Alpha-17

"He's rude for a clone."

- Anakin Skywalker

Alpha-17, otherwise known as A-17 or simply Alpha, served as an Advanced Recon Commando with the Republic's clone army during the Clone Wars.

Biography
Alpha, as was the case with the rest of the ARCs, first saw action with the Separatist's invasion of Kamino. As the Confederacy's droid forces pushed towards the heart of Tipoca City, the Kaminoan Prime Minister, Lama Su, activated the ARCs and authorized their deployment to hot-spots across Kamino in a last-ditch effort to save the planet's precious cloning facilities. During the fighting to push the droids from Tipoca's central armory, Alpha hooked up with the Jedi Knights Shaak Ti and Obi-Wan Kenobi. When the city's clone stocks became compromised, Alpha rigged the lab to self-destruct, much to the dismay of the Jedi. Remarking, "They grow up loyal to the Republic, or they don't grow up at all," it was clear to the Jedi that they were not dealing an average clone trooper.

When the Naboo lost contact with the Gungan colony of Ohma-D'un, a Separatist attack was suspected and General Obi-Wan Kenobi and his Padawan, Anakin Skywalker, were sent to investigate. Kenobi, having witnessed his lethal effectiveness on Kamino, took Alpha along for the ride. When the trio arrived on the surface, they found the Gungan colony in ruins and bodies for as far as the eye could see. Before they could complete their investigation into the cause of the genocidal slaughter, however, they fell under attack from the bounty hunter Durge and the Dark Jedi Asajj Ventress. Alpha, in the confusion of the ensuing battle, snuck off to find and destroy the bio-weapon responsible for Ohma-D'un's destruction before it could be let loose on Naboo itself.

Following his success on Ohma-D'un, Alpha was once again chosen by Kenobi to accompany him and his Padawan on an important mission. This time, the trio was to lead the assault on the obscure Outer Rim world of Jabiim, which had recently declared its allegiance to Count Dooku's Confederacy. The initial days of the assault saw victory after victory for the Republic, but, as the rain continued to pour, their assault vehicles became bogged down in the mud and became an easy target for the Jabiimite guerillas. As Republic casulties mounted, the rebels, their forces now bolstered with the addition of Separatist battle droids, stepped up their attacks. The Republic was dealt its greatest blow with the apparent death of Obi-Wan and Alpha while they were clearing out a downed All Terrain Armored Transport. Neither of them, however, died during the explosion that supposedly took their lives. In truth, they fell into Separatist custody and were transferred to a secret prison on Rattatak. Once there, Asajj Ventress, the dark Jedi from Ohma-D'un, tried to beat and torture the two of them into revealing sensitive information regarding Republic troop movements. Before she got the information she wanted, however, the two of them escaped under the guise of a prison break. Having fought their way off Rattatak and away from Ventress, the two found their way back to the Republic and to the Grand Army.



Following the ordeal, and after several weeks in a bacta tank, Alpha was transferred out of General Kenobi's Third Army and was sent back to Kamino where he was to train current and future generations of clone commanders. Commanders Cody, Neyo, Bacara, Gree, Appo, Bly, Salvo, Faie, and Keller were among the first hundred to be enrolled in his experimental training regimen. Of those first hundred, seven were hand-picked by Alpha himself and assigned to Squad Seven, with Commanders Davijaan and Cody as its leaders.

Alpha's duties on Kamino, however, did not mean an end to service in the field. Alpha was chosen to accompany Senator Bail Organa on his tour of the Outer Rim Sieges aboard the Star Destroyer Intervention. When Intervention was commandeered by General Kenobi in order to lead the assault on Boz Pity, Alpha readied himself for yet another battle. During the fighting, Alpha was critically wounded by General Grievous himself, so much so that it was thought he'd never walk again. As hostilities wound down, Alpha, along with the supposed corpse of Asajj Ventress, was loaded on a medical transport and sent back to Coruscant for treatment. En route, however, Ventress proved very much alive when she took control of the transport and ordered its pilots to take her into the unknown. Alpha's ultimate fate and whereabouts, at this time, remain unknown.

Behind the scenes

 * In HoloNet News, he is mistakenly portrayed as an ARC trooper captain while he was really a standard ARC trooper.

Appearances

 * Star Wars Republic 51: The New Face of War, Part 1
 * Star Wars Republic 52: The New Face of War, Part 2
 * Star Wars Republic 55: The Battle of Jabiim, Part 1
 * Star Wars Republic 60: Hate and Fear
 * Star Wars Republic 62: No Man's Land
 * Star Wars: Obsession
 * Labyrinth of Evil