I don’t think we talk about the fact that the alpha class clones straight up get stasis chambered until their useful for a little while then put them back again. Like they winter soldiered 100 of our boys and no body ever mentions it. I don’t recall the Nulls getting put in stasis like that and CT’s were never treated like that until the days of the empire probably. The Bad Batch was never stasised like that except for when they were developing. So why do it to the Alphas? We know that they were like the second batch of clones after the nulls right, because they were unsatisfied with how independent and rebellious the nulls turned out. So they made the Alphas more loyal to the republic through rigorous flash training to mold them into being unquestioning loyal to the republic. They were trained by Jango himself so they were the best trained clones Kamino could produce. Sure they didn’t have inhibitor chips and they could have rebelled without that stopping them, but to our knowledge only the prime minister, Palpatine and a couple others could activate them, and the effects wore off with time. But to escape Kamino or desert on the field they would have to escape all of their brothers, and while they may be alpha class they don’t have the sheer numbers the CT’s do. Clones whose chips didn’t work were ordered to executed by other clones as well, so it’s not like the kaminoans didn’t have a back up plan if a few chips didn’t work right. It’s not like the chips were a huge well kept secret, it was just the conspiracy behind it. When Tup broke down and the matter of the chip came out they told the Jedi what they were point blank but they just didn’t tell the whole truth as to why. Meaning the alphas were never really a big part of the order 66 conspiracy, they were just supposed to be test subjects. Like how the unintended oldest child becomes an experiment for parents to learn the right and wrong ways to care for the kids to come. That’s what the alphas are, what they were intended to be. That’s what the nulls ended up being too, though in a bit of a different way. Where the nulls were adopted by their trainers and brought into their family’s then fled the empire with them to settle down all the alphas ever had was Jango. I feel that’s why the nulls and alphas had such a huge rift between them, while created for the same purpose their circumstances were radically different, creating this type of cruel, forced sibling rivalry because they were constantly pitted against each other. And when Jango died the alphas had no one to protect them from being overly exploited (further than what they already were being anyway), had no one to advocate for them, be a parental figure or keep the kaminoans and other viscous trainers from abusing them and putting them through cruel medical procedures. So I suppose that answers the question of why stasis them; it was to be cruel. There was no real significant tactical advantage to keeping them sedated and locked away until they were useful. It was for the purpose of control and keeping fear in the minds of every clone on Kamino. Because if they could do that to the alpha clones who were the republics finest soldiers, the best Kamino ever produced, just imagine what they would do to an expendable CT. Not to mention that we have no canon evidence to what ever happened to the Alphas after the war, their not really mentioned after that they just kinda drop out of the story line. But imagine that when Kamino was being evacuated after the empires take over they were still in stasis and instead of taking them the empire thought they weren’t worth the trouble and left them for dead. Just something to keep on the brain, ya know?
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(I wrote this half asleep so I'll have to go back to fix any typos. I'm sure there are some. This is how Rex gets his name.)
CT-7567 taps his foot while sitting on the bench underneath the bunks in the barracks. His hands are laced together so tightly his knuckles have turned white.
“If you’re that worried about it, just pick a name for yourself. Like Gree.” 2224, no, Cody says. 7567 looks up at his friend trying to swallow all the jealousy and insecurity he was feeling.
“I know. You’re right.” 7567 says trying to force his jealousy and insecurities deep down. He looks down again as nothing passes through his mind. A laugh pulls his attention to Fox.
“He can’t even come up with a name for himself!” Fox laughs. Thire stands next to him nodding with a half smile. 7567 stands with hands balled into fists. Cody puts a hand on his shoulder holding him back.
“Get lost Fox.” Cody stands next to 7567 but Fox doesn’t back down.
“Maybe you could call yourself… Nameless? Or… Unimportant?” Fox tilts his head as if he was thinking.
7567 feels his anger come to a head. He lunges forward taking Fox down. They wrestle on the floor as the others surround them. He feels Cody pulling him off while Thire grabs Fox. 7567 grins when he sees the blood dripping from Fox’s nose. He shakes Cody’s arm off so he can walk away.
“That was it?” Neyo mutters when he walks past. 7567 keeps walking until he’s in the refresher to wash his bruised face. Cody and Gree walk in behind him. Gree stands at the door to keep the others from coming inside just in case Fox or Thire wanted to finish what 7567 started.
