured when they were meant to be soldiers of the entire Republic, not Mandalore. (This practice carried into the beginning of the war, but changed as time went on. But more on that later.)

Additonally, not everything the clones picked up from their trainers was so honorable or culturally rich.

• Some of the trainers had racist opinions, and some of the clones picked up on that. That’s why we hear clones like Boil called Twi’leks “tail-head” in The Clone Wars. This is also where the clones picked up derogatory names for the Kaminoans, like “longnecks” or “Aiwha-bait.” (Though naturally, they kept these insults to themselves.)
• Cuss words. So many cuss words, in so many different languages. “Cussing contests” became a popular barrack activity among cadets.
• Some of the male trainers had sexist views of women, which a few clones picked up as well. Any female trainer who heard them repeat it made sure they never did again, and any of the ones who slipped past them were eventually assigned to female Jedi and quickly had their attitudes adjusted. (The Force works in mysterious ways, after all.)
• The trainers chatting casually about their past relationships/escapades was some clones’ first exposure to anything regarding romance/sex (The Clone Gossip Network™ talked about the trainers’ sex lives a bit, if you recall). And even then, a lot of them didn’t fully understand what “sleeping together” meant. More on that later.

While little rebellions in behavior and adopting aspects of culture went a long way in letting the clones have individual identities while growing up on Kamino, the biggest way they proved that they were not only individuals but human beings was developing family bonds.

* * *

I sometimes wonder when the clones first gained any concept of “brothers.” After all, they were meant to be obedient, expendable soldiers. Familial bonds wouldn’t have been a priority to the Kaminoan cloners so it couldn’t have been from them.  

I honestly think Jango had something to do with it. The man had fought in the Mandalorian Civil War, and knew what went into fighting a war in general. Being loyal to a leader like a Jedi or an institution like the Republic was important, but he knew an army wasn’t going to get very far if they weren’t loyal to the soldiers fighting and dying at their sides. And what screams more of care or loyalty to a Mandalorian than the idea of family? So Jango, having some say in the training of the clones, pitched the idea to the Kaminoans. They probably weren’t thrilled about it but decided to defer to his expertise and allowed it.

Since all the clones all had the same DNA, the simplest familial bond to introduce to them was “brothers.” The clones would have first heard the word in the speech learning modules they had when they were tubies/toddlers. But back then, it was just another label like “decant” or “trainee.” The clones had to discover what “brother” meant to them exactly all on their own (with some help from the resident Mandalorian trainers).

“Brother” came to have a meaning with many different facets. It first meant the sentient next to them who had their face, who did speech-learning modules and puzzles with them. It was the only friendly face they had, so naturally they sought them out for the bonds they craved.

Then it came to mean their batchmates, both decanting and training, who stayed by their sides their entire lives (if they avoided decommissioning) and had their backs— both during training or when facing off against bullies— and reminded them of when they tripped face-first into a commissary serving tray because clones had near-eidetic memories and never forgot an embarrassing moment (this also made them good at holding grudges because they never forgot a slight).

It also meant the older clones tasked with mentoring the younger ones, guiding them and preparing them for their future as soldiers with more care than the non-clone trainers ever did.

It meant receiving physical affection when no one else would give it.

• The Kaminoan overseers and the droids didn’t show them much by way of physical affection, so they sought that affection in each other. Clones quickly discovered how much they liked hugs. “Clone cuddle piles,” where they fell asleep on top of each other like puppies, were common when they were in the nursery and the juvenile barracks. (It was harder to do in the cadet barracks, but they found time every now and then.)
• As I’ve mentioned before, older Medical Track clones who took required shifts in the nursery asked for volunteers among other tracks so they could give the babies all the love and hugs that they themselves didn’t get when they were babies.
• By watching how trainers interacted or by interacting with them themselves (or by watching Kal Skirata and the Nulls), clones learned about friendly noogies, not-so-friendly noogies, high fives, fist bumps— all the playful and brief ways they could show their brothers physical affection or tease them.
• After a clone caught sight of Jango and Boba doing it from afar and asked a kinder Cuy’val Dar what it meant, the clones performed the Keldabe Kiss with each other. In canon, the Keldabe Kiss is a headbutt greeting between two Mandalorians in helmets (though I imagine it can also be done out of helmets). It’s basically the Star Wars version of a Māori hongi, where it’s both a greeting and a show of affection. (Fitting, given Temuera Morrison is Māori!)
• The clones also learned warrior handshakes from watching their trainers. The really manly ones where they strongly clasp hands or grip their forearms.

The fact of the matter is, for many clones the only friendly touch they ever knew was from another clone. Otherwise it was the cold, calculating touch of Kaminoans during medical examinations or getting smacked around by trainers during combat practice.  

As I mentioned earlier, the Mandalorians also played a big part in developing their sense of brotherhood (beyond physical gestures anyway).

• They started calling each other “vod/vode,” (sibling) and using diminutives like “vod'ika” (little sibling) to show their affection to each other. A clone claiming the title of “ori’vod” (older sibling) from another clone was seen as a more personal way to claim each other as family, and that those clones were closer to each other than others. (Never mind the fact some clones could be as little as thirty seconds older than their “younger” siblings.)
• From the Mandalorian Resol’nare, they learned the importance of defending oneself and family and contributing to the clan's welfare. The clones were all family, and they needed to watch out for and protect each other.
• As such it was emphasized how important the ones fighting with them on the battlefield were, that watching their backs in battle meant they deserved each other’s loyalty. (It’s one of the reasons they took to the Jedi later on.)
• Vode An. Brothers all. They would fight together, bear the weight of war together, and die together if needed. Same face, same heart, same blood— forged for the same purpose. Although they may quarrel, they were brothers. United! They’d reach glory together or not at all.

So it should come as no surprise that this mindset, when coupled with the fact they only received love from their brothers, became part of the reason for unshakeable clone loyalty.

But there was another reason. The clones were already being conditioned for loyalty to the Republic and the Jedi, but thanks to Jango, they were also being conditioned for loyalty to each other. As I said, they were taught that brothers would be all they had on the battlefield, and they needed to look out for each other. Of all the things they learned, that ended up making the most sense to the clones because they learned very quickly a brother was the only one they could rely on.

• Brothers were the ones who remembered their chosen names, who held them in the relative safety of the barracks after a rough training session or medical examination, who shared contraband and made them laugh after a terribly long day.
• The Kaminoans were the ones who took brothers to be put into retraining pods or decommissioned. If clones reported a brother for “defective behavior,” odds were they would either never see him again or he wouldn’t be the same person as before.
• DO NOT RAT ON BROTHERS became a widely-accepted clone philosophy. It’s why clones who started fights or bullied others didn’t get in trouble unless caught by a Kaminoan or a trainer, and why clones eventually started to cover for or outright ignore any “defective behavior” their brothers presented. No one wanted to be the reason a brother was put into a retraining pod, decommissioned, or (after the war started) reconditioned.
• (Though that philosophy faded a bit in later generations when clones were more harshly conditioned. Hence why Dogma wanted to reveal Jesse, Fives, and Hardcase’s plans to Pong Krell during Umbara.)

The Kaminoan cloners were the ones who created them and the clones obeyed them, but they knew they could not trust them.

Not them, and not the people who worked for them. Which really stung sometimes, because for all that they loved their brothers, the clones did crave other bonds and tried to find them. They just didn’t really succeed.

* * *

The clones admired Jango Fett. They revered him for being the clone template, the genetic progenitor, the Prime. Without this man, they wouldn’t exist. It was considered by many of them an honor to get a chance to train with him directly, and they looked up to the Alpha-Class and the Commandos as a result. Many of them even saw him as a father figure and hoped he felt proud of them. However, while he taught Mandalorian values to the Alpha-Class and Commandos, and didn’t go out of his way to be cruel to the rest of the clones, Jango did not feel the same way.

• Canonically, he saw the clones as the Kaminoans’ creations— he wasn’t their father because they weren’t his children. They were livestock being led to slaughter, cannon fodder in an upcoming war. They weren’t his, so he didn’t feel any pride. (And as such, the Kaminoans could dispose of them at their discretion.)
• Teaching the Alpha-Class and Commandos about Mandalorian values was more for developing their sense of loyalty to each other and prowess as warriors than trying to claim them as family.
• It was the same idea as training them personally and finding the Cuy’val Dar for all of the clones. He wasn’t going to let copies of himself be anything less than the best— but that was pride for himself, not for the clones. The clones needed to be the best because it would have made Jango look bad otherwise. Hence why when other trainers were caught for mistreatment, like Dred Priest, he punished them but didn’t fire them if they had good training results. And they always did, otherwise Jango wouldn’t have hired them.

The only clone Jango genuinely loved was the one he didn’t see as a clone at all— Clone Unit Alpha, or as he came to be known, Boba Fett. The rest of the clones didn’t see him very often as the boy’s father kept him separate, but occasionally the pair of them were seen walking the halls of Tipoca City together. They could see the clear affection Jango had for Boba, and many clones grew bitterly jealous of him.

• That being said I headcanon that, while Jango only really cared for Boba, he had a small soft spot for any clone he came across with blonde hair. They reminded him of his long lost sister Arla and his deceased mother. Sadly, other clones noticed this and it became another reason Phenotypic Variants got bullied.

Meanwhile, the rest of the Cuy’val Dar was a mixed bag. Some were downright bastards to the clones. Others were indifferent and acted as trainers like they were paid to be— they were there to turn clones into soldiers, not make friends. In turn the clones tended to hate/fear the former and be largely ambivalent toward the latter, with a strong dose of grudging or genuine respect for their skills as warriors.  

A handful of the Cuy’val Dar were a little kinder. They treated the clones more like students than anything else. They tried to remember nicknames and sometimes snuck them contraband, or taught them more about Mandalorian values and mourning rites. They gave praise where it was due and were genuinely proud of the soldiers they trained. But they still kept their distance because they knew the clones’ future and felt it wouldn’t do anyone any good to get attached. (Not to mention they were frequently reminded of the terms of their contracts by the Kaminoans, as well what would happen to clones who developed too much “defective behavior.”)

Thus any clone who tried to get a closer relationship than that of trainer and trainee, of teacher and student, got scolded by the Cuy’val Dar in question and reminded of their place— usually partnered with liberal use of their number instead of their chosen name. They were soldiers bred to fight and die, and they couldn’t forget that.

(Kal Skirata was one of the kinder ones. He was even against the harsh conditioning of the clones. However, in my version of events one of the reasons Lama Su let him "buy" the Nulls was the expectation he wouldn't give parental treatment to the rest of the clones. If he couldn't treat them like the expendable soldiers they would be one day, Jango needed to find someone else to take his spot in the Cuy'val Dar. Kal agreed, figuring it was better that someone who at least moderately cared about the clones stayed rather than getting replaced with someone who didn't. As a result, he was kinder than other trainers but still kept a respectful distance from the rest of the clones. He only acted like an actual father to the Null-Class clones, eventually leaving Kamino with them after the Clone Wars started to parts unknown. This became a point of contention between the Nulls and the rest of the clones.) 

So at the end of the day, no matter what slivers of kindness those few Cuy’val Dar provided, no matter what level of respect the clones had for all of them, the clones knew they couldn’t rely on their trainers. Not really. Not when they still worked for the Kaminoans, and not when there were so few of them and millions of clones they ended up never even interacting with. Especially not when most of the clones went their entire lives without knowing any kind of affection from the people molding them to be soldiers.

The only ones they could truly trust and rely on, the only ones they knew always thought of them as real people deserving of their love when they themselves didn’t believe so, were their brothers.

* * *

Of course, that was one of many things to change for the clones when the war actually started.

The clones met the Jedi for the first time, and for the first time in their entire too-short lives they met people other than brothers who not only saw them as individuals, but felt they deserved to be seen as individuals.

But more on that next time.

Chapter Text

To begin, here's how I break the war up (assuming a Galactic year is the same as an Earth year, which Wookiepedia says it is) and when clones were brought into it. 

During the year of 22 BBY, the war encompassed 7 months of the year— during this time, the Generation One, Two, and Three clones were released into battle.

During 21 BBY, the war encompassed the whole year— during this time, the Generation Four clones were released into battle.

During 20 BBY, the war encompassed the whole year— during this time, the Generation Five clones were released into battle. The Citadel Mission occurred just over 2 months into the year (making it occur at “over one year and nine months” into the war).

During 19 BBY, the war encompassed 10 months of the year— during this time, the Generation Six clones had begun to be released into battle. Ahsoka leaves the Order a little less than two months into this period. A little over eight months later, the Siege of Mandalore, the Battle of Coruscant, and Order 66 happen. (Luke and Leia are born a little early thanks to the stress put on Padmé.)

OVERALL, THE WAR LASTED THREE YEARS AND FIVE MONTHS. CANONICALLY, BY THE TIME THE WAR ENDED 3,386,000 CLONES WERE SERVING OR HAD SERVED IN THE GRAND ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC.

Following so far? Good. Now to the hard part—  the actual timeline. This doesn't just include the war, but also events leading up to it and after it. 

Ready? Here we go.

A Rough Timeline of the Clone Wars

33 BBY

• Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas commissions the Kaminoan cloners to create a clone army.

32 BBY

• MOVIE The Phantom Menace/ANIMATED SHORT The Sith Lord/COMICS EVENTS Hiring Jango
  • Battle of Naboo.
  • Sheev Palpatine becomes Supreme Chancellor of the Republic.
  • Anakin Skywalker joins Jedi.
  • Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn dies and Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi is knighted.
  • Darth Maul is thought to be killed by Obi-Wan. He is literally too angry to die and ends up trapped on Lotho Minor.
  • (Offscreen) Sifo-Dyas is killed and Dooku assumes control over the clone army project.
  • Dooku uses Sifo-Dyas’ authorization to delete the Jedi Archives’ records of Kamino.
  • Jedi Master Yaddle is killed by Palpatine and Dooku officially becomes Darth Tyranus.
  • Jango Fett is hired as the clone template by Dooku on the Moons of Bogden.
  • Boba Fett, Null Class Clones, and the rest of the Alpha Class/Generation One Clones are decanted on Kamino.
    
    

24 BBY

• Dooku gives the Raxus Address and creates the Confederacy of Independent Systems.
• The Separatist Crisis begins when thousands of star systems leave the Galactic Republic.

23 BBY

• The Military Creation Act is put on the Senate floor and Senator Padmé Amidala fights against it.
• Asajj Ventress becomes Dooku’s assassin.

