ARC Trooper A-17
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Star Wars character | |
| A-17 (Alpha) | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Position | ARC Trooper |
| Homeworld | Kamino |
| Species | Human |
| Gender | Male |
| Height | 1.83m |
| Affiliation | Galactic Republic, Clone Troopers |
| Portrayed by | None |
ARC Trooper A-17 (Alpha) is a fictional character from the Star Wars Expanded Universe. He is best known for his appearances in the ongoing Republic comic series, where he fought for the Galactic Republic in the Clone Wars.
A-17 started was part of the first patch of clones trained by the Kaminoans to be independent. This specialized class of clones were known as Advanced Recon Commandos or ARC Troopers. They were trained personally by Jango Fett himself. The ARC Troopers were untested in battle, however, he and other ARC Troopers were deployed by the Kaminoans to defend Tipoca City against Separatist forces in The Battle of Kamino. He was then sent to defend the Naboo moon of Ohma D'un in The Second Battle of Naboo alongside Obi-Wan Kenobi.
During the battle, Anakin Skywalker used the Force to divert the attention of the droid army protecting the Separatist base. A-17 used the diversion to set of a series of explosives that destroyed the base, preventing Durge from launching an attack on Naboo. However, the explosion was larger than A-17 had expected, and he was disabled in the blast. This allowed Durge to injure A-17, but Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin arrived just in time to drive Durge and Asajj Ventress off Ohma-D'un.
Surviving the battle formed a close bond between A-17 and Anakin. Asking what the "A" stood for, Anakin nicknamed his clone friend Alpha. Perhaps Anakin also did this because he seemed superior to the other clone troopers.
Alpha continued to serve with Anakin Skywalker in the Clone Wars. 15 months into the war, they were sent to fight in the Battle of Jabiim. For the first time, Alpha began to question the orders given to him by the Jedi, particularly the instruction to take as many Separatists as possible alive. He disagreed with Obi-Wan's leadership, suggesting that the Republic forces should just kill every rebel and political leader, ending all hostilities.
Alpha was captured, along with Obi-Wan, by Asajj Ventress, and taken to Rattatak for interrogation. Ventress tortured them with extreme malice, hoping to present them to Count Dooku as gifts. Fortunately, Alpha and Obi-Wan managed to escape, aided by Anakin and Ki-Adi-Mundi, and returned to Coruscant.
Alpha was approached by the Kaminoans to return to their planet and serve as the instructor for a new generation of clone commanders. He agreed, and also adopted Anakin's suggestion of unique names for the clones.
In the Dark Horse limited series "Obsession", Alpha is seen again, now wearing new, Episode III-model 'Phase 2' clone armour of essentially the same ARC-derived design as Commander Bly and others, with blue markings similar to those he had before. Deployed with Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, Mace Windu, Adi Gallia and others, Alpha engages in the furious battle with General Grievous, Darth Tyranus and their droid forces.
In the course of the battle, Alpha is badly wounded and possibly crippled. Kit Fisto comments to Anakin that if Alpha's spine has been severed, he will never walk again. With his customary Jangoesque gruffness, Alpha insists that they hand him a weapon as his hands still work just fine. Alpha did not perish in this battle, as Anakin later speaks to him briefly while he was being escorted away on a stretcher by Republic medics to the medical frigate Bright Flight. As the ship returned to Coruscant, the seemingly dead Asajj Ventress took control of the ship, steering it to an unknown fate. There has been no further word on Alpha's fate.
It is ambiguous whether Alpha was in fact crippled, as Fisto's description of the severed spine employs the conditional "if". If Alpha was not crippled, it is unknown whether or not he would have recovered quickly enough to have been redeployed into the field by the time Order 66 was issued. It remains speculative as to whether Alpha would have simply carried out the order as did the rest of his clone brothers, or if his greater level of independence as an ARC Trooper and his close working relationships with Jedi (particularly surviving torture and escape alongside Kenobi) might have led him to disobey the order, or at the very least enact it with some remorse.