“So, did you get it out of your system?” Cody stands next to him with arms crossed. 7567 doesn’t meet his eyes.
“He deserved that.” He mumbled while gently padding his bruised eye with a towel.
“Maybe.” Cody shrugs.
“Definitely deserved it.” Gree calls from the door. Cody rolls his eyes and leans against the neighbor sink.
“Don’t let him get to you. The Captain will give you a name after his meeting.”
7567 meets his eyes. “What makes you think that?”
“Because you’re way to good at what you do to have gone unnoticed.” Cody reaches out to pat his shoulder. 7567 forces a small smile and nod. They start for the door.
“Hey, at least you aren’t named after NEYOOUUM.” Gree nudges him. this makes all three of them laugh. They walk back over to the bench and take a seat. They finished cleaning their gear awhile ago. Now they find themselves laying around with nothing to do. Something they weren’t used to.
“You need to wait for the Captain to come back.” They hear Wolffe say across the room. Neyo holds one of his modified contractions in his hands. Or at least he tries. Apparently, it’s a new blaster he plans on attaching to the speeder he’s fixing up with the Captain and Bacara.
“Relax. It’s filled with rubber ammo anyway so it’s not like anyone’s going to get hurt.” Neyo argues. Gree shakes his head at them.
“He’s going to send one of us to the infirmary.” He snorts. Cody leans back on the bench.
“Then I’m sure the Captain would make us do sprints until we puked.”
7567 looks back down at the ground as he remembers that he’s the only one without a name. he thought he was getting better with the two hand pistols. He’s even stopped tripping over stuff as much. Maybe he was only kidding himself by thinking he deserved to be here. He stopped to think of how he contributes to the squad. Cody was a natural leader that doesn’t back down from anything. Wolffe is practically a master strategist. Gree is the biggest brainiac 7567 has ever seen. Fox, the jerk that he is, can tell by one look what your greatest weakness is. Thire practically invented stealth. Neyo was fast on the battlefield and he’s showing real promise with mechanics. And Bacara had enough strength to go toe to toe with the Captain himself. When 7567 really thinks about it, he doesn’t hold a candle to the others. 7567’s thoughts are interrupted when the doors open the barracks. They all jump to attention when Prime Minister Lama Su walks in.
“Hello cadets,” the Prime Minister says in his monotone voice. “I’m looking for ARC Captain Al—”
Before he can finish his sentence, Neyo drops his contraction so he can pop to attention but doing so sets the thing off. The rubber bullet shoots out of the weapon shooting past the Prime Minister only to bounce off the wall and hit him square in the back of the head. The Prime Minister falls to the ground landing on his face as the room falls to a dead silence.
“What just happened…” Fox asks quietly before shouting. “What just happened?”
This erupts everyone else into instant panic.
“Everyone, calm down! It’s fine. We’re fine. We’ll be fine.” Cody says but as he says it his hands begin to shake as he struggles to believe his own words. Wolffe begins mutter strategies to himself before slowly sinking down to the floor. Bacara is frozen with his eyes locked on the knocked out Minister. Fox keeps saying that we’re dead and going to die. Thire is pulling all of his things out of his locker and shoving them into a bag. Gree begins to hyperventilate next to 7567.
“Guys,” 7567 slowly walks out towards the Minister.
“You did this!” Fox yells towards Neyo who hasn’t moved since.
“It was an accident!” Neyo yells back once snapped out of his daze.
“I told you to wait for the Captain to come back. I told you!” Wolffe joins in with Fox. Thire is at their side now forming a gang around Neyo.
“It was an accident!” Neyo yells again but to no avail. Cody keeps muttering It’s going to be fine under his breath over and over again. Gree can barely stand and Bacara is just a statue now. Really no different then normal honestly. 7567 runs a hand through his hair trying to think. The others yelling grows louder and louder.
“Would you all shut up and let me think?” 7567 finally shouts at everyone. They all turn their eyes to him. he looks away to try and form full thoughts now. He looks to the Minister and then to the doors leading out. He turns to Wolffe. “How much longer until the Captain is back?”
Wolffe blinks a few times before his mind can function again. “An hour if we’re lucky.”
“Okay,” 7567 says with a slight nod. “So, we have an hour to figure out what to do.”