22 BBY

• MOVIE Attack of the Clones
  • Obi-Wan discovers Kamino and the existence of the clone army.
  • Palpatine is granted emergency powers and the Military Creation Act is passed.
  • First Battle of Geonosis.
  • Clone Wars Begin.
• BOOK Queen’s Hope/UNTOLD STORY Battle of Muunilinst
  • Anakin and Padmé get married.
  • Anakin serves as a Padawan Commander in the 7^th Sky Corps under Obi-Wan and Clone Marshall Commander Cody.
  • Anakin meets Sister, a trans female clone in the 7^th Sky Corps.
  • Following the Battle of Muunilinst, Anakin is informally knighted and becomes an acting Jedi General.
• BOOK Star Wars: Brotherhood
  • “That business on Cato Nemoidia.”
  • Anakin is formally knighted in a mass Knighting Ceremony.
  • Chancellor Palpatine passes the Jedi Military Integration Act, officially making the Jedi a part of the Grand Army of the Republic. Anakin, Obi-Wan, and the Jedi are officially generals.
  • Anakin and Obi-Wan meet Ventress for the first time.
• COMICS EVENTS Rescue at Staggec, Battle of Arantara, Battle of Tibrin, Mission to Benglor, Siege of Hisseen, Battles at Corvair sector
  • After Staggec, Anakin gains leadership of the 501^st Clone Legion and commands the Resolute with Admiral Wulf Yularen.
  • Anakin gains Clone Captain Rex’s respect during Battle of Arantara after saving his life, and they slowly become friends.
  • Clone Trooper Hardcase takes part in the mission to Benglor and the Siege of Hisseen.
• EPISODE Cat and Mouse
  • Anakin breaks the Separatist blockade on Christophsis.
  • Separatist Admiral Trench is defeated and thought dead, but he secretly survives.
• EPISODE Hidden Enemy
  • Clone Sgt. Slick betrays the 501^st to the Separatists.
  • He is discovered by Rex and Cody, but the army loses a lot of gear to sabotage.
• MOVIE Star Wars: The Clone Wars
  • Ahsoka Tano becomes Anakin’s Padawan and the Padawan Commander of the 501^st.
  • Battle of Christophsis is won by the GAR, and Separatist General Whorm Loathsom is captured.
  • Battle of Teth is won by the GAR and Rotta the Hutt is saved after being kidnapped by Separatists. But the 501^st’s Torrent Company is almost completely wiped out. Only six survive, including Rex and Clone Sgt. Coric.
  • The GAR gains access to Hutt Space hyperspace routes.
  • Ziro the Hutt is arrested.
  • HEADCANON: Jesse and Kix join the 501^st after the movie to help make up for the losses suffered at Christophsis and Teth.
• EPISODE Clone Cadets
  • Generation Three clones are made to graduate early to make up for numerous clone casualties in the war.
  • Domino Squad graduates training.
• EPISODE Supply Lines
  • Jedi Ima-Gun Di and Clone Captain Keeli die.
• EPISODE Ambush
  • Clone Lieutenant Thire and Troopers Rys and Jek accompany Jedi Master Yoda to Rugosa.
  • Jedi Master Yoda convinces Toydaria to join the Republic.
• EPISODE Rising Malevolence
  • The 104^th Clone Battalion is almost completely wiped out by the Separatist dreadnought Malevolence, commanded by General Grievous.
  • Jedi Master Plo Koon, Clone Commander Wolffe, Trooper Boost, and Clone Sergeant Sinker are rescued by Anakin and Ahsoka.
• EPISODE Shadow of Malevolence
  • Clone starfighter unit Shadow Squadron attacks the Malevolence, faces heavy casualties.
• EPISODE Destroy Malevolence
  • Malevolence is destroyed, Grievous gets away.
• COMICS EVENTS Battle of Abrion Bridge
  • Obi-Wan and Cody investigate a hidden Separatist weapons factory under a granary complex on Abrion Major.
  • The 212^th Battalion lead an assault through the bridge. They are accompanied by the Roon Military Defense Forces Commander Mekedrix, Lieutenant Oron, and his company.
• COMICS EVENTS Battle of Mimban
  • 224th Clone Division and 501^st defeat Separatists.
  • Jesse and Hardcase take part in the battle, as does Clone Trooper Denal.
• EPISODE Rookies
  • Rishi Station is destroyed.
  • Clone Sgt. O’Niner and Troopers Droidbait, Cutup, and Hevy die.
  • Troopers Echo and Fives join the 501^st.
• EPISODE Downfall of a Droid
  • It’s reported that the GAR has lost the Battle of Faleen and the Republic Navy Faleen Battle Group was destroyed.
  • 501^st engages Grievous in the Battle of Bothawui. GAR wins, but R2-D2 goes missing.
• EPISODE Duel of the Droids
  • Skytop Station is destroyed.
  • R2-D2 is recovered.
  • Rex and Denal are the only survivors on the clone squad.
• EPISODE Bombad Jedi
  • Rodia almost joins the Separatists, but thanks to Padmé and some hijinks from Jar Jar Binks, they remain with the Republic.
  • Viceroy Nute Gunray is captured.

21 BBY

• EPISODE Cloak of Darkness
  • Jedi Master Luminara Unduli and Ahsoka are assigned to transport Gunray to his trial on Coruscant.
  • Gunray escapes with help from Ventress.
• EPISODE Lair of Grievous
  • Jedi Master Kit Fisto and Knight Nahdar Vebb discover Grievous’ secret lair on Vassek.
  • Nahdar is killed, as are all the clones with him.
  • Grievous escapes.
• EPISODE Dooku Captured
  • Anakin lets himself be captured to trap Dooku.
  • Anakin and Obi-Wan end up stuck on Vanqor and fight the mother of all gundarks.
  • Dooku is captured by Hondo Ohnaka on the Planet Florrum. Anakin and Obi-Wan are sent after him.
• EPISODE The Gungan General
  • Anakin and Obi-Wan are also captured by Hondo. They are rescued by Jar Jar and Clone Commander Stone.
  • Dooku escapes.
• EPISODE Jedi Crash
  • Republic Forces face off against Separatists in Battle of Quell.
  • After the Liberty is haphazardly sent into hyperspace, Anakin, Ahsoka, Jedi Knight Aayla Secura, Rex, Clone Marshall Commander Bly, and several other clones are stranded on Maridun.
  • Troopers Cameron, Lucky, and Flash are killed.
• EPISODE Defenders of the Peace
  • Lok Durd is defeated and his experimental defoliator cannon is destroyed.
• EPISODE Trespass
  • Anakin and Obi-Wan investigate the loss of a Republic outpost on Orto Plutonia.
  • Pantoran Chairman Cho dies, as do many of the clone troopers guarding him.
• EPISODE Blue Shadow Virus
  • Nuvo Vindi’s secret lab is discovered on Naboo.
  • Vindi is captured by the Republic.
• EPISODE Mystery of a Thousand Moons
  • Padmé, Ahsoka, Rex, and other clones are infected with the Blue Shadow Virus. Several die.
  • Anakin and Obi-Wan find the cure on Iego and destroy the energy field trapping the planet.
• EPISODE Storm Over Ryloth
  • Battle of Ryloth.
  • Ahsoka leads Blue Squadron against the Separatist blockade over Ryloth. She loses most of the squad, including Clone Pilot Axe.
  • Ahsoka tries again along with surviving Clone Pilots Swoop and Kickback.
  • Anakin crashes the damaged Venator ship Defender into Separatist Captain Mar Tuuk’s battleship.
• EPISODE Innocents of Ryloth
  • Obi-Wan, Cody, and the 212^th’s Ghost Company take the Rylothian city of Nabat, securing a landing zone for the GAR.
  • Troopers Waxer and Boil meet Numa.
• EPISODE Liberty on Ryloth
  • Jedi Master Mace Windu and Clone Commander Ponds join forces with Cham Syndulla to defeat Wat Tambor and free Ryloth.
  • Wat Tambor is captured.
  • (Offscreen) Clones are left behind to occupy Ryloth and protect it in case the Separatists come back. Clone Captain Howzer is among them.
• COMICS EVENTS Battle of Khorm
  • Wolffe loses his eye to Ventress.
• EPISODE Holocron Heist
  • First Battle of Felucia. GAR is forced to retreat from the planet.
  • Cad Bane steals a holocron from the Jedi Temple.
• EPISODE Cargo of Doom
  • Battle of Devaron.
  • Jedi Master Bolla Ropal is killed and the kyber memory crystal is stolen.
  • Clone Troopers Koho and Denal are killed, and Denal’s armor is stolen by Bane.
• EPISODE Children of the Force
  • Bane goes after Force-sensitive children under orders from Palpatine, and brings them to Mustafar.
  • The children are rescued, and the kyber memory crystal and the holocron are retrieved.
  • Bane gets away.
• EPISODE Bounty Hunters
  • Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Ahsoka help four bounty hunters defend a Felucian farming village from Hondo’s gang.
• EPISODE The Zillo Beast
  • Mace and Anakin go to Malastare to test a new Electro-Proton Bomb against the Separatists.
  • The Zillo Beast is woken up by the bomb.
  • The Zillo Beast is captured with the hope of learning how to replicate its tough scales.
• EPISODE The Zillo Beast Strikes Back
  • The Zillo Beast escapes and wreaks havoc on Coruscant. It is eventually killed by poison gas.
• EPISODE Senate Spy
  • Padmé spies on Senator Rush Clovis of Scipio to see if he’s working for the Separatists.
  • Padmé discovers the location of a new droid factory on Geonosis.
• EPISODE Landing at Point Rain
  • Second Battle of Geonosis.
  • Following a battle near Dorin, the 501^st Legion and 7^th Sky Corps are sent to Geonosis with the 41^st Elite Corps and 21^st Nova Corps.
  • Anakin, Ahsoka, Obi-Wan, and Ki-Adi Mundi’s forces secure the rendezvous point Point Rain.
• EPISODE Weapons Factory
  • Second Battle of Geonosis continues.
  • Luminara and her Padawan Barriss Offee join the 501^st with the 41^st.
  • Barriss and Ahsoka destroy the factory while Luminara and Anakin distract the Geonosians.
• EPISODE Legacy of Terror
  • Second Battle of Geonosis concludes. Obi-Wan and Luminara clean up the remaining Separatist forces.
  • Luminara and Clone Trooper Buzz go after Poggle the Lesser. Buzz is killed by Geonosians and Luminara is captured.
  • Geonosian mind worm zombies are discovered.
  • Queen Karina the Great dies.
  • Luminara is rescued and Poggle is captured.
• EPISODE Brain Invaders
  • Barriss and Ahsoka leave for the medical station over Ord Cestus with Tango Company.
  • Clone Trooper Scythe is infected with Geonosian mind worms and spreads the infection to other troopers including Edge, Havoc, Ox, Pulsar, and Lieutenant Trap.
  • Barriss kills Lieutenant Trap.
  • Ashoka stops the infestation with extreme cold and saves Barriss and the remaining clones.
• EPISODE Grievous Intrigue
  • Jedi Master Eeth Koth is captured by Grievous after he orders Clone Captain Lock and the surviving members of Horn Company to escape.
  • Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Jedi Master Adi Gallia confront Grievous in space over Saleucami.
  • Koth is rescued, Grievous escapes to Saleucami.
• EPISODE The Deserter
  • Obi-Wan searches for Grievous on Saleucami with men from the 212^th and 501^st.
  • Rex is shot by a battle droid after going to search alongside Kix, Hardcase, and Jesse. He survives.
  • Rex discovers a clone deserter named Cut. He does not report him to the GAR.
  • Grievous escapes again.
• EPISODE Lightsaber Lost
  • Ahsoka loses her lightsaber and teams up with Tera Sinube to get it back.
• EPISODE The Mandalore Plot
  • Obi-Wan goes to the Mandalorian city of Sundari to investigate Death Watch with help from Duchess Satine Kryze.
  • On the moon of Concordia, Governor Pre Vizsla is revealed to be the leader of Death Watch and carries the Darksaber.
• EPISODE Voyage of Temptation
  • Anakin, Obi-Wan, and their troops protect Satine as she travels to Coruscant to reaffirm Mandalorian neutrality.
  • Clone Troopers Redeye and Mixer are killed by an assassin probe droid.
  • Kalevala Senator Tal Merrik is revealed to be behind the assassination attempt. He is killed by Anakin.
• EPISODE Duchess of Mandalore
  • Mandalore is almost pulled into the war thanks to a doctored hologram message from Deputy Minister Jerec, asking for the Republic to occupy Mandalore to fight Death Watch.
  • Satine and Obi-Wan find the real message and keep Mandalore neutral.
• EPISODE Death Trap
  • Boba Fett infiltrates a Clone Youth Brigade to assassinate Mace Windu.
  • The Endurance crash lands on Vanqor.
• EPISODE R2 Come Home
  • Admiral Shoan Kilian, Ponds, and a clone naval officer are captured by Boba and Aurra Sing’s group.
  • Anakin and Mace are trapped in the Endurance wreckage by a hidden bomb.
  • R2 is able to lead Plo Koon, Ahsoka, and Clone Corporal Comet to Vanqor to rescue Mace and Anakin.
  • Boba and Aurra get away.
• EPISODE Lethal Trackdown
  • Aurra kills Ponds and ditches his body in space.
  • Aurra and Boba go to Florrum to seek sanctuary with Hondo.
  • Plo Koon and Ahsoka go to Florrum.
  • Aurra fakes her death.
  • Boba is arrested and sent to the Republic Judiciary Central Detention Center.
• EPISODE Corruption
  • Mandalore faces a crisis when the war prevents vital supply shipments.
  • Satine and Padmé bust a smuggling operation after several children are poisoned by smuggled drinks.
• EPISODE The Academy
  • Ahsoka goes to Mandalore to teach a leadership class.
  • Korkie Kryze and his classmates discover Prime Minister Almec’s corruption.
  • Almec is arrested.
• EPISODE Assassin
  • Ahsoka has visions of Padmé’s assassination and goes to protect her.
  • Bail Organa holds a conference on Alderaan concerning war refugees.
  • Aurra Sing is revealed to be the assassin, having been hired by Ziro the Hutt from prison. Aurra is arrested.
• EPISODE ARC Troopers
  • Battle of Kamino.
  • Ventress and Grievous attack the cloning facilities on Kamino. The 501^st and the 212^th arrive to defend it.
  • Many clones are killed, including Clone ARC Commander Colt, Clone ARC Commander Havoc, and Clone 99.
  • Echo and Fives are selected for ARC training by Rex.
• EPISODE Sphere of Influence
  • Pantora is blockaded by the Trade Federation.
  • The daughters of Chairman Notluwiski Papanoida of Pantora are kidnapped.
  • The daughters are saved by their father, brother, Senator Riyo Chuchi, and Ahsoka.
• EPISODE Evil Plans
  • C-3P0 and R2 are captured by Cad Bane and have the floor plans/security details of the Senate building stolen from them. 
• EPISODE Hostage Crisis
  • Cad Bane, Aurra Sing (who somehow escaped prison), and other bounty hunters take several senators hostage in exchange for the release of Ziro the Hutt.
  • (Offscreen) During their escape, Bane shoots a transport. When Jedi deflect it from a populated platform, it crashes into the home of Trace and Rafa Martez. Their parents are killed.
• EPISODE Hunt for Ziro
  • Obi-Wan and Jedi Master Quinlan Vos are sent to hunt down Ziro.
  • Ziro is killed by his girlfriend, Sy Snootles.
• ANIMATED SHORTS Practice Makes Perfect and Teach You, I Will
  • Ahsoka takes a lightsaber test which Anakin disapproves of. He suggests a new test where the clones fire at her in a circle.
  • Ahsoka also learns Jar'Kai from Anakin. She struggles at first, but Yoda gives her some help.
• EPISODE Heroes on Both Sides
  • The Senate calls for the production of more clone troopers and deregulating the banks to form new lines of credit.
  • Ahsoka and Padmé sneak their way to Separatist planet Raxus to talk to Senator Mina Bonteri of Onderon.
  • Mina proposes peace talks between the Separatists and the Republic.
  • Dooku has Grievous send disguised droids to bomb the Senate District power generator. He also has Mina killed.
• EPISODE Pursuit of Peace
  • Dooku contacts the Senate telling them of a (fake) Republic attack on CIS territory that killed Mina Bonteri. He withdraws the peace proposal.
  • The Republic Financial Reform Bill is passed and the banks are deregulated.
  • Padmé and her friends fight the Republic Military Enhancement Bill (proposed by Kaminoan Senator Halle Burtoni, which would make new clone troopers) despite being threatened.
• EPISODE Senate Murders
  • Padmé and her allies introduce the Reduced Military Spending Bill to prevent the production of new clones troopers.
  • Senator Onaconda Farr of Rodia is murdered, as is Mee Deechi of Umbara. Lolo Purs is the culprit.
  • The Republic Military Enhancement Bill is passed and the Republic orders five million more clone troopers.
  • (Offscreen) As a result of Deechi’s death, Umbara withdraws from the Republic and allies with the Separatist Alliance.