“We leave,” Thire steps forward. “You think they’re really going to let us live after this? They’re going to see this as an attempted murder to the Prime Minister of Kamino.”
“Okay. Fair point,” 7567 says surprised at how calm he is compared to everyone else. “Running is an option. But if we ran, they would catch us. You know that. We all know that. So, what else do we got?”
Everyone looks around waiting for someone else to step forward. Cody finally squeezes his hands into fists in an attempt to stop the shaking.
“We could try and make it look like an accident,” he starts. When Neyo opens his mouth he continues, “An accident not caused by one of us.”
“How could we do that?” Thire asks with Wolffe and Fox deep in strategy mode beside him.
“The chairs,” Gree’s voice is small from the bench under the bunks. They stare at him until he’s able to continue. “The chairs in his office. They come down from the ceiling. I’ve seen them. They can come down pretty fast.”
“So we… find a way to get him to his office and… make it look like the seat came down to fast and knocked him out?” 7567 works it out slowly.
“How are we supposed to get him all the way to his office?” Neyo asks. Wolffe shakes a finger as a thought strikes him. he walks towards one of the holotables in the back of the room used for lessons. They all follow their brother praying he was on to something. He pulls up the layout of Tipoca City. He points to a spot on the map.
“This right here is his office. That’s a good distance away and not only that but cadets aren’t allowed in that area without being escorted by an actual Clone Trooper.” Wolffe explains.
“This isn’t going to work. How are we supposed to get an unconscious Prime Minister all the way there without being noticed anyway?” Cody shakes his head. 7567 grabs his arms suddenly as a thought comes to mind.
“When I helped 99 carry boxes we took it to a storage room here,” he points to an area near the Prime Ministers office. “We could carry him there if he was in a container of some kind and say we’re taking it to this storage room.”
7567 watches their faces as they think it over. Gree shakes his head.
“Look, there is a clear path almost from here to that storage room, but it never turns down the way towards his office. We would clearly be out of the way for the storage room, and someone would notice.” He explains. Fox pats his shoulder.
“That’s true but look what we pass on the way. The cafeteria. Not only that but there are pipes in the cafeteria that are connected to the water system in the kitchen that stretch out above the corridor here. So, if, let’s just say, a fight broke out in the cafeteria and the pipes just happened to get busted and flooded the corridor…” Fox explains.
“Then we would have a reason for taking another route.” Cody nods catching on. Bacara finally seems to have snapped out of his trance and leans over the map.
“We still have the problem of needing an escort. Not to mention that the Captain and the other ARC Troopers are still in the building. What if one leaves for a moment before the meeting is over and sees us?” Bacara leans on his elbows while everyone thinks.
“I can hack into the security cameras and watch the hallways.” Gree says now fully back to normal.
“And I’m good at staying unnoticed. I can go ahead of you and be a distraction if anyone that would recognize us comes out.” Thire suggests.
“Alright, so Bacara and I can push a crate with the Prime Minister to the storage area. Gree, you can hack the cameras from here and I think Wolffe should stay with you. You’re our best strategists. If something happens, we’ll need your eye in the sky to guide us. And Thire you’ll be our shadow just in case,” Cody goes on. Wolffe, Thire, Gree, and Bacara nod fully on board with the plan. “Now for the distraction…”
he starts to look at 7567 when Fox pats Neyo’s shoulder loudly.
“We’ll do the distraction.” Fox says. Everyone stares at him. he rolls his eyes and continues, “We need this fight to be believable right? Well, I don’t think anyone would question why Neyo and myself would start such a big fight. Not to mention I know where to hit the pipes to make them burst in the way we need them to.”
“First how do you know that and second why do you think I would do anything with you?” Neyo frowns at him.
“One because I pay attention to things and two because you’ll get to hit me.” Fox crosses his arms while staring at Neyo.
“Okay, I’m in.” Neyo leans on his elbows like Bacara who chuckles next to him.
“That just leaves…” Cody trails off as everyone’s eyes are on 7567. The last one out. The only one without a name. Fox snorts a laugh.
“Can’t even come up with a job for…” Fox starts but 7567 doesn’t want to give him a chance to finish.
“I got the escort problem covered.” 7567 says loudly. He pushes himself away from the crowded holotable and walks towards the doors. Cody rushes over and grabs his arm.