20 BBY

• EPISODE Nightsisters
  • Battle of Sullust.
  • Dooku betrays Ventress, leaving her for dead.
  • Anakin’s main Venator, the Resolute, is destroyed.
  • Ventress returns to her home planet of Dathomir and, with help from the Nightsisters Clan, leads a secret but failed assassination attempt on Dooku.
• EPISODE Monster
  • Dooku contacts Mother Talzin to provide him with a new apprentice.
  • Talzin and Ventress select Savage Opress, Maul’s brother. They magically enhance him and ensure he will be loyal to them first.
  • Dooku sends Savage to Devaron, where he wipes out the Temple of Eedit there. Jedi Master Halsey and his padawan Knox are killed, as are their clone troops.
  • Dooku accepts Savage as an apprentice.
• EPISODE Witches of the Mist
  • Delta Squad returns to the Jedi Temple on Coruscant with the bodies of Halsey and Knox.
  • Savage begins training as a Sith.
  • Savage is sent to Toydaria to kidnap their king. Obi-Wan and Anakin get in the way, and Savage kills the king.
  • Ventress and Savage both attack Dooku. Savage turns on Ventress and Dooku is able to escape.
  • Mother Talzin sends Savage after his long lost brother, Maul.
• COMICS EVENTS Killing A Defector
  • Anakin and Obi-Wan are sent to investigate whether Commander Mekedrix has gone rogue after the destruction of the Temple of Eedit.
  • They discover he is the leader of an execution squad called Death Wind. He is tracked to the swamps of Ando and eventually killed by Anakin.
• EPISODE Overlords
  • Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Ahsoka end up on the planet Mortis, where they meet the Father, Daughter, and Son.
  • Obi-Wan meets the spirit of Qui-Gon.
  • Anakin tames the Son and Daughter, but refuses to remain on Mortis as the Father’s replacement.
• EPISODE Alter of Mortis
  • The Son kidnaps Ahsoka and corrupts her with the Dark Side.
  • Ahsoka fights Anakin, then is killed by the Son. The Son also mortally wounds the Daughter.
  • The Daughter sacrifices what remains of her life to revive Ahsoka.
• EPISODE Ghosts of Mortis
  • Anakin learns of his future from the Son, and is corrupted. The Father later erases his memories and removes the corruption.
  • The Father kills himself and Anakin kills the Son.
• EPISODE The Citadel
  • IT IS OFFICIALLY MORE THAN ONE YEAR AND NINE MONTHS INTO THE WAR.
  • Jedi Master Evan Piell and his men, including Captain Wilhuff Tarkin, are captured and held in the Citadel prison on Lola Sayu because they have info on the Nexus Route.
  • Anakin, Obi-Wan, Ahsoka, and their men stage a rescue. This includes new ARC Troopers Echo and Fives.
  • 501^st Clone Trooper Charger dies, as does 212^th Clone Trooper Longshot.
• EPISODE Counter Attack
  • The Rescue Team tries to steal a shuttle to escape the planet with.
  • Warden Osi Sobek decides to destroy the shuttle. Echo tries to stop him and is seemingly killed.
  • Obi-Wan calls in a rescue and the Rescue Team heads out into Lola Sayu to hide and later reach the rendezvous point.
  • (Offscreen) Echo survives his injuries and is captured by the Separatists.
• EPISODE Citadel Rescue
  • While trying to reach the rendezvous point, Piell is mauled by an Anooba. Before he dies, he tells his half of the Nexus Route coordinates to Ahsoka.
  • Plo Koon arrives with Kit Fisto, Saesee Tiin, and Adi Gallia to save the Rescue Team.
• EPISODE Padawan Lost
  • Second Battle of Felucia.
  • The 501^st and 104^th successfully drive back the Separatists but don’t completely take the planet.
  • While following after Sinker, Boost, and Clone Corporal Comet, Ahsoka is captured by Trandoshan hunters.
  • She is taken to Wasskah, where she meets other trapped Jedi younglings named Kalifa, Jinx, and O-Mer.
  • Kalifa is killed.
• EPISODE Wookie Hunt
  • Ahsoka and the others meet Chewbacca, who was also captured.
  • They all defeat the Trandoshans with help from Tarfful and his Wookie warriors.
• COMICS EVENTS Battle of Horain
  • The 501^st and 212^th defeat the Separatists with help from a rogue battle droid named Bats.
• COMICS EVENTS Skirmish on Retta
  • Anakin and Yoda go to Retta and are attacked by droids. They meet an old friend of Yoda’s named Kreeda, who is protecting Clone Wars refugees on the planet using her powers of invisibility.
  • The Jedi trick the Separatists looking for her secret into thinking there is no secret, and both decide to report to the Jedi Council that they found nothing interesting Retta.
• EPISODE Water War
  • Mon Cala faces a succession crisis and Padmé is sent to mediate for the Republic while the Separatists send Riff Tamson.
  • The Quarren attack the Mon Calamari. Clone troopers led by Anakin, Ahsoka, and Kit Fisto fight back.
• EPISODE Gungan Attack
  • Jar Jar is able to recruit Gungan soldiers to come to Mon Cala to aid the Republic.
  • It still doesn’t go well and everyone is captured except for Ahsoka and Prince Lee-Char.
• EPISODE Prisoners
  • The Quarren realize the Separatists won’t keep their promises and turn against them, uniting with the Jedi and Republic forces.
  • Riff Tamson is killed, the Separatists are driven out, and Prince Lee-Char takes the throne of Mon Cala.
• EPISODE Shadow Warrior
  • Boss Lyonie of the Gungans is being manipulated to attack Theed. Jar Jar knocks him out and takes his place to prevent fighting.
  • Grievous is captured by the Gungans, but soon after Anakin is captured by Dooku.
  • Padmé facilitates a prisoner exchange, getting Anakin back but losing Grievous.
• EPISODE Mercy Mission
  • Wolffe and the 104^th go to Planet Aleen to deliver disaster relief. They are accompanied by C-3P0 and R2 (much to Wolffe’s consternation).
  • Threepio and R2 get into hijinks beneath the planet’s surface.
• EPISODE Nomad Droids
  • While aboard Adi Gallia’s ship, Threepio and R2 get caught up in a Separatist attack and end up on a crazy adventure across several planets.
  • They are eventually rescued by Plo Koon and the 104^th (much to Wolffe’s consternation).
• EPISODE Darkness on Umbara
  • Battle of Umbara.
  • The 501^st and the 212^th, along with Jedi Masters Saesee Tiin and Pong Krell, are assigned to capture Umbara. Early into the battle, Anakin is called away and temporarily replaced by Krell.
  • Krell is cruel to the clones and does not see them as people. He ignores Anakin’s plans and instead commands a frontal assault.
  • Clone Troopers Oz and Ringo are killed, as are many other clones.
• EPISODE The General
  • Battle of Umbara continues.
  • Krell refuses to change his strategy and the 501^st faces even more casualties.
  • Fives and Hardcase are able to steal Umbaran starfighters to aid their brothers.
  • The 501^st captures the Umbaran airbase.
• EPISODE Plan of Dissent
  • Battle of Umbara continues.
  • Obi-Wan reports his men are being pushed back by long-range missile fire before the transmission is lost. Krell decides they need to take the capital and refuses to try to call Obi-Wan back to coordinate.
  • Fives, Hardcase, and Jesse use the Umbaran fighters to attack the Separatists' supply ship. They succeed, but Hardcase is killed.
  • Fives and Jesse are arrested by Sgt. Appo and Krell for insubordination.
• EPISODE Carnage of Krell
  • Battle of Umbara concludes.
  • Rex pleads with Krell to rethink court-martialing Fives and Jesse. Krell decides to just execute them.
  • The clones refuse to execute them, and then are told the Umbaran stole clone armor to infiltrate the base. This turns out to be a lie and they accidentally kill many of their own brothers, including Waxer.
  • Krell reveals he has fallen to the Dark Side and seeks Dooku’s favor.
  • With many casualties he is finally captured. Rex attempts to execute him, but he can’t pull the trigger. Dogma does it instead.
  • The GAR successfully takes Umbara, but Dogma is arrested.
• EPISODE Kidnapped
  • The Togruta colony of Kiros is captured by Zygerrian slavers.
  • The 501^st and the 212^th investigate, and are tasked by the Jedi Council to rescue the colonists.
• EPISODE Slaves of the Republic
  • Anakin, Obi-Wan, Ahsoka, and Rex infiltrate Zygerria.
  • It goes badly and are all captured.
  • Ahsoka is kept in a cage, while Rex and Obi-Wan are sent to a slave-breaking camp on Kadavo.
  • Zygerrian Queen Miraj Scintel likes Anakin and tries to convince him to serve her willingly in exchange for freeing his friends.
• EPISODE Escape from Kadavo
  • Anakin and Ahsoka escape Zygerria after Dooku kills Miraj and head to Kadavo.
  • Obi-Wan and Rex are also able to escape once the chaos starts, and Rex kills the slave-breaking camp’s warden.
  • With help from Plo Koon and the 104^th, they are able to rescue the colonists.
• EPISODE A Friend in Need
  • Lux Bonteri interrupts a peace meeting on Mandalore to accuse Dooku of killing his mother.
  • Ahsoka goes after him, and he knocks her out and takes her to Planet Carlac, where it is revealed he is working with Death Watch.
  • After Death Watch kills several innocent locals, Lux turns on them and Ahsoka fights them off like a badass. They are both able to escape and Lux goes off on his own.
• EPISODE Deception
  • Obi-Wan is seemingly killed by a bounty hunter named Rako Hardeen.
  • It is a ploy to infiltrate the Republic Judiciary Central Detention Center and learn Moralo Eval’s plan to kidnap the Chancellor.
  • Obi-Wan takes Hardeen’s place and later escapes the prison with Eval and Cad Bane.
• EPISODE Friends and Enemies
  • Obi-Wan and his two new “friends” go to Nal Hutta to pick up new gear. A bounty put on them causes trouble, so Mace asks Palpatine to rescind it.
  • Anakin goes after them still, and when they escape again, he realizes Obi-Wan is alive.
• EPISODE The Box
  • Obi-Wan, Eval, and Cad Bane travel to Serenno and meet Dooku.
  • They enter The Box, a challenge Eval designed to select the best bounty hunters for the mission.
  • They survive and Bane is selected to lead the mission.
• EPISODE Crisis on Naboo
  • The bounty hunter strike team infiltrates Naboo’s Festival of Light to kidnap Palpatine.
  • They succeed, but Dooku doesn’t arrive at the rendezvous. Obi-Wan is forced to reveal himself and the hunters are arrested.
  • Obi-Wan discovers Dooku had bugged his gun, and with Anakin is able to thwart a second attempt at kidnapping Palpatine. Still, after everything Anakin is furious he was lied to.
• EPISODE Massacre
  • Grievous annihilates the Nightsisters Clan under Dooku’s orders.
  • Ventress, Mother Talzin, Merrin, and Morgan Elsbeth are the only survivors.
• EPISODE Bounty
  • Ventress decides to give bounty hunting a shot and joins Krayt's Claw, a bounty hunting team led by Boba Fett (who has somehow left prison).
  • When the chest they are protecting contains a kidnapped girl, Ventress frees her and tricks the client into giving her the bounty money.
  • Ventress gives Krayt’s Claw their cut and goes off on her own, embracing her future.
• EPISODE Brothers
  • Savage goes to Lotho Minor and finds his long lost brother, Maul.
  • His mission is noticed by the Jedi, who have to tell Obi-Wan the guy he cut in half isn’t dead somehow.
• EPISODE Revenge
  • Savage brings Maul to Dathomir, where Mother Talzin heals Maul’s mind and gives him new legs.
  • Maul slaughters a Raydonian village to draw out Obi-Wan. They capture him and plan to torture him to death.
  • Ventress of all people saves Obi-Wan and together they drive back the two brothers.
• EPISODE A War on Two Fronts
  • Anakin, Obi-Wan, Ahsoka, and Rex go to Onderon to train local guerilla fighters to fight the Separatist occupation.
  • They are met with Lux Bonteri and his two new allies, Saw and Steela Gerrera.
• EPISODE Front Runners
  • Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Rex have to leave, but Ahsoka remains to supervise.
  • The rebels attack the city of Iziz’s main power station.
  • Dooku sends reinforcements, including Droid General Kalani.
• EPISODE The Soft War
  • Saw attempts to save Onderon’s imprisoned King Ramsis Dendup, but is captured.
  • He and the king are both rescued by Ahsoka and the rebels and they make their escape.
• EPISODE Tipping Points
  • Droids attack the rebel base but the rebels fight them off.
  • Steela is killed when she is prevented from falling off a cliff by Ahsoka, but Ahsoka is shot and loses focus on the Force.
  • The Separatists are driven off of Onderon and the planet rejoins the Republic.
• EPISODE The Gathering
  • Ahsoka takes a group of younglings to Illum to get their kyber crystals.
• EPISODE A Test of Strength
  • The younglings go to the Crucible to learn how to build lightsabers from Master Huyang.
  • They are attacked by Hondo’s gang and Ahsoka is captured.
• EPISODE Bound for Rescue
  • The younglings go to Florrum to rescue Ahsoka.
  • Obi-Wan’s ship is attacked by Grievous. Grievous gets away and Obi-Wan can’t send help to the younglings just yet.
• EPISODE A Necessary Bond
  • While trying to escape Florrum, Ahsoka and the younglings encounter Grievous.
  • They fight him off and are eventually picked up by Obi-Wan.
• EPISODE Secret Weapons
  • R2 joins a droid squad led by diminutive Colonel Meebur Gascon to capture a Separatist decoding module from within the vault of an enemy battleship.
  • After some difficulties, they succeed in obtaining the module.
• EPISODE A Sunny Day in the Void
  • A comet storm makes Gascon and the D-Squad crash-land on Planet Abafar.
  • They wander the planet’s wasteland, getting on each other’s nerves but eventually finding common ground.
• EPISODE Missing in Action
  • Gascon and the D-Squad find a settlement on Abafar, where they encounter Gregor– an amnesiac Clone Commando from the Foxtrot Group of the 212^th who went missing after the Battle of Skarrish.
  • Gregor helps the squad escape the planet, ending up caught in a Rhydonium explosion and seemingly killed.
  • (Offscreen) Gregor survives and is rescued by Republic forces.
• EPISODE Point of No Return
  • The D-Squad learns the Republic ship they used to escape is secretly a fake meant to bomb the Republic Navy.
  • R2 sends the others away so he can set off the bomb prematurely. Anakin recovers his remains and he is repaired.

19 BBY

• EPISODE Revival
  • Savage and Maul go on a murder spree across the galaxy.
  • They go to Florrum and temporarily take over Hondo’s pirate gang.
  • Obi-Wan and Adi Gallia go to confront him, but Savage kills Adi.
  • Obi-Wan cuts off Savage’s arm but the brothers escape.
• EPISODE Eminence
  • Savage and Maul are picked up Death Watch, who give them a brand new arm and legs respectively.
  • They all form an alliance.
  • With help from Death Watch, Maul gets the allegiance of the Black Sun, the Pykes, and the Hutts (after killing Oruba the Hutt). They form the Shadow Collective.
• EPISODE Shades of Reason
  • The Shadow Collective attacks Mandalore, making Satine’s government look weak against the threat.
  • Death Watch comes in and pretends to be heroes, taking the throne of Mandalore from Satine. They then turn on Maul and Savage.
  • Maul and Savage escape prison and Maul kills Pre Vizsla, claiming the Darksaber. He makes Almec his puppet leader.
• EPISODE The Lawless
  • Obi-Wan goes to Mandalore alone to confront Maul and rescue Satine.
  • Unfortunately, they are caught and Satine is killed by Maul. Obi-Wan escapes with help from Bo-Katan Kryze and her Nite Owls.
  • Palpatine confronts Maul and Savage on Mandalore. Savage is killed and Maul is captured.
• EPISODE Sabotage
  • The Jedi Temple is bombed, and Ahsoka and Anakin investigate despite growing outcry against the Jedi and the war.
  • The culprit is discovered to be Letta Turmond, who put explosive nano-droids in her husband’s food and set him off when he showed up to work at the temple.
• EPISODE The Jedi Who Knew Too Much
  • Ahsoka visits Letta in prison and is framed for her murder.
  • Ahsoka escapes prison and goes on the run. Anakin tries to get her to stay, but she refuses and vanishes into the lower levels of Coruscant.
• EPISODE To Catch a Jedi
  • Anakin and Plo Koon are sent to search for Ahsoka.
  • Ahsoka contacts Barriss for help, who promises to investigate on her end.
  • Ahsoka is caught by Ventress, but she convinces her to help instead of turning her in for her bounty.
  • The duo are attacked by a mysterious Force-wielder, and Ahsoka ends up stunned and captured by Wolffe after finding crates of nano-droids.
• EPISODE The Wrong Jedi
  • Ahsoka is cast out of the Jedi Order so she can undergo a GAR military trial, with now-Adjutant General Tarkin as head prosecutor and Padmé as her defense.
  • Anakin discovers Barriss is the true murderer and gets her to confess before Ahsoka can be executed.
  • Ahsoka is invited back into the Order, but she refuses and chooses to go off on her own.
• EPISODE The Unknown
  • Battle of Ringo Vinda.
  • Admiral Trench is revealed to still be alive and leads the Separatist effort.
  • Tup’s inhibitor chip malfunctions and he kills Jedi Master Tiplar. Republic is forced to retreat.
  • Dooku orders that Tup be captured but Anakin, Rex, and Fives prevent the Separatists from getting him.
• EPISODE Conspiracy
  • Tup is quarantined on Kamino, but Fives stays with him to make sure he’s okay.
  • Nala Se insists Tup’s behavior is because of a virus, but Shaak Ti is skeptical. In reality, Lama Su and Nala Se realize it’s a premature activation of Order 66 and report it to Tyranus (Dooku). He instructs them to kill Tup and dissect his body.
  • Fives performs a brain scan on Tup, finding the chip and then removing it. Unfortunately, Tup dies.
• EPISODE Fugitive
  • Nala Se attempts to mindwipe Fives, but he escapes along side AZI-3.
  • Fives researches the chip and learns every clone has one. He has his removed.
  • He tells Shaak Ti about the chips. Nala Se claims the chips are harmless and wants to destroy him since he’s Kaminoan property. Shaak Ti reminds her that the clones “belong” to the Republic. Fives is instead taken to Coruscant.
• EPISODE Orders
  • Nala Se drugs Fives, making him erratic.
  • Palpatine secretly tells Fives the truth of it all and Fives attacks him, making him look deranged from removing his chip.
  • Fives gets Anakin and Rex to a secret location to tell them the truth, but they don’t believe him due to his behavior. Coruscant Guardsmen led by Clone Commander Fox arrive, and Fox kills Fives.
  • Tup and Fives’ behavior is blamed on a Ringo Vinda parasite, and the Jedi are left believing the chips are simply there to make clones less aggressive.
  • (Offscreen) Unsettled by the incident, Rex files a grievance report despite knowing it will be buried.
• EPISODE An Old Friend
  • Rush Clovis asks Padmé to help him investigate a conspiracy in the Banking Clan on Scipio.
  • She discovers they are out of money. Unfortunately, her handmaiden Teckla Minnau loses her life causing a distraction. Padmé is arrested for espionage.
  • Anakin saves her and Clovis, taking them away from Scipio.
• EPISODE The Rise of Clovis
  • Clovis pleads his case to Chancellor Palpatine and the Jedi, who tell him he needs to investigate more.
  • Dooku offers Clovis the files he needs.
  • Clovis shows Padmé the files, and tries to kiss her. Anakin beats the crap out of him and Padmé asks for a separation.
  • Clovis is made head of the Banking Clan.
• EPISODE Crisis at the Heart
  • Clovis and Padmé return to Scipio, where Dooku tries to cash in on the favor Clovis owes him.
  • Separatists fleet invades Scipio. Padmé’s clone escort fights back valiantly against droids but all die, including Clone Commander Thorn.
  • The Republic Navy arrives to fight the Separatists. An attack collapses the office Padmé and Clovis are in. Anakin saves Padmé but Clovis sacrifices himself to protect her.
  • Anakin and Padmé reconcile. Palpatine gains complete control of the banks.
• EPISODE The Disappeared
  • Mace Windu and Jar Jar go to Bardotta to investigate several disappearances of mystics.
  • The Bardottan Queen Julia turns out to be an old flame of Jar Jar.
  • The Frangawl Cult is responsible, but when Jar Jar and Mace fight them, their leader escapes with the queen.
• EPISODE The Disappeared Part 2
  • Mace and Jar Jar follow the kidnappers to Zardossa Stix.
  • It’s revealed Mother Talzin is the mastermind, wanting to steal the Force from within Julia to make herself stronger.
  • Mace and Jar Jar rescue the queen, but Talzin escapes.
• EPISODE The Lost One
  • Plo Koon finds a ship containing Sifo-Dyas’ lightsaber, and an investigation is launched to find out what happened.
  • They learn the Pykes were hired by Tyranus to kill Sifo-Dyas, and they learn that Tyranus is another name for Dooku.
  • The Jedi Council realizes Dooku essentially created the clone army, and are unsure what to make of it. All they can do is “play his game.”
• EPISODE Voices
  • Yoda hears the voice of Qui-Gon. During a Council meeting, it is suggested Dooku is merely the Sith Apprentice.
  • The Council spends a day meditating with Yoda to find the source of the voice, but get nothing.
  • Rig Nema suggests a deep meditation treatment to help him. Qui-Gon advises Yoda to go to Dagobah.
  • Yoda escapes the infirmary with Anakin’s help and goes to Dagobah, where he begins learning how to keep one’s individuality in the Force.
• EPISODE Destiny
  • Yoda leaves Dagobah and finds the Well of Life.
  • Yoda meets Force entities who challenge him and his beliefs with various trials and visions.
  • He passes them all, and is told his final challenge will be held on Moraband.
• EPISODE Sacrifice
  • Yoda goes to Moraband, fending off Sith spirits and illusions, like one of Darth Bane.
  • Palpatine tries to attack Yoda on Moraband using sorcery. It fails and Yoda is able to leave the planet after receiving a vision of the future.
  • Yoda keeps his experiences to himself, but has a… new hope for the future.
• BOOK Thrawn: Alliances
  • Anakin meets Chiss Defense Fleet Commander Mitth'raw'nuruodo, AKA Thrawn, while traveling to Batuu to find a missing Padmé.
  • The duo track her to Mokivj and are able to rescue her. The three of them deal a blow against the Separatists.
  • Anakin and Thrawn part ways, with Thrawn thinking Anakin is reckless but has respect for him as a warrior.
• UNAIRED EPISODES Crystal Crisis on Utapau
  • Obi-Wan and Anakin investigate a mysterious death of a Jedi Master on Utapau, and uncover secret Separatist weapons.
  • They allow themselves to be captured by weapons dealers who possess a powerful focusing crystal.
  • Obi-Wan and Anakin must escape from Utapau with a kyber crystal before General Grievous and his droid army track them down.
  • The crystal ends up destroyed, which the Council says was for the best. After all, we wouldn’t want giant superweapons powered by kyber crystals, right?
• BOOK Dark Disciple (Part 1)— The Fall
  • After the fall of Planet Mahranee to the Separatists and the destruction of a refugee freighter, the Council decides to send an assassin after Dooku.
  • Obi-Wan is against this, but Quinlan Vos is sent.
  • Quinlan teams up with Ventress, and after a failed side mission starts learning the Dark Side from her. They fall in love.
  • Quinlan and Ventress go after Dooku, but they fail. Quinlan is captured after helping Ventress escape. Dooku tortures him into becoming his new apprentice. Ventress tries to save him with her bounty hunter friends, but fails.
• COMICS EVENTS Son of Dathomir
  • Maul escapes Stygeon Prime with help from Gar Saxon and Rook Kast.
  • Jedi Master Tiplee is killed by Dooku.
  • Mother Talzin is killed by Grievous.
  • (OFFSCREEN) Maul returns to Mandalore and reforms the Shadow Collective with Black Sun, the Pykes, and Crimson Dawn.
• BOOK Dark Disciple (Part 2) — The Rescue
  • Months after Ventress’ failed rescue of Quinlan, Quinlan is now “Admiral Enigma” in the Separatist army.
  • The Jedi learn of his location and decide to include Ventress in the rescue operation. Mace and Anakin are skeptical, but Obi-Wan and Yoda vouch for her.
  • They rescue him. The Council decides to test his allegiances by sending him to kill Dooku again. Ventress goes with him.
  • Quinlan convinces Dooku to lead him to Sidious so he can kill them both at the same time. Dooku calls Sidious, but Quinlan doesn’t learn his identity.
  • Dooku attacks Quinlan, but Ventress sacrifices her life to save him.
  • Quinlan lets go of the Dark Side and returns to the Light Side, surrendering himself to the Jedi Order. He is pardoned, and he and Obi-Wan take Ventress’ body to Dathomir for burial.
  • (Offscreen) Ventress is revived by the green waters of Dathomir after the Jedi leave.
• COMICS EVENTS Kanan
  • Depa Billaba wakes up from a six-month coma, and youngling Caleb Dume passes his initiate trials.
  • The Jedi Temple is bombed again, this time by Separatist captain Rackham Sear. He is foiled by Billaba and Caleb.
  • Billaba takes Caleb as her Padawan and the pair go to take over her new clone battalion.
• EPISODE Gone With a Trace
  • Ahsoka meets Rafa and Trace Martez, befriending the latter and helping them when a droid they built for a client goes wild.
• EPISODE Deal No Deal
  • Ahsoka goes with Rafa and Trace to Kessel where they pick up a spice shipment.
  • When it’s revealed the Pykes are the client, an argument leads to the spice being dumped in space.
  • The three of them end up imprisoned on Oba Diah.
• EPISODE Dangerous Debt
  • Ahsoka learns about the Martez sisters’ past and why they hate Jedi.
  • They all manage to escape and are spotted by Ursa Wren, who is on the planet with the Nite Owls.
  • Ahsoka and the sisters end up recaptured.
• EPISODE Together Again
  • Rafa and Trace offer to get more spice, and Ahsoka remains as collateral.
  • Ahsoka leaves her cell and spies a holo-meeting between the Pykes and Maul.
  • Rafa and Trace returns to save Ahsoka, and they all escape.
  • After returning to Coruscant, Ahsoka is approached by Bo-Katan and she agrees to help the Nite Owls hunt down Maul.
• EPISODE The Bad Batch
  • The Republic is losing all battlefronts on Planet Anaxes.
  • Cody calls in the Bad Batch to help track down the source of the Separatists new strategies.
  • The Bad Batch, Rex, and Jesse take a cyber center and learn the strategy algorithm is really Echo, who survived the Citadel.
• EPISODE A Distant Echo
  • Anakin and Rex go to Skako Minor with the Bad Batch to track down Echo.
  • After an encounter with the locals, they infiltrate the Techno Union's facility there.
  • They find Echo, now a cyborg and hooked into the Techno Union’s computers.
• EPISODE On the Wings of Keeradaks
  • Rex and Tech unhook Echo and they all move to escape the base.
  • They are pursued by droids and flee on the backs of Keeradaks.
  • They find their way to the local village and together fend off the attacking droids.
• EPISODE Unfinished Business
  • Echo has a plan to feed the Separatists bad strategies and has Anakin, Rex, and the Bad Batch escort him to Admiral Trench's dreadnought.
  • Mace and Obi-Wan attack the main Separatist assembly plant while the others do their mission.
  • Echo gets all the droids in one place and deactivates them. After killing Trench, Anakin lets Wrecker blow up the fleet.
  • Echo decides to join the Bad Batch.
• UNAIRED EPISODES Kashyyk
  • The Bad Batch (with new member Echo) accompany Yoda on a mission to Kashyyk.
• UNTOLD STORY Kix
  • Kix performs his own investigation and learns the truth about the inhibitor chips.
  • Dooku learns of his investigation and has him captured by droids.
  • The droids put Kix through horrific torture to find out if he spread his knowledge, but he remains strong. They decide to take him to Serenno so Dooku can interrogate Kix himself.
  • Kix is put into a cryo-stasis pod for the journey. Soon after leaving port, the Separatist ship is attacked by Republic forces and nearly destroyed. A droid sends the ship randomly into hyperspace where it eventually crashes on the desert planet of Ponemah Terminal.
  • Kix survives, but remains frozen and undiscovered for the next fifty years.
• EPISODES Siege of Mandalore/MOVIE Revenge of the Sith
  • Battle of Yerbana. The 212^th are in a bad spot but Anakin and the 501^st help them out.
  • Ahsoka reaches out to her old masters and asks for help with Maul and Mandalore. Coruscant is attacked so Anakin decides to divide the 501^st so he can save the Chancellor and Ahsoka can have help.
  • Ahsoka and the newly-formed 322^nd attack Sundari with the Nite Owls. Almec is arrested and Ahsoka tracks Maul into the undercity, where Clone Captain Vaughn and his men are killed. Maul escapes.
  • Meanwhile, Anakin and Obi-Wan save the Chancellor. Anakin kills Dooku.
  • Anakin learns Padmé is pregnant and begins to have nightmares about her death.
  • The next day he seeks Yoda’s counsel but doesn’t find it helpful.
  • The day after that, Palpatine appoints Anakin to the Council, the Council allows it but doesn’t make him a master. They also ask him to spy on the Chancellor.
  • Anakin goes to talk to Palpatine and learns the Tale of Darth Plagueis. Yoda joins Luminara on Kashyyk.
  • Obi-Wan is sent to Utapau to fight Grievous and takes time to call Ahsoka on Mandalore to inform her of everything that has happened on Coruscant. Maul finally attacks again but kidnaps Jesse to interrogate him on Ahsoka. Later that evening, Ahsoka confronts Maul in the Sundari throne room, gets Jesse back, and eventually captures Maul.
  • The next day, Obi-Wan arrives on Utapau and starts searching for Grievous. He finally finds Grievous and starts to fight him.
  • The Council tells Anakin to tell the Palpatine Grievous has been located and Obi-Wan has engaged him. Ahsoka joins the call and informs them she will help Rex escort Maul to Coruscant. They leave soon after.
  • Anakin learns Palpatine is the Sith Lord. He informs Mace and they go to arrest him with three other Council members.
  • Obi-Wan defeats Grievous and goes on to fight the rest of the droid forces with the 212^th.
  • Palpatine kills Mace and the Jedi, and Anakin agrees to become his new apprentice, taking the name Darth Vader.
  • Palpatine executes Order 66. Cody and his forces turn on Obi-Wan, and all over the galaxy clones kill their Jedi.
  • Depa Billaba is killed on Kaller. Caleb Dume escapes with some aid from the Bad Batch, who are unaffected by the Order (except for Crosshair).
  • Vader marches on the Jedi Temple with the 501^st, killing all the Jedi within.
  • Rex and his men turn on Ahsoka, but she escapes. She releases Maul and is able to remove Rex’s chip. Their ship, the Tribunal, crashes and only Rex, Ahsoka, and Maul survive.
  • Yoda and Obi-Wan are picked up by Bail Organa.
• EPISODES Bad Batch Season 1/MOVIE Revenge of the Sith/ANIMATED SHORT Resolve
  • The following day, Anakin is sent to Mustafar to kill the Separatist leaders.
  • Palpatine declares the Republic is now an Empire. (The Bad Batch watches the speech from Kamino and soon after meet Omega.)
  • Obi-Wan and Yoda go to the temple and discovers Anakin has Fallen. Obi-Wan also records/broadcasts a message warning any surviving Jedi to go into hiding.
  • Obi-Wan visits Padmé, telling her Anakin has Fallen. Padmé decides to go after him on Mustafar. (Obi-Wan stows away on her ship).
  • Yoda confronts Palpatine, but does not defeat him.
  • Padmé arrives on Mustafar and tries to talk sense into Vader, but fails. Obi-Wan fights Vader and lops off his remaining limbs, then leaves him to die. Vader is saved by Palpatine and Shock Troopers, who take him to Coruscant and treat his injuries
  • The following day, Obi-Wan reaches Polis Massa to treat Padmé’s injuries. She is healthy, but she loses the will to live. She gives birth to twin babies just before she dies.
  • Vader reaches Coruscant and is transformed into the cyborg Sith Lord we all know at the same time his children are born.
  • Rex and Ahsoka finish burying their fallen soldiers and leave the moon they crashed on. Ahsoka leaves a lightsaber behind to fake her death.
  • Tarkin tells Lama Su that the Kaminoan contracts are void and he needs to determine if the clones have a future with the Empire. 
  • Sometime later, Padmé has her funeral. Ahsoka attends and leaves with Rex before eventually parting ways with him.
  • Baby Luke is taken to Tatooine, and Baby Leia is taken to Alderaan.
• EPISODES Bad Batch Season 1
  • Rex lays the groundwork for the Clone Underground movement to help clones escape the Empire.
  • The Bad Batch, after being sent on a mission to kill innocent civilians, go AWOL with Omega. (Crosshair remains.)
  • The Batch helps Cut and his family escape Saleucami.
  • The Batch meets Cid Scaleback and start running jobs for her. 
  • The Batch reunites with Rex and get their inhibitor chips removed on Bracca. 
  • After suffering horrific burns on Bracca, Crosshair's inhibitor chip is damaged and subsequently removed. He chooses to remain with the Empire. 
  • Cham Syndulla begins a new Free Ryloth movement to fight against the Empire.
  • Tipoca City is destroyed, and the Kaminoans are wiped out save for the ones taken off-planet or were already off-planet.