“What are you doing?” he asks quietly. 7567 takes a deep breath trying to calm the anger Fox stirred inside him.
“We need an escort.”
“I know. But how…”
“Everyone will recognize us. They already do. In a city where almost everyone shares your face we get recognized the most. So we can’t just walk out there and pretend to be random clones following another random clone.” Rex explains. Cody curses unders his breath. “But, when I helped 99 carry those boxes I did see something… odd.”
“Odd?” Cody repeats the word. 7567 rubs the back of his neck nervously.
“Look, this isn’t a great idea but… the Captain isn’t in his normal armor. He’s in this… other uniform.” 7567 explains. Cody shakes his head already knowing where he was going with this. “So I can dress up as the Captain and escort you to the Prime Minister’s office.”
Cody smacks 7567’s arm with wide eyes.
“Dumbass!” he hisses softly so the others wouldn’t hear it but they could probably tell from body language. “Everyone knows he’s in that meeting! They’ll know somethings up!”
“What else can we do?” 7567 hisses back. Cody looks down trying to think.
“We could ask 99.” He suggests but 7567 shakes his head.
“No. I won’t do that him. no matter what we’re getting in trouble. Either for knocking out the Prime Minister or for starting a fight and flood in the cafeteria. The only difference is one ends in probable death and the other ends in a never ending series of sprints.” 7567 looks Cody in the eye. “We have to do this.”
Cody nods and lets him go. 7567 squeezes Cody’s arm as a thanks before walking out of the barracks.
7567 has never been in the Captain private quarters before. He didn’t know what to expect but it wasn’t what he found. A couch is pushed to the far wall with a shelf full of liquor lined above it. A bed made so neatly it looks like it’s never been slept in. a table with papers, data pads, empty cups scattered about is pushed next to the window peering out at the raining dark sea. Or maybe this was exactly what 7567 was picturing. He shakes his head to get focused and starts looking for the Captains uniform. He finds it in a closet and pulls it out hurriedly. He pauses before pulling it on. Once he does this there’s no going back. He swallows his fear and starts putting on the armor.
7567 slips into the barracks still trying to get used to the helmet. It didn’t fit quite as well as it did the Captain so he stuffed some parts to bulk himself up. Everyone freezes for a moment as if unsure if it was 7567 or actually the Captain. 7567 took that as a good sign.
“It’s me.” He says lifting the helmet up. Everyone gives a sigh of relief and goes on to prepare for their mission. Bacara and Neyo gently lift the Minister into an old ammo container.
“Gentle now.” Gree whispers as they fold his long limbs into the box. Neyo tries to carefully put the Minister’s head in before it slips out of his hands and bonks the side of the crate. Bacara and Gree freeze with eyes burning into Neyo.
“How many times are you going to hurt this man?” Bacara hisses.
“It was an accident!” Neyo hisses back. Gree quickly gets the lid on and walks away. 7567 stands trying to adjust to the armor. He notices Fox walking towards him and tries to ignore him.
“If you’re going to do this then you need to know how to act like him.” Fox says surprisingly without any hint of snark. 7567 doesn’t say anything so he goes on. “When the Captain walks he likes to put his hands behind his back as if at parade rest or he’ll keep them in tight fists and swings them slightly as he walks.”
“You probably already know this but he’s not a big talker. So, if you do get approached by someone you can probably get away with just going hm.”
“Hm.” 7567 practices. Fox nods and continues.
“Body language is also important. He favors putting weight on his left side and crosses his arms a lot when he’s talking to someone he’s annoyed with or if he’s feeling superior. His voice is rougher then ours so take a moment to practice that just in case.”
“Okay,” 7567 says in as much of a Captain’s voice as he can muster. Fox gives him a quick thumbs up before turning away. “Thank you, Fox.”
Fox only nods before walking over to join Thire. Cody slowly walks up next to 7567.
“Was Fox being nice to you?” he chuckles. 7567 shakes his head with a sigh.
“Today is a strange day.”
When everyone is ready, they meet in the center of the room one last time.
“Okay,” Cody starts. “We all know what we have to do. We only get one shot at this and… well either way we’re in for it. We’re counting on each other to get this right. Our lives could very well be at stake. And if it looks like things are about to go to hell then… we all meet in the hanger and try and steal a ship.”