18 BBY

• EPISODES Bad Batch Season 2/3
  • Palpatine passes legislation officially replacing clone troopers with conscripted soldiers, finalizing the Stormtrooper Program.  
  • Echo joins the Clone Underground.
  • Crosshair betrays the Empire and is incarcerated in Mount Tantiss. 
  • Tech dies on Eriadu, and Omega is captured by Royce Hemlock.
  • Several months later, Crosshair and Omega escape Mount Tantiss and rejoin the Bad Batch.
  • The Bad Batch free the clones trapped in Mount Tantiss and kill Hemlock.
  • The Bad Batch retires to Pabu.

• BOOK Ahsoka/ANIMATED SHORT Resolve
  • Ahsoka moves around the Outer Rim, first on Thabeska and later Raada, trying to hide from the Empire. After an encounter (or two) with Inquisitors, she gains her white lightsabers and decides to join burgeoning rebellion as Fulcrum.
  • However, in exchange for her services, the Rebellion needed to create a way for Force-sensitive children to escape the Empire. This leads to the creation of the Path.

17 BBY

• EPISODE Victory and Death
  • Darth Vader discovers the crashed Tribunal on a frozen moon. He picks up Ahsoka’s lightsaber and leaves.

AND THAT'S IT.

I'M DONE.

HOPE THIS HELPS.

Chapter Text

The Clone Question

It was a long, ten-year road to the Clone Wars, but the day finally came. In 22 BBY, roughly five months in the year and roughly one month after the first round Generation One clones completed their training, Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi arrived to (presumably) inspect the troops. Not long after, Jedi Master Yoda arrived, grabbed (canonically) 192,000 clone troopers, and took them to Geonosis to support the Jedi attempting to capture Dooku and rescue Obi-Wan. Dooku escaped, and the Clone Wars officially began.

However! While Chancellor Palpatine’s emergency powers allowed him to approve use of the clone army, there were still a lot of questions towards the clones, their creation, and their place in the galaxy that the Senate demanded answers for. So while the Grand Army of the Republic was being organized and the first battles started being fought, I imagine several long Senate sessions began to discuss the Clone Question.

* * *

While many in the Senate had been pushing to pass the Military Creation Act, the clone army’s existence was a controversial development.

For starters, there was the fact that the Jedi Order allegedly commissioned an army to begin with. In Legends canon, the Ruusan Reformations forbade the Jedi Order from employing soldiers, from having their own army at all, and from taking military titles within their own army. It also placed them under the supervision of the Supreme Chancellor and the Judicial Department. So one could imagine the Senate wasn’t thrilled when it came out that Jedi created a personal army without their authorization— an action in direct violation of the Reformations. They were equally not thrilled when it came out that there was an unaffiliated planet out in Wild Space capable of creating an entire clone army.

Many in the Senate accused the Jedi of being warmongers, of trying to start a war on purpose, of trying to betray the Republic by colluding with an outside government to disobey the Reformations. The Jedi Council had to explain that, after a preliminary investigation, they discovered Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas acted on his own in response to visions of a great conflict in the future and lied to the Kaminoans, telling them the clone army was requested by the Senate. That led to a slew of new accusations— if they knew the Separatist Crisis was going to happen, why didn’t they say anything sooner? There were calls for the Jedi to be put under even heavier oversight by the Senate.

Additionally, clones were a difficult topic in the Republic even without the added complication of a war starting. There were very few planets with cloning technology, and as such there weren’t many applicable laws regarding it for the rest of the Republic. And typically when it was used, it was for cloning organs for hospital patients (a very expensive task and not used often) or animals/plants for food. Thus many of the laws towards cloned entities were medical or production-based, and they reflected that by declaring cloned subjects to be non-sentient.

There were note exceptions. Some planets used cloning to help prevent the extinction of local animal and plant species, using the technology to bolster the dying populations and offering that service to other planets. And (again, in Legends) the Khommite species of Planet Khomm reproduced solely through cloning technology. (I headcanon the Khommites knew of the Kaminoans and there was a bit of a passive-aggressive, bitter rivalry between them.) For these cases, Republic law had to be adapted accordingly. As a result, the law went like this:

• Republic planets must report all cloning activities to the Senate, detailing their reasons for partaking and the intended purpose for the cloned subjects.
• If there is a case for mass cloning or individual sentient cloning, it must be for reproductive/repopulation purposes ONLY. Only then is a clone considered a protected member of a species or a citizen/sentient (depending on who or what is cloned) under the laws of their home planet and therefore the Republic.
• Mass cloning for this purpose also has to be done carefully so as not to upset genetic diversity on a planet or throughout the galaxy.
• A cloned subject created for any other reason is considered to be for experimental, medical, or product-use ONLY. The clone subject(s) are then considered the property and responsibility of both whatever lab creates them, and what sentient individual orders their creation.

So naturally when the war started and the clone army was introduced, the Senate bickered about how the laws applied to them. Were the clones considered citizens of the Republic? Were they even actually people? Should the Kaminoans be held accountable even though they weren’t part of the Republic? (There were a number of Senators who did not like that the Kaminoans acted outside the law, creating so many clones for the purpose of war instead of repopulation, and without any oversight from the Senate.)

(At some point during all this, a few brave senators tried to bring up the word slave in regard to the clones, but they were immediately shouted down. No one else in the Senate wanted to admit to being complicit in slavery— especially none of the ones who secretly owned slaves themselves. So they— with secret aid from Palpatine— did their best to keep the term from emerging in the Senate and in the media during these discussions, as well as later during the war.)

But seeing as the clones were vital to the Master Plan, Palpatine and his cronies within the Senate quickly came up with arguments that would ensure the clone army's use was accepted and prevent the Jedi from getting in trouble for Sifo-Dyas breaking the Reformations (on paper, at least— the court of public opinion was a whole other story, but more on that later).

• The Separatists already had a droid army ready use as made evident by the First Battle of Geonosis. The Republic needed manpower, and thanks to how long the Military Creation Act stalled in the Senate, there simply wasn’t time to build their own droid army or train conscripted soldiers.
• The laws dictated that mass-cloned subjects were only considered sentient beings with rights or a protected species with rights if they were created with the intention of reproduction/repopulation. The army was cloned from a human (a species in no danger of going extinct), created with the purpose of war, and— due to forced sterilization procedures— was incapable of reproducing (as far as they knew). Thus, under the laws of the Republic the clones could not be considered sentient beings with rights as citizens.
• And since they were not considered sentient, they were property— as much a military asset as a gun or tank. Therefore the Jedi Order could not be charged with illegally recruiting an army because the clones weren’t considered people. The most they could say was the Jedi bought the Republic weapons to use in war without permission.
• That was also key— Sifo-Dyas had commissioned the clone army for the Republic, not the Jedi Order. The Reformations prevented them from having their own army, but not from putting one together for the entire Republic to also benefit from. So while the Jedi technically “owned” the clones, they shared that "ownership" with the Republic.

It was a similar line of thinking that eventually allowed the Jedi Order to take military titles, something that was previously forbidden by the Ruusan Reformations. Palpatine’s emergency powers not only allowed him to approve of the army’s use, but also to recruit the Jedi into the army without Senate approval. However, vocal anti-war senators argued against it, citing the laws and the Jedi Order’s role as peacekeepers, not soldiers. Palpatine and pro-war senators argued that it forbade them to take titles and lead soldiers in their own army. But if they were part of an army that served and was loyal to the entire Republic, and was comprised of non-sentient soldiers, then an exception could be made to the Reformations.

• This was discussed and debated for weeks, but it eventually led to the creation of the Jedi Military Integration Act, which officially put the Jedi Order in command of the Grand Army of the Republic and granted them official military titles.

While many in the Senate were still not happy about the development, it was argued also this could be seen not only as the Jedi upholding their vow to protect the Republic (more on that later), but also taking responsibility for the army their rogue member commissioned. Not to mention that if they were part of the military, then they would be under the heavier oversight many had called for.

The final piece of the puzzle (or the nail in the coffin) were the Kaminoan cloners themselves. Palpatine and the pro-war senators argued that if having an unaffiliated planet create an army was such an issue, then the simplest solution was to have Kamino join the Republic. That way the false contract Sifo-Dyas made with them would become official and the Kaminoans would be subject to the Republic’s cloning laws. They also noted they could make amendments to the contract to prevent the Kaminoans from making a clone army for anyone else, like the Separatists (as corporate neutrality turned out to be a very annoying issue during the war).

This eventually led to the Kaminoans, after several meetings with the Chancellor and the Jedi Council, being allowed to “pitch their product” to the Senate.

• They explained that, by the laws of their own planet, the clones were products and not sentient beings or citizens of Kamino. 
• They explained the cloning process, and the “improvements” they made to Jango Fett’s DNA to “breed” perfect soldiers.
• They gave a summary of Kamino’s combat training program, and used training footage from Kamino and cherry-picked helmet footage from the First Battle of Geonosis to prove its effectiveness. (While Geonosis had high casualties, it was technically a victory and that was all the Senate cared about.)
• The Kaminoans also raved about how the clones were “programmed” for complete obedience and loyalty to the Republic and the Jedi. They promised a security not usually seen in armies— that deserters and traitors would not be an issue. (Of course, this later turned out to be blatantly untrue, but in the moment it sounded very appealing.)
• But on the off-chance any “unit” proved to be “defective,” the Kaminoans revealed they had put together a “reconditioning program” that would remove any “defects” and “fix” the “defective unit.” (I.e., mind-wiping. If you recall from an earlier section the Jedi were against this, but since the Republic— and Palpatine— wanted to ensure the clones remained obedient and the alternative was decommissioning, they were forced to allow it.)

All in all, it was actually a very convincing presentation and it satisfied the majority of the Senate. Kamino joined the Republic with Halle Burtoni acting as their senator, cementing an exclusive cloning contract for the GAR and making Kamino subject to the Republic’s laws on cloning. But as described above, those laws turned out not to be problem— Sifo-Dyas knew the Reformations, and thus went out of his way to create an army the Jedi could lead within those laws (which Palpatine completely capitalized on after having him killed).

And so, while the clone army was already officially approved thanks to the Palpatine’s emergency powers and the Military Creation Act, they also were finally accepted by the Senate— with certain consequences thanks to the cloning laws and the Kaminoans.

• The clones were not citizens, and therefore did not have the same rights and privileges as citizens. The clones were considered military assets to be used in war, and did not have the same rights and benefits as natborn military officers. They did not have a choice in serving in the GAR, and they did not receive pay for their service.
• Because they weren’t considered sentient beings, the clones could not be considered slaves by the laws of the Republic.
• As their creators, the Kaminoans reserved to the right to “recall faulty products” in order to ensure the quality of the army. (Reconditioning.)
• The combination of the cloning laws and the Kaminoans’ pitch to the Senate ended up creating a misconception that clone troopers were essentially “meat droids” without free will and desired nothing more than to be soldiers, as that was what they were made for. This misconception led to poor treatment from natborn officers and civilians alike, but more on that later.
• (However, the Jedi and a number of senators found all of this abhorrent and would work towards getting the clones more rights. Again, more on that later.)

And as for the claims that the Jedi should told the Senate about Sifo-Dyas’ visions to begin with? Palpatine ended up giving a speech to the Senate, stating that while it was not an ideal situation, the Jedi Order should be thanked for their magnificent foresight since the Republic now had an army ready and no innocent civilians would have to fight. (The man truly had a way of making severely screwed-up situations sound almost reasonable. Also notice his phrasing implicates the entire Jedi Order and not just Sifo-Dyas.)

With the matter settled, the Republic continued the difficult job of actually putting together a proper military when it had gone literally centuries without one.

Birth of the GAR

Now I’m not going into the entire creation/structure of the Republic Army and Navy, as this is ultimately a headcanon guide and I don’t really have many headcanons there. (For this, I would recommend visiting the source material or Wookiepedia.) But for the sake of being a completionist, here’s a brief summary as I have come to understand it.

• The passing Emergency Powers Act allowed Chancellor Palpatine to pass the Military Creation Act and formally create the Grand Army of the Republic.
• Before there was an army, there was the Republic Judicial Department, which performed any military functions the Republic needed. The Republic Navy was a branch of the department, and when the war started it became part of the Grand Army of the Republic. Many of the GAR’s natborn officers were originally from the department, such as Admiral Wullf Yularen of the Resolute or Admiral Block of the Negotiator.
• As part of the Military Creation Act, the Republic Navy conscripted the vessels and crew of Republic worlds for the war effort.
• Republic High Command managed the army/navy and was made up of experienced admirals and generals from various Republic planets. The Jedi Council also managed the army/navy as part of an agreement between the Jedi Order and the Supreme Chancellor. Jedi Council Member Oppo Rancisis served as the Jedi Order’s representative in High Command.
• The Jedi started out as unofficially part of the army (due to all the rigmarole with the Ruusan Reformations). The only Jedi who served as unofficial generals and commanders at first were the 29 Jedi survivors (out of 212) of the First Battle of Geonosis, as they had experience working with the clones.
• The Jedi Military Integration Act officially brought the rest of the Jedi Order into the war, putting them in charge of the Grand Army of the Republic with Jedi Knights acting as Generals and Jedi Padawans acting as Commanders.

Got it? Good. Moving on.

Since Republic had the navy largely squared away, it was just a matter of adding the clone troopers into the mix and putting together the rest of the GAR. Luckily for them, there wasn’t as much work to do on that front. The way I see it, the Kaminoans had made armies in the past so they and the Cuy’val Dar probably already put the clones into rudimentary battalions based on skill and function, from infantry to specialists like scuba troopers or cold weather troopers. It was just a matter of High Command reviewing the personnel files and then grouping the battalions together to create the larger units within the new wider 10 Systems Armies. Any further organization could be done personally by whatever Jedi or non-Jedi commanding officer was assigned to the units.

I imagine the Kaminoan cloners had a sort of “clone army package” in their contract with the Republic. Along with providing the actual army and organizing it, the package came with additional benefits and perks (for all their moral bankruptcy they were pretty good businessmen.) This package included (but was not limited to):

• Gear for the troopers. The Kaminoan armor smiths provided the phase 1 and 2 trooper armor and related gear, such as their black bodygloves (referred to as “blacks” by the troopers, and also kute if they used Mando’a.) That being said, the phase 1 armor wasn’t very comfortable as Kaminoans didn’t really understand what was comfy for human anatomy and were too prideful to ask the Cuy’val Dar for more input. They eventually learned their lesson and took suggestions for the phase 2 armor.
• Medical care. Since Kaminoans knew the clones’ physiology best, they offered their services for the clones’ healthcare. This meant either bringing the clones to Kamino for treatment or having Kaminoan medical personnel in charge of the various Republic medical stations used in the war. This was all organized and controlled by Chief Medical Scientist Nala Se.
• Rations. The Kaminoans had been feeding the clones for a decade, so they ended up providing some of the ration kits that made up the GAR supply line. They were all perfectly nutritionally balanced and pretty bland, but the clones were used to them so they didn’t complain too much.

Otherwise, the Republic was able to either use old navy contracts with the Judicial Department or acquire new ones in order to provide the GAR with their weapons and military vehicles, like tanks and speeder bikes. For example, they canonically got BlasTech Industries to build many of their weapons, like the DC-17 repeater hand blaster or the DC-15A blaster rifle, and Kuat Drive Yards to build their Star Destroyers. (Though it should be noted many of these companies also had contracts with the Separatists thanks to corporate neutrality— the Techno Union was even Kuat Drive Yards and BlasTech’s parent company! This largely resulted in massive cases of war profiteering, which was the reason the Techno Union and the Trade Federation even agreed to take part in the war and did their best to prolong it.)

However, I headcanon that while no expense was spared for weapons and vehicles, the Republic went for the cheapest possible option for any non-combat necessities, like hygiene products or food rations. As I mentioned earlier, Kaminoans provided some rations as part of their contract package, but anything else went to the lowest (but reputed) bidder. As a result, those necessities were all perfectly functional but not very comfortable. For example:

• The GAR acquired ration bars, protein cubes, ration cubes, or nutrient paste from other suppliers besides the Kaminoans. Either they were totally bland like the Kaminoan rations, or were completely disgusting to eat. Very rarely did they taste even remotely passable, so clone troopers usually saved the tasty (by comparison) rations for last.
• Bedsheets and blankets were typically very scratchy and not comfortable to sleep on. And since the GAR used the same industrial cleaner for everything, they always smelled heavily of bleach.
• Hygiene products. The clones used sonic showers when on Kamino and aboard Star Destroyers, but when in their Coruscant barracks, they had access to actual water showers. Unfortunately, this luxury was ruined by the cheapest, most medicinal-smelling four-in-one soap available to them. (What's the fourth one? No one knows!) In the field, they were simply given chem-wipes to clean up with. They were also given industrial-strength deodorant and menthol toothpaste, which respectively did not smell or taste very pleasant.

The Jedi would try to spend their own stipend money to buy nicer things for their clone troopers when they could (but more on that later). There were also attempts from kinder senators (like Padmé Amidala) to procure better supplies for the clones, but many others fought it. They would claim the clones weren’t sentient, they didn’t need better supplies, and the war was expensive enough already without wasting money on unnecessary frivolities.

* * *

But there wasn’t just organization and supplies to consider— the Republic also needed to decide on the official regulations, protocols, and rules within the GAR. Some of it was as simple as transferring regulations over from the Judicial Department and the Republic Navy, but the Senate demanded that since the army was a clone army, special regulations needed to be put into place with them specifically in mind.

For example, the GAR Emergency Protocol Database grew from the database the Republic Navy had before war. The first protocols transferred over from the navy to the clone army, but as we learned in Star Wars: Rebels, Marshall Commander Cody and Clone Captain Rex ended up coming up with so many new codes and emergency protocols over the course of the war they practically wrote the GAR Emergency Protocol Database themselves. (These codes would be so effective that the Empire would continue to use them when it rose to power.)

GAR High Command also quickly put the GAR Regulation Database together with input from Judicial Department veterans, the Kaminoans, and the Jedi Council (the Cuy'val Dar had left Kamino mere days after the Battle of Geonosis). Some of the regulations were typical for soldiers of any military, but Jedi and the Kaminoans ended up arguing on many of the clone-specific ones, as the Kaminoans’ preferences didn’t take into account the clones were sentient people instead of just military assets. The Jedi ended up getting overruled on a lot of them by Palpatine, who claimed it was all in the name of security and could be revisited when the war was over. (Spoiler alert: he was lying through his teeth.)

While most of these regulations were created when the war started, others were added as the war dragged on. But since I’m not about to sit here and go over the entirety of the Grand Army of the Republic Regulation Database with you, I’ll just go over what I think to be most obvious or most important:

• Troopers’ hair must be kept above the ears.
  • This one wasn’t really enforced, at least not by the Jedi, and many clones got around it by either ignoring it (like Hunter) or keeping their hair in buns (like Tup).
  • The Jedi also wanted it phrased like this so it would encourage the clone troopers to experiment with different hairstyles and hair dye.

• Trooper armor decorations cannot not depict words, nor can it depict inappropriate or seditious symbols. It also cannot cover up anything denoting unit, rank, or affiliation.
  • This went into effect when decorating armor became more widespread among clones, and a few clones tried putting inappropriate images or explicit phrases on their armor. The GAR Public Relations Department didn’t think it’d be a good look in official holopics and holovids, so those got banned.
  • Clones got around this by getting tattoos that broke those rules since they were usually covered by armor anyway. 

• Troopers cannot fraternize with superior officers.
  • This rule existed before the clones, intending to maintain discipline and to prevent the appearance of favoritism between soldiers. Many saw it as a non-issue with the clones since their superior officers were mostly Jedi, who banned romantic relationships anyway. (Not that this stopped certain Jedi— who may or may not be named Anakin or Obi-Wan— from taking certain clones out for friendly meals at Dex’s Diner whenever they were on Coruscant despite this also counting as fraternization for the clones.)
  • The Kaminoans (and several natborn GAR officers) also wanted to ban fraternization with civilians as well, since not only was it seen as a security risk, but also because the clones were considered non-sentient and thus they believed relationships with civilian sentients— either friendly or romantic— shouldn’t be allowed. The Kaminoans even tried to argue that the clones were conditioned to not want such things anyway. The Jedi argued vehemently against them, stating the war wouldn’t last forever and the clones needed to know life outside the army so they wouldn’t be completely out of their depth when it did end.
  • Eventually the Jedi and the Kaminoans/High Command came to a compromise, which would lead to the creation of 79’s cantina. But more on that later.

• Troopers are forbidden from taking trophies from battlefields or downed enemies, nor are they to engage to excessive force against non-droid enemies, prisoners, or civilians unless given a direct order from High Command. Unsanctioned and/or excessive torture of a prisoner or enemy is also forbidden unless otherwise ordered by High Command. Any trooper who disobeys this directive will be returned to Kamino for evaluation and possible reconditioning depending on the severity of the offense.
  • Military and civilian ethics were part of the clones’ education/conditioning growing up, mostly because one savvy Kaminoan figured releasing several million men on the galaxy without any form of morals was a probably bad idea. It helped that Jango supported the endeavor since, despite taking part in creating a slave army, he wasn’t an idiot and had some standards.
  • It worked out that the Judicial Department and the Republic Navy already had regulations for this matter, so it was easy enough to adapt it to the clones. The Jedi Council also approved of this regulation as it aligned with their more compassionate beliefs, though they argued that excessive force should be banned outright instead of being only in certain circumstances. They were outvoted.
  • Since these ethical practices were part of their conditioning, clones who deviated from them were not only acting against regulations, but also seen as defective. For example, Chopper taking droid fingers as trophies was seen as both a defective act and against regulations.
  • There were more extreme examples, but again (for the hundredth time this chapter), more on that later.

• Any trooper found to be willfully inflicting or intending to inflict bodily harm to another clone trooper will either be imprisoned or returned to Kamino for evaluation and possible reconditioning depending on the severity of the offense.
  • As you’ll recall from previous sections, clones were conditioned to support and protect their brothers. They were also conditioned to not be willful, angry, frustrated, or any other emotion or behavior the Kaminoans deemed defective. A clone willingly hurting another clone was seen as a violation of that. (It’s why the clones tried to hide any physical fights they had when they were younger.)
  • If this happened back during training before the war started, they would be sent to retraining pods or decommissioned if the behaviors persisted. In the actual army when the war started, it was seen as a more severe offense as it could be a threat to not only unit cohesiveness, but the security of the GAR if the guilty party turned out to be a traitor— which the Kaminoans claimed was supposed to be impossible.
  • And since decommissioning was not allowed anymore, that meant evaluation and reconditioning if necessary.

• Any trooper found to be willfully inflicting or intending to inflict bodily harm to a Jedi will be arrested for treason and either imprisoned, executed, or for returned to Kamino for reconditioning depending on the severity of the offense.
  • The Kaminoans insisted on this one, and High Command and even certain members of the Jedi Council agreed. After all, the clones were supposed to be 100% loyal to the Jedi by design and by Kaminoan guarantee. Any behavior deviating from that was taken as a serious threat to the GAR that needed to be dealt with severely.
  • This even included training accidents, so clones were often reluctant to spar with their Jedi superiors until their Jedi convinced them they wouldn’t report any purely accidental injuries.
  • And of course, this also included taking out Jedi traitors as we see with Dogma killing Pong Krell.
  • The real reason for this regulation was to make sure the biochips were either functioning properly or kept a secret if they weren’t. The clones would one day kill the Jedi, but not until the moment Palpatine willed it. Any sign of it happening too soon could not be tolerated.

* * *

Eventually, the Republic and the Senate decided the Clone Question was satisfactorily answered and they had done enough preparation for the fight ahead. They had their Grand Army of the Republic, and it was time to fight the Confederacy of Independent Systems. The Clone Wars had begun. 

Which, as we know from canon, was not exactly fun for the clones. But how was it on the field even when not in active battle? What was it like when clones met the Jedi for the first time, and for the first time met people other than brothers who actually saw them as individuals? How did they start to develop their own identities as individuals? How did they spend their limited free time, and how were they perceived by general public?

All good questions, and ones I will answer next time. 

Chapter Text

The Jedi Accept the Clones

So in the last section I discussed the Senate and the Clone Question, with how the clone army was ultimately accepted by them.

What I didn’t discuss was the how Jedi came to fully accept them and their use.

Let’s rewind.

In 22 BBY, roughly four months into the tenth year of cloning on Kamino, the Generation One/First Round clones— around 200,000 clones— completed their training and became the first official clone troopers. Many of the clones expected a Jedi to arrive to either pick up the first installment of their “order” or, at the very least, come to make sure production was on schedule. But as the weeks passed, not a single Jedi ever came to check on their “commissioned order.” Lama Su, Nala Se, and Taun We kept in regular contact with Tyranus (who they did not know was Dooku and a Sith), but the man did not come in to inspect the troops personally. Everyone, both clones and Kaminoans, started to think no one ever would.

But someone did— a month later, Obi-Wan Kenobi arrived while investigating the bounty hunter who attacked Padmé Amidala, and as we all know, was very surprised to learn the Jedi Order and the Republic were now in possession of a clone army. Still, he played along while Lama Su gave the grand tour and explained logistics (and being thoroughly disturbed, more on that in a bit), and from there we get the rest of Attack of the Clones— Obi-Wan ends up on Geonosis, Palpatine gets emergency powers and passes the Military Creation Act, Yoda picks up 192,000 Generation One/First Round clone troopers, and the Jedi and the clones win what comes to be known as the First Battle of the Geonosis. We hear Obi-Wan admit at the end of the movie that without the clones it wouldn’t have been a victory, but I think it wouldn’t have been that easy for the Jedi Order to accept the clone army and officially join the conflict.

* * *

The way I see it, there were several reasons the Jedi ended up fighting in the Clone Wars despite their official roles as diplomats and peacekeepers. As I mentioned in the last section, there was the fact that the Jedi Order had vowed to serve and protect the Republic, to maintain law and order in the galaxy and preserve peace. Many Jedi felt the best way to return peace to the galaxy was to fight and end the war as quickly as possible— some even went as far as to claim it was the will of the Force that they participate due to the events leading up to it. Others felt they couldn’t ignore the suffering of innocents in the galaxy by staying out of the war. (And there was also the fact many in the Senate were calling for their involvement, of course, citing the above reasons themselves.)

That all being said, I think another reason the Jedi decided to enter the conflict was for the clones themselves.

The first couple weeks of the war were a tense time, with the GAR organizing and the first battles breaking out. The Senate was demanding answers about the clone army, and the Jedi Order was right up there with them in wanting some. So before those long, long Senate meetings discussing the Clone Question occurred, the Jedi Council (specifically the members who took part in and survived the First Battle of Geonosis) went about getting some. They needed to investigate not only why they now co-owned a clone army with the Republic, but also the cloners who created them because what Obi-Wan and later Yoda witnessed on Kamino had… disturbing implications.