Everyone gives solemn nod in understanding. With that it was time to start. They check to make sure everyone was on the same commlink so we can stay in touch. Fox and Neyo are the first to leave. 7567 waits by Cody and Bacara with the cart loaded with the ammo crate counseling the Prime minister. They wait ten minutes before Thire heads out first to get a head start to make sure everything was still good up ahead. Then it was their turn. 7567 looks back at Gree and Wolffe who give him the all clear sign. 7567 takes a deep breath before leading Cody and Bacara out of the barracks.
The Captain’s Helmet was completely different form the training ones they used during simulations and practice battles. Some much information flashes across the visor that 7567 has to fight to stay focused. So far everything was going according to plan. Fox and Neyo were able to start quite a big riot in the cafeteria. By the time they turned a corner towards the corridor going by the cafeteria the pipes were already busted. For a moment 7567 could hear Fox over the coms going “Not the face—not the fa—” and then nothing but Neyo’s laughter. That makes 7567 laugh to himself and then quickly fix his posture hoping no one noticed. So far no one had. People walked past him saluting or politely acknowledging him. 7567 did everything he remembered the Captain would do when responding to them. Everything was going fine. That is until 99 starts down the corridor towards them.
“Thire, you’re up.” Cody says over the coms. As if like magic Thire appears out of nowhere and approaches 99. Immediately brings up the fact that he shouldn’t be out of his barracks.
“I know 99 it’s just… I lost a safety pin from my training blaster. I have to find. I’m scared what the Captain might do to me.” Thire says using the real panic of the real situation to convince him. 99 sighs and pats Thire on the shoulder just as 7567 leads Cody and Bacara past them.
“Come along. I’ll help you search for it. It’s probably in the simulation room.” He leads Thire away.
“You’re on your own. Sorry.” Thire says softly into the com.
“No worries. You did great.” Cody answers before everything goes quiet again. Until Wolffe comes on.
“We got major trouble coming your way.” Wolffe says over the coms. 7567 feels his stomach drop.
“What is it?” Cody asks.
“Commander Fordo has left the meeting early and heading your way.”
That is bad. 7567 feels himself freeze. He can’t talk his way out of Commander Fordo. Not when he just came form a meeting with the Captain.
“What should I do?” he asks quickly.
“You need to hide, 7567. At least until he passes. That’s all I can think of. 99 still has Thire in the simulation room.” Gree comes over.
“I see him.” Bacara says just as the Commander turns the corner. His eyes are down at a data pad. 7567 thinks fast and ducks into a random room. It’s only by sheer luck that the room he dove into is empty. He peeks through the window on the door waiting to see what will happen. Much to everyone’s surprise he never looks up from his data pad.
“I’m not looking up therefore I do not see you and cannot be held responsible for your fuckery.” Commander Fordo says as he continues to walk past them. 7567 doesn’t know if that was a good or bad thing.
“All clear, 7567.” Wolffe says. 7567 carefully leaves the room and joins Cody and Bacara.
“Should we be considered about that?” 7567 asks as he leads on.
“We’ll worry about it when we have to. We already know we’re going to get in trouble for the cafeteria so… I think it’s fine.” Cody reassures 7567. When they finally make it to the Minister’s office 7567 lets Cody and Bacara go inside while he waits outside to be the look out. When Bacara and Cody return with the all clear sign they continue to push the cart towards the storage room. They ditch the empty ammo crate and start for the barracks.
“You guys are doing great. Home stretch now.” Gree says over the coms. By now Fox, Neyo, and Thire have made it back to the barracks in one piece. All that is left is for 7567, Cody, and Bacara to make it back unnoticed. As 7567 turns a corner he freezes when he nearly runs into Nala Se.
“Oh, Captain,” she says in the same soft monotone voice that all Kaminoans spoke in.
“Hm.” 7567 manages hoping it sounded like the Captain.
When he tries to walk past her, she says, “The Prime Minister was looking for you. Have you seen him?”
“No.” 7567 says while the fight or flight instinct starts to kick in. he wondered if Cody and Bacara looked just as nervous as 7567 felt.
“You should speak with him when you are available.” She goes on. 7567 gives a slight nod and another “Hm.” Before she seems content to let him pass. Once he’s put some distance between her and them, he lets out a relieved breath. When the barracks are in view they sprint to the finish.