On the first matter, they learned from Lama Su that Master Sifo-Dyas specifically approached the Kaminoans in 33 BBY, which members of the Jedi Council who’d been there at the time recalled that he’d claimed to have visions of a great future conflict. He’d said that the Republic needed to raise an army, but the council rejected the idea as being too extreme. As a result, Sifo-Dyas was removed from the council. They figured that sometime after that he went to Kamino and commissioned the army under the guise it was requested by the Senate. The following year in 32 BBY, he died while on a mission for the Jedi Order.

• I theorize they didn’t investigate Sifo-Dyas’ involvement further due to the war fully kicking off and having other priorities, like the clones themselves. They would not learn the true circumstances behind Sifo-Dyas’ death and identity of Tyranus until the last year of the Clone Wars, in the episode “The Lost Ones.”

On the second matter, Obi-Wan and Yoda were not only able to give their own full, detailed reports about what they witnessed on Kamino, but mere days after Geonosis, Jedi Master Shaak Ti was ordered to go to Kamino to make a more thorough investigation. At the same time, Madame Jocasta Nu was tasked with researching the Republic’s laws on cloning and presenting her findings to the Jedi Council.

• I headcanon that besides the tour we see Obi-Wan receive in AOTC (which was already horrifying, given the talk of advanced aging, the enormous breeding trees filled with baby clones, and mentions of total obedience), Lama Su also took him into a room where he was presented with individual clone troopers as sort of “samples” of the Jedi’s “commission.” I imagine a really, really uncomfortable presentation where these clones were shown off like livestock or nice furniture, Lama Su pointing out their “features” and invading their personal space and referring to them by their alphabetical-numerical designations. It was incredibly dehumanizing and Obi-Wan had to bite his tongue the whole time. (This instance is also on my upcoming one-shot list, so stay tuned!)
• Yoda’s time on Kamino was briefer, but he too was unnerved by the use of numbers instead of names and the way the clones were far too eager to prove their loyalty. I headcanon he specifically asked for volunteers to come to Kamino, and was shocked (in his Yoda-ish way) when the Clone Commanders didn’t seem to understand and simply stated their brothers would follow as ordered. Of the 200,000 completely-ready clones, he just barely managed to convince 8,000 to remain behind as a reserve force. (Among these 8,000 was Cody, which is why he didn’t fight in the First Battle of Geonosis.)

And then there’s Shaak Ti. Armed with Yoda and Obi-Wan’s reports, she arrived on Kamino and promptly made several discoveries with the help of Kal Skirata, who hadn’t cleared out with the Nulls yet despite the rest of the Cuy’val Dar already running off.

Kal Skirata canonically loathed the Jedi Order but he did care about the clones, so I headcanon that on his way out, he gave Shaak Ti tips on where to look to get the full (as far as he knew), awful picture of the Kaminoans’ methods. With his aid, she quickly discovered the retraining pods, the mental conditioning, the use of extreme corporal punishment by trainers, the lack of bodily autonomy, and worst of all, the decommissioning protocols. She immediately levied her role as one of their “clients” to pause any and all training, citing the loss of the Cuy’val Dar as a reason, until the Council and the Chancellor discussed the Kaminoans’ position in the war and new trainers for the clones.

The rest of Jedi Council were equally horrified and by that point, Jocasta Nu had finished her research into the Republic’s cloning laws and reported that the clones were not considered sentient beings under those laws. The Jedi had fought beside the clones on Geonosis— Obi-Wan, Yoda, and Shaak Ti had seen them on Kamino. Even though they all looked the same, each and every clone shined in the Force as individual feeling beings. Maybe the Jedi could justify entering the war for the sake of reclaiming peace and dispensing justice, but how could they justify leading what was essentially a slave army? (Which is what the clone army was, no matter what the law said.) They knew they needed to take responsibility for the clones somehow since the only reason they even existed was because one of their own went rogue, but the Jedi Council was split on what exactly taking responsibility entailed since a number of them did not want to enter the war regardless. There a number of “discussions" (read: arguments) on what to do:

• Like Palpatine would later with the Senate, it was pointed out that while the situation was not ideal, the Republic needed an army to fight the Separatists with and the clones had performed admirably on Geonosis.
• While they were all disgusted with the cloning laws, during a meeting with Palpatine on the topic and the Jedi’s culpability in creating the army he noted that war was not a good time to start demanding reform. Several members of the council agreed, claiming that if they had the clones declared sentient and free beings now, the Republic would not only potentially lose their army, but the Jedi could be charged with breaking the Ruusan Reformations. The Senate could call for them to be either exiled from the Republic, leaving it without their protection during a crucial time, or force them to fight anyway but with far more restrictions. They may not be able to wage war in a manner that honored the Jedi way.
• While they could disavow Sifo-Dyas and deny the Order’s involvement, there was no guarantee the Senate would see it that way. (This was later proven correct when many senators accused the Jedi of being warmongers despite stating Sifo-Dyas acted alone.)
• There was their own acknowledgment of needing to take responsibility for the clones, and, given the circumstances, perhaps the best way to do that was to lead them in battle. While the Jedi Council saw the clones as real people, that didn’t mean others would. Many might cling to the idea of them being non-sentient and treat them accordingly. The Jedi, at least, could be trusted to see them as more than disposable military assets to throw at a droid army.
• If anyone was concerned about the Kaminoans’ treatment of the clones, then as their clients the Jedi and Republic could together levy their influence to improve the clones’ quality of life. But the Jedi couldn’t do that if they gave up any claim to the clone army.

The Jedi Council debated and argued and meditated on the issue until they reached a consensus— the Jedi Order would fight in the war not only to restore peace and freedom to the galaxy, but also to make sure the clone army was treated with compassion. If they led the clones, they could become their advocates, protect them from anyone in the government who would not give them respect as sentient beings, and— perhaps when the war finally ended but ideally long before then— they could call for the clones to be granted citizenship and given their rightfully-owed benefits.

But at the end of the day, the Jedi also believed that the needs of the many outweighed the needs of the few. They felt for the clones, and under any other circumstances would have petitioned the Senate to set them free to colonize some uninhabited planet in the Outer Rim. But as Jedi, they couldn’t prioritize the clones or themselves over the rest of the galaxy. For the sake of the Republic and restoring peace, they would fight in the war and utilize the clone army to put an end to the Separatist threat. (No matter how uncomfortable it made them.)

• Yoda and the more dogmatic members of the council would use this argument (along with the argument of making sure the clones received compassion) to convince more reluctant members of the council, as well as any other member of the Jedi who expressed their worries about becoming soldiers or using the clones to fight. (I headcanon Plo Koon and Depa Billaba were among of them).

* * *

Once they decided they were all in, the Jedi Council held several meetings with the Chancellor and a delegation from Kamino regarding the clones’ welfare. They discussed the cloning laws and what they witnessed on Kamino. One can imagine the Kaminoans did not like having their methods criticized, and argued it was all in the contract Sifo-Dyas made with them. The Jedi revealed to them that Sifo-Dyas acted alone and the contract was made in bad faith, so Palpatine suggested they modify the contract and try to compromise. He even revealed he planned to induct Kamino into the Republic to legitimize the contract and convince the Senate to accept the army, but he would only do it if the Kaminoans cooperated.

After much arguing, they eventually reached an agreement. As noted back in Chapter 4, the Jedi banned decommissioning, extreme corporal punishment, and excessive use of the retraining pods. Clones who did not meet the trooper graduation standards would simply be relegated to maintenance instead of decommissioned. Meanwhile, Shaak Ti would be permanently stationed on Kamino to fill the role previously held by Jango Fett by overseeing training of the junior and senior cadets, as well as leading the new bounty hunters and soldiers the Republic would hire to replace the Cuy’val Dar. She would not only act as the GAR and the Jedi’s representative on Kamino, but also as the clones’ advocate.

However, it was also agreed that mental conditioning would continue, use of the retraining pods wouldn’t cease entirely, and the Kaminoans’ new reconditioning program would be used in place of decommissioning. The Jedi argued against this but the Kaminoans insisted that, while the clones were genetically modified to be more obedient than Jango Fett, their methods were necessary to ensure that the Republic had the best-possible loyal soldiers. As the clones’ creators they reserved to right to ensure the quality of the army by “recalling” and “fixing” any potential “faulty products”— the Kaminoans guaranteed their "products" would never desert or turn traitor, but they couldn’t make that guarantee without the conditioning programs they had in place.

Palpatine/the Senate/GAR would eventually overrule the Jedi on this, with Palpatine claiming to that while he sympathized with the clones, they were still soldiers and they were at war. The Senate and the Republic desired security and reassurance in these trying times, and thus a few concessions needed to be made for the sake of that security. If the Kaminoans’ methods and new reconditioning program could bring about that desired security, they needed to allow it— especially when the Kaminoans had already been “very accommodating” of the Jedi’s desires and compromised enough already. However, he reassured the Jedi Council that they could all revisit the matter either when the Republic was in a better position against the Separatists or when the war was over, whichever happened first.

• I don’t need to tell you this was bullshit, and all Palpatine cared about was making sure he had his obedient weapons for Order 66, but as I’ve said before the guy had a talent for making severely screwed-up situations sound almost reasonable.

From there, long, long Senate meetings were held on the Clone Question and, while their use was long approved by Palpatine’s emergency powers, the clone army was eventually accepted by all ruling parties in the Republic. The Jedi started to lead the clones, first unofficially but later formally joining GAR with the passing of the Jedi Military Integration Act.

The Jedi intended only to protect the clones on the battlefield and show them much-needed kindness. They did not expect the true friendships and even familial relationships that emerged as they got to know their subordinates.

Likewise, neither did the clones expect the ironclad bonds they formed with the people they had been conditioned to serve and obey.  

Bonds

Stop, for a moment, to consider how clones were raised.

From the time they were littles, they were taught that they were created at the behest of the Jedi and the Republic— that the Jedi and the war they foresaw were their reasons for existing. The Jedi had commissioned them not only for the noble purpose of protecting the Republic, but also for the Jedi themselves over any other possible option for an army. It was their duty to serve the Jedi by fighting alongside them, protecting them, and even dying for them if needed. The clones were taught they were expendable and the Jedi were not. Additionally, they were taught the Jedi Order was a prestigious client unlike anyone the Kaminoan cloners had ever worked with. As such, the clones needed to the perfect, obedient soldiers the Jedi were promised. They could not afford to disappoint the Jedi, not when they had so much riding on their commissioned army. The Jedi would not tolerate a “useless or defective product.”

But in spite of this conditioning, by the time 22 BBY rolled around many of the clones had mixed feelings about the Jedi who commissioned their creation. On one hand, many of the clones were eager to meet “their Jedi” and finally fulfill their intended purpose of serving them and fighting for the Republic. After all, as far as they knew the Jedi Order wanted them specifically for this purpose. They had been chosen for a righteous task and that meant something. If the Jedi were truly as noble and prestigious as the Kaminoans claimed they were in all their stories about their exploits as peacekeepers and protectors of the Republic, then it was an honor to serve the Jedi and they had to meet those high expectations with gusto.

On the other hand, also consider that clones were also largely treated as products by the individuals who raised them— the Kaminoans themselves and the Cuy’val Dar. Some of the trainers were kinder than others, but they always maintained a distance and scolded any clone that tried to breach it. The clones had no reason to believe the Jedi would be any different, especially with all the emphasis on obedience and perfection. At best the Jedi would be like those kinder trainers and at worst they would be like cold, clinical Kaminoan cloners. For all their excitement of doing their duty and meeting their Jedi, deep down many clones felt they wouldn’t be able to rely on them. They had all learned a long time ago the only people they could truly rely on to love them and care for them and know them were their own brothers.

So imagine the two complete and utter loops the clones were thrown for when they did meet the Jedi.

First Loop: they learned that whoops, the Jedi Order didn’t order their creation, it was just the one guy who went off the rails and commissioned them despite direct orders not to. The Jedi didn’t even know the clones existed until Obi-Wan came to Kamino. Many clones ended up having full-blown existential crises when they learned the truth— if the people who ordered their creation didn’t actually want or need them, then did they even have a purpose? They also feared the Kaminoans would either sell them off man by man to make up for the lost investment if the Jedi demanded a refund, or simply decommission them all since they were no longer required. It was terrifying because their whole lives they had strived not to be decommissioned because decommissioning meant they were unwanted, unneeded, and complete and utter failures at the one thing they were created to be. They were born to serve the Jedi and they felt they had already failed but not being what the Jedi wanted. 

It was, in many ways, a relief to the clones when they learned the Jedi intended to honor Sifo-Dyas’ contract and claim the army to use against the Separatists. However, it also meant that the Kaminoans encouraged them to prove to the Jedi they were “worth the continued investment.” So during those first few weeks of the war, the clones went above and beyond to prove they were the perfect, loyal, and obedient soldiers they were advertised to be. They already disappointed the Jedi once by simply existing, and they couldn’t afford to do it again.

Bringing us to the Second Loop: The Jedi were not what the clones expected. Like, at all. There were things they knew intellectually from their education on Kamino, like how the Jedi Order was formed or the basic tenets of their beliefs or their abilities in the Force. But none of that prepared them for meeting the Jedi in person.

For the first time in their entire lives they were genuinely and truly treated as people instead of products, and they didn’t really know what to do with that at first.

* * *

I imagine the first thing that really got clones’ attention was the use of their preferred names. Back on Kamino, the Kaminoans only ever used their numbers. The Cuy’val Dar used their names sometimes (heck, some of the Cuy’val Dar even came up with a few of them), but those instances were far and few between. Enter the Jedi, who asked if they had any names they preferred to be called. The clones tried to rationalize it— a common theory was that “perhaps our leaders feel it’s a more efficient way of distinguishing us” (as Rex put it in “The Deserter”). They initially could not comprehend that the Jedi just didn’t like using numbers as though the clones were droids instead of sentients.

• They all offered numbers first in the beginning, and would then provide their preferred name if their Jedi directly asked, interpreting it as an order, but it made them uncomfortable. Later, some would offer the number and the name (if they had one) at the same time without prompting. Others would stick only to the number, recalling giving trainers their names only to be harshly called by their numbers when scolded for trying to get closer— they didn’t want to risk having their hopes dashed again.
• The Jedi quickly sensed that asking for names outright made the clones uncomfortable, so after a few weeks they switched to waiting for the clones to offer them up. A clone’s name became a thing to be earned, much like the clones’ trust— to have one was to have the other. They only asked for a name if they sensed a clone was open to it.
• Eventually it just became commonplace to simply use names around Jedi because the expectation was that they would use it. Keeping names secret became more of the practice around non-Jedi natborn officers/senators unless they earned that level of trust.
• However, over time it became that if someone— Jedi or not— knew a clone’s preferred name, it was incredibly disrespectful to call him by his number instead. (This was one of the first things to make Pong Krell so off-putting to the 501^st.) The only times it was considered acceptable was in official military reports, in front of Kaminoans, or if a brother had done something ridiculously stupid so he got “full-numbered.”
  • For example: “CT-01-01-17-30-7567-9850, you are in BIG trouble!”

Another thing that caught the clones’ attention was how the Jedi were able to tell the clones apart and made an effort to do so— be it memorizing their individual presences in the Force or paying attention to armor decorations, tattoos, haircuts, or even just little personality quirks. They quickly saw the other minute differences as well, like clones’ voices having different pitches or if they were beefier or skinnier than other clones due to how often they exercised. They made a point to see how the clones differed from each other instead of focusing on how they were (or “needed” to be) the same.

I think the thing that most caught the clones attention was how the Jedi acted on the battlefield. Either they led from the front (instead of hanging back like other natborn officers would) or they stood should-to-shoulder with their subordinates. They didn’t ask the clones to do anything the wouldn’t do themselves, taking all the same risks they did. They would visit them in the infirmary and check in on them after the battle ended. They took hits meant for clones or even sacrificed themselves if it meant more of them survived a battle. The Jedi didn’t treat the clones as the expendable soldiers they had been told they were their entire lives— and saw themselves as. The clones were loyal to the Jedi, but they never expected the Jedi would be loyal to them in return.

• Please note that while many Jedi tried to make plans that didn’t waste trooper lives needlessly, they also accepted there would be times that lives would be lost regardless. They couldn’t put the lives of the men or their own lives before a mission or saving civilians. Still, they did their best to limit casualties and make sure those that did die were not lost in vain.

• There were many clones who truly respected any Jedi who took those kind of risks, as true leaders needed to in battle. Protecting clone lives over anything else was a kind act, but not a practical one for winning a war. 

(The first weeks of the war were awkward. The clones were at their stiffest and most professional, and the Jedi were very much not used to the chain of command and all that it entailed, especially with the clones cranking it up to eleven— it was extremely disheartening to walk into room and have conversation just fall dead because the clones were afraid of disrespecting them. But during all this the Jedi knew of the clones’ conditioning, how they believed they were expendable and not as important as the Jedi. They saw how the clones acted in those first few awkward weeks, with the ultra-respect and feeling the fear they radiated whenever they made a mistake or thought they had failed their superiors. They knew they wouldn’t be able to convince them with words, so they decided to convince them with action. The Jedi showed they had the clones’ backs just as much as the clones had theirs.)

Names, seeing differences, and camaraderie on the battlefield became the foundation for not just the clones’ continued loyalty to the Jedi, but also their unshakeable faith and trust.

This was the beginning of the bond between Jedi and clones, and it only grew from there.

* * *

As I mentioned before, things were a little awkward between the clones and the Jedi at first. However, I think that out of all the clones, those of Command Stock were the first to get past it. By virtue of their stock, they had been trained to be more independent and flexible than a typical clone trooper. While they were also bewildered by the Jedi’s ways, they adapted to them far more quickly. This was especially the case with Clone Commanders, as they were meant to act as bridges between the Jedi and the rest of their units. It was their job to make the Jedi’s will known and their orders followed so they had to make sure they understood their Jedi completely, but it was also their job to make the unit's needs apparent to the Jedi so they could take care of them. One could even argue that the commanders helped teach their generals how to be generals. While Jedi learned military history and strategy at the Jedi Temple before the war, they were ultimately diplomats and peacekeepers, not military leaders. Some early battles did not go as well as they could have because the Jedi didn’t know how to best utilize their forces. Their commanders helped them adjust, and once the lower-ranked clones saw how the commanders interacted with them, it helped ease their own awkwardness around the Jedi.

As the Clone Wars continued, I imagine that Jedi became closest to their most direct Clone Commander (or Captain, depending on the unit). They became more than just their highest-ranked subordinates or seconds-in-command. Commanders/captains became right-hand men, confidants, and advisers. If a Jedi was having trouble with problem or personal issue they couldn’t meditate away, their commander/captain was the person they talked to. If a Jedi attended a military meeting, their commander/captain would be right there at their side to offer his insights and support his general. If a Jedi was face to face-plate with a battalion of battle droids, their commander/captain was right there next to them unless ordered otherwise. If another clone or a natborn officer wanted to convince a Jedi of a course of action, they could go through their commander/captain as he had the Jedi’s ear. Out of everyone in the GAR— perhaps in the entire galaxy— there was no one a Jedi General trusted more than their commander or captain.

• Obi-Wan Kenobi and Commander Cody, Plo Koon and Commander Wolffe, Aayla Secura and Commander Bly, Anakin Skywalker and Captain Rex, to name a few partnerships.
• The Jedi did their best avoid attachment, and if their commander/captain died they always tried to let go and move past their death. That being said, I imagine that letting go of them became a very difficult test of their devotion to the Jedi way. Not all of them succeeded.
• I fully accept the headcanon that some Jedi even ended up forming Force-bonds with their closest clones. Normally Force-bonds formed between two Force-sensitives, but the Jedi were surprised to find they formed a new version of them with the Force-null clones. It was weaker on the clones’ end, but the Jedi became more attuned to their emotions and thoughts, allowing deeper friendships and better synchronization in the battlefield. If the Jedi projected a certain feeling or intent toward their commander/captain, he picked up on it more easily.

And while the Jedi were not as close with the rest of their subordinates, they still cared about them and what form that care took varied. Many of the Jedi saw the clones as students, friends, and occasionally even surrogate siblings or children depending on the case— people they could nurture and help grow as people. (In some ways, they helped teach many clones how to be people, not just soldiers).

• They would be friendly to them and ask how they were doing, inquiring into their lives outside of the military. 
• They would teach them about the Force, philosophy, and the nature of the galaxy, encouraging conversation and debates on these topics.
• They would introduce them to local culture of planets they visited, or encourage them to explore different hobbies and activities in their downtime (more on that later).
• Jedi received stipends, but during the war they tended to spend them on their subordinates. They purchased better rations, fresh food, snacks, books, games, recreational equipment, holofilms, hair dye, tattoo supplies, and more. Sometimes they even gave the money directly to the clones as a sort of paycheck since they didn’t receive salaries from the GAR.

They also encouraged the clones to be more open with their emotions. (It’s a misconception that the Jedi were forbidden from feeling emotion. Emotions could be felt, they just couldn’t be held on to, be allowed to overwhelm, or cloud one’s judgement.) They gave clones permission to speak freely when they could and claimed their doors were open if they ever wanted to talk about anything troubling them. If a clone was discovered to have a “defective behavior” (i.e., perfectly reasonable feelings of anger and sorrow, or exhibiting any kind of trauma), the Jedi would assure him it was normal to feel these things and help him work through it so he could let it go— clones were big subscribers to burying their emotions and the Jedi knew holding on to those feelings wasn’t healthy (and was a path to suffering and the Dark Side). They even taught meditation to any clone who wanted to learn.

Many clones would come to see the Jedi not just as superior officers, but also friends, teachers, and surrogate siblings or parents in some cases. All the attention and care they had always craved from the Cuy’val Dar, they got from the Jedi.

• There were even cases where a Jedi and a clone fell in love, but those were rare and not advertised for obvious reasons (but more on that later).
• Clones would share their own cultivated culture with the Jedi, from their bonds as brothers to sharing what they'd adopted from their Mandalorian trainers, like teaching them Mando'a or their mourning rites. 
• Clones would— very exasperatedly—make sure to keep their too-selfless Jedi in check. This usually included nagging them to go to the infirmary when they got hurt even if it was busy, bringing them food when they tried to go without during ration scarcities, and overall trying to stop them from sacrificing their own welfare for the sake of the clones. (Though by arguing it they were being a little hypocritical…)
• I imagine Padawan Commanders provided an interesting dynamic. While many Padawans who fought in the war were adults, there were also many who were teenagers or younger, like Ahsoka Tano or Cal Kestis. They were still the clones’ superiors, but they were also younger than them (biologically). They ended up becoming something like younger siblings/cadets to the clones— they would look out for them and trained them like they would with their younger brothers back on Kamino. They would be less formal with them, sometimes calling them by their first names or using diminutives like “kid/kiddo/littl'un.” In turn, young Padawans admired them as older sibling figures and friends, frequently wanting to impress them and earn their respect.
• Young Padawans also ended up learning a LOT of swear words from the clones. They took part in cussing contests when they could get away with it.

That being said, for all that the Jedi and clones moved beyond their origins as mere superiors and subordinates (as reluctant owners and technically slaves), the loyalty and obedience the clones had been conditioned with never completely vanished from their minds. If anything, the Jedi’s insistence on treating them like people exacerbated it.

Some behaviors were simple, like little acts of deference:

• If clones and Jedi were sharing a meal together, they would wait for the Jedi to start eating first before they followed suit.
• If a clone and a Jedi were walking together, the clone would always walk a step behind the Jedi regardless of whether they were in a military situation or not.
• They always referred to Jedi by either their rank or as “sir” regardless of their gender, even if the Jedi showed distaste for military protocol/the chain of the command and insisted on being called “Master/Knight JediNameHere.” (There were very few exceptions to this practice.) They did this even in casual settings.

Other behaviors, not so much:

• Many clones never really let go of the notion that they were “made” for the Jedi and were willing to die for them if necessary.
• The Jedi always tried to dissuade the clones of the idea they were expendable when compared to the Jedi, but they never quite managed it. Many a clone died because they acted as a human shield for a Jedi, or insisted that a Jedi be given treatment or supplies in their place during scarcities. (And with Jedi doing the exact same thing back to them, it became a contest of who could out-motherhen the other.) 
• This was especially true with young Padawan Commanders. If clones were protective of Jedi Generals, they hovered around the Padawans. Young Jedi had no less than five clones around them at any given time on the battlefield, and they were given first priority in triage situations. (Their equally over-protective masters tended to agree with this, even if as Jedi they were supposed to put others first.)
• They would verbally and fiercely defend their Jedi from anyone who would disparage them to their faces, be it civilians, soldiers in local planet militias (case in point— Styles and Grey to Janus Kasmir in the Kanan comics), or even occasionally other natborn officers within the GAR.

Note that through this guide I keep saying “their Jedi.”

The concept of “my Jedi” quickly took hold in the clones, from the lowest-ranked infantryman to the Jedi’s closest commander/captain. While clones were loyal to the Jedi Order and the Republic as a whole, many became entirely devoted to their immediate Jedi superiors. “Their Jedi” was the one to fight alongside them in every battle, to bleed with and for them. “Their Jedi” was the one who defended them from the both the Separatist droids and those in the Republic who refused to acknowledge them as people. “Their Jedi” was the one to always remember their names and give them the tools they needed to discover themselves as individuals. “Their Jedi,” through the loyalty and care they offered in exchange for what the clones gave them, managed to earn their clones’ complete trust, faith, worship, fealty, or whatever you want to call it.

While the clones would gladly die for the Republic and the Jedi, “their Jedi” was the one they would do anything for out of sheer loyalty and respect. Remember, the clones had been conditioned to have loyalty to those who fought by their sides— that fighting by their sides meant they deserved that loyalty. The Mandalorians and Jango Fett had taught them this to solidify their bonds as brothers, but it solidified their bonds to their Jedi as well.

Was this level of devotion entirely healthy or sane? No. In fact, Jedi who noticed this near-fanatical loyalty would do their best to encourage the clone in question to look beyond it and remind him he had an identity and life outside of “his Jedi” (with varying degrees of success).

Did clones care? Also no, at least not during the majority of the war. There were definitely times when the pedestal the clones put the Jedi on broke— the Battle of Umbara being a prime example.

Sometimes it led to healthier, more genuine bonds as the clones began to see the Jedi as actual good-but-flawed people themselves rather than untouchable gods. They were still very devoted to “their Jedi,” but it wasn’t nearly as blind or fanatical. (This was the case with many of the older clones who had been part of the war from the very beginning— the blind devotion became more common in shinies who were just getting to know their Jedi.) Other times it led to their faith being severely shaken— they still had faith, but now they knew their generals were fallible. They could fail, they could Fall, and they wouldn’t always be able to protect the clones. Occasionally it led to the healthier bonds, but sometimes those fractures never completely healed. (Again, the Battle of Umbara being a prime example.)

And a lot of time, it led to clones losing faith in the Jedi altogether. Be it a battle went particularly horribly, a brother was sent in for reconditioning and Jedi couldn’t do anything to stop it, or even just a bad day when a Jedi snapped out a number instead a name— they just couldn’t trust them to have their backs any more… if they even had that trust to begin with.

* * *

It should be kept in mind not every clone felt the same way about the Jedi or vice versa, and as a result, not every clone and Jedi had a close bond or even a friendly acquaintance.

For starters, not every clone unit was led by a Jedi. There were a number of units led by non-Jedi GAR officers, and those ones… well, we’ll get to that later. Let’s just say when the clones in those units heard the clones with Jedi rave about their generals, a lot of them were supremely jealous and looked forward to joint operations with Jedi-led units.

Secondly, there were many clones who preferred not to get friendly with the Jedi. They were still loyal to the Jedi Order and the Republic, but it was more loyalty to the institutions and what they represented rather than any of the individuals. They just wanted to do their duty and preferred to keep things politely professional, maintaining the distance they felt was required in the chain of the command— some of them even judged the clones who did get close/friendly with the Jedi, feeling it was inappropriate. At the same time, there were Jedi who did not get overly friendly with their clone subordinates. They still used clones’ names and treated them with respect, but they maintained distance in the name of non-attachment. They also respected the new chain of command they found themselves to be a part of, and felt that as Jedi they could not show any kind of favoritism or preference to any of the clones.

• And there were times when the clone and the Jedi’s personalities just didn’t mesh well— just because you work together doesn’t mean you get along outside of it. They would do their best to maintain professional courtesy, but they definitely weren’t friends.
• As an example of personalities not meshing, I just said some Jedi respected the chain of command. However, there were others who chafed under it since Jedi weren’t supposed to be soldiers, so the strict, militaristic behavior of certain clones rubbed them the wrong away (like Quinlan Vos and Commander Faie.)

And then there were those further down on that spectrum. There were always clones who resisted their conditioning and resented the Jedi for ordering the creation, blaming them for their treatment on Kamino. Once the war actually started and causalities piled up, that resentment grew stronger and even some cases became loathing. Slick may have been one of the only clones who went full traitor, but there were many would have agreed with him that the Jedi “kept their brothers enslaved” and they were the clones’ owners, not their friends. Unlike Slick, the majority of them kept these feelings to themselves out of fear of being arrested for treason and being sent back to Kamino for reconditioning.

Meanwhile, there were Jedi who resented being pulled into the war. They wanted someone to blame and since Sifo-Dyas was dead, a lot of those negative feelings ended up aimed not only at the Jedi Council and the Senate, but also the clones themselves. They saw the clones as instruments of the war they wanted no part in and ended up treating them far more coldly than others. They didn’t ask the clones for their names, but unlike with other Jedi, the clones quickly got the vibe they shouldn’t offer. These were the Jedi who were careless with clone lives and led from behind (not all of them, but a not insignificant number), who were not their friends and did not respect them entirely as people. (And if they felt the Dark Side more strongly than they had before the war, they didn’t bring attention to it unless another Jedi did it for them.)

• Pong Krell is perhaps the worse instance of this kind of Jedi. He fell to the Dark Side and plain did not see the clones as sentient. They were weapons, tools, pawns, or science experiments— expendable and disposable things he could sacrifice in the name of fulfilling his new sinister goals.
• I headcanon that what was left of Krell’s own forces ended absorbed into the 104th Battalion under Jedi Master Plo Koon.

* * *

While it wasn’t consistent over the entirety of the Grand Army of the Republic, largely the bonds between the Jedi and the clones were strong and truly something to behold. Over those three years of war, they became something akin to a family. That is why when the clones ended up having nightmares about killing their Jedi, it hurt a hundred times worse than when they had them before the war.

And perhaps that is why when one evil man uttered four simple, little words, within their minds the clones screamed in agony while their bodies burned those precious bonds to ash.