Once inside the safety of the barracks they all rush each other in a group hug.
“We did it! Holy crap!” Gree breathes as with a hand running over his head. Fox has a black eye most likely from his food fight with Neyo. Neyo looks unscathed and like the happiest person alive despite everything that happened.
“I can’t believe we pulled that off!” 7567 laughs relieved that it’s over at least. And then as quickly as that relief came, it vanished. When the doors to the barracks open the cadets fall silent. Frozen in absolute fear. 7567 stands with his back to the door unable to see the threat that has entered the room. Footsteps approach from behind him. 7567 swallows the knot in his throat before slowly turning around. Alpha stares into his visor with eyes filled with rage. Without his helmet they are able to see just how furious their Captain is.
“Take it off. Now.” Alpha says in almost a whisper. When 7567 hesitates, this time he screams it. “Take it off right now!”
7567 pulls the helmet off unable to meet the Captain eyes. The Captain is so furious he begins breathing heavily. He looks out at the other cadets before his eyes fall back on 7567.
“You will return this to my private quarters. Right now.” He growls with his face inches from 7567.
“Yes, Sir.” 7567 can barely get the words out before he is rushing to the Captain’s room. He falls over when he starts pulling the armor off. He’s so angry at himself for thinking this was a good plan that he could scream. But he doesn’t not when the Captain was so mad. His fear made him rush taking the armor off and then hurry back to the barracks. Everyone is down on the floor in the down pushup position. 7567 immediately walks over and joins his brothers on the floor. His arms begin to burn immediately. The Captain stands over them with his arms crossed over his chest pacing back and forth in front of them. 7567 doesn’t know how long they stay like that before they start fully body shaking and dropping. Every time they drop the Captain would scream at them until they got back up into the down push up position. Sweat begins to pool beneath them. 7567 shakes and drops. The pain in his arms and abdomen are so bad he barely hears the Captain screaming over him. when he finally gets back into the position it’s not before the Captain finally lets them up. They rush to stand at attention while panting and blinking sweat from their eyes.
“Now,” the Captain says in a soft but furious voice. “Would someone like to explain to me what you were doing?”
“Sir,” Neyo says through pants. He tells him what happened with his weapon and the Prime Minister. The Captain’s face turns the deepest shade of red 7567 has ever seen. Next thing 7567 knows they are back in the down push up position.
“And you!” the Captain yells at Fox. “Why do you have a black eye?”
Fox explains through a straining voice of his distraction in the cafeteria. This makes the Captain demand everyone get to their feet. Now they start doing suicides form one side of the room to the other. already being tired from staying in the down push up position for so long it didn’t take long for 7567 to start seeing spots. He pauses with his hand on the wall to steady himself while he desperately tries to catch his breath.
“Don’t stop.” Bacara pants next to him. he encourages 7567 to keep going so he does. His legs, lungs, arms, and abs were screaming. Finally, once Gree starts vomiting into a waste bin, the Captain lets them stop. Fox coughs into his elbow profusely and Cody struggles to catch his breath. 7567 pats Bacara’s back as a thank you for helping him keep going before putting his hands on his knees to try and catch his breath.
“I am going to go check on the Prime Minister. While I’m gone, I want you showered and standing here at attention until I get back. And if I hear that any one of you even so much as moved an inch from this line,” he points to the yellow line where they line up in the mornings. “I’m having every single one of you court marshaled. If you aren’t already destined for that.”
The Captain leaves before Thire drops to his knees.
“So… I guess this… was all for nothing.” Wolffe breathes from crouching on the floor. 7567 shakes his head.
“We might not.” He swallows feeling his throat sore from the running.
“We could still try and make it to the ships?” Thire wipes his face with his shirt. They are silent after that. Neyo is the first one to move. He limps past them and starts towards the showers. Bacara follows after him along with 7567 who helps Cody up from where he sits on the floor. They shuffle inside and take a stall. The warm water feels nice on 7567’s sore body. He wonders if this is the last hot shower he’ll have in a long time. Maybe ever. He takes his time showering. Along with everyone else it seems. 7567 still manages to be one of the first done. Neyo stands under the water unmoving. He knows this is his fault. But in truth, 7567 didn’t blame him. even if it was true. They all went with the plan. Not once did any of them stop to pin it on him. Not even Fox. 7567 looks over at Fox as he walks out of the refresher. 7567 dries quickly before walking after him.
“Fox,” 7567 says when he catches up to him. Fox turns to him with little to no life left in him. “You hate Neyo. And pretty much most of us here. So, why didn’t you try and pin this on Neyo or anyone else?”
Fox makes a face at him before looking down at the ground.
“Because you’re my brothers. We look after each other.” he says finally. 7567 wasn’t expecting that answer. Fox reaches out and pats his shoulder. “You did good today. Really fooled everyone thinking you were the Captain.”
Fox turns to finish getting dressed. 7567 nods a quiet thanks before walking over to his locker next to Cody’s. they get dressed in silence before walking to the yellow line and stand at attention.
The cadets had no clue how long they stood at attention on the yellow line. For them it felt like an eternity. Standing at attention starts to hurt after a time and the punishment they received before this wasn’t helping. 7567 could see Wolffe shaking out of the corner of his eye. Of course he was shaking too along with most of the others. Bacara was the only one to still be holding strong. At some point he was going to break too. Finally, when the Captain returned they held their breath. He slowly walks towards them now wearing his usual armor. He wears his helmet hiding any chance for them to see how bad it was coming for them.
“I am going to call you one by one to come and explain to me in my room of what happened today.” He says in the same quiet angry voice. “CC-2224, you’re first.”
7567 winces for Cody at the use of his CC number. He watches out of the corner of his eye as his best friend steps off the line to follow the Captain out of the room. No one says a thing. They just stand there and wait for their turn. When Cody does return his eyes stay glued to the floor refusing to meet anyones eyes. He walks right past them to start climbing the ladder leading to their racks.
“CC-3636, you’re next.” The Captain calls from the door. One by one they each get called. And each time they walk past the remaining cadets to climb into their rack not saying a word. When 7567 is the last one standing at attention he feels his full body shaking. He was exhausted and the stress of what was to come was killing him. when Neyo appears in the doorway 7567 almost feels relieved. At least it’s almost over. This part at least. He had no clue what was coming. The Captain doesn’t say a word to him. 7567 begins walking towards him and he walks ahead to his room.
When 7567 enters the Captain’s room for the third time today, he carefully walks forward to sit across from the Captain at his table. The Captain wear his helmet now and doesn’t say a word at first. He types into his computer at a speed 7567 could only hope to reach one day. Finally the Captain turns to he is facing 7567. He rubs his face looking almost as exhausted by all this as 7567 and the others were. Finally, 7567 couldn’t take it anymore and speaks first. “Is the Prime Minister okay?”
“He’s fine.”
7567 is shocked at the fact there was no hint in anger in the Captains voice. Maybe because he used it all earlier. 7567 flinches when the Captain stands but he only walks over to pour himself a drink. He walks back over and takes his seat.
“So, tell me what happened.” The Captain says while leaning back in his chair and taking a sip of his drink. 7567 swallows the knot in his throat and shifts in his seat.
“It was all me.” He says suddenly. The Captain says nothing as he takes another sip of his drink. “I was the one who suggested we do something and I’m the one who had the idea to steal your armor.”
The Captain gives a slight chuckle while looking down into his cup. 7567 shifts nervously waiting desperately for the Captain to say something.
“I saw the security video. We have them in the barracks too. I saw everything.” The Captain meets his eyes. “I also saw how everyone went into panic meltdown mode… except you.”
7567 doesn’t say anything.
“While everyone was panicking you were the calm voice over the storm. I won’t lie. I was kind of impressed.” The Captain goes on. “I mean, everything you did was insanely stupid. Just completely idiocy but hey, you kept your cool.”
7567 stares at the blank expression on the Captains face unable to tell if he was being serious or not. Probably not. He was going with not. The Captain sits his glass down so he can rubs his face tiredly again.
“The Prime Minister doesn’t remember anything. He does remember going into your barracks but he doesn’t remember anything after that. He fell for your story. The cafeteria… that you’re all going down for but despite the damage it’s not court marshal worthy. I talked them down from it.” This makes 7567 lift his head.
“You vouched for us? Why?” 7567 studies the Captains face but it was stuck in a natural expression.
“Because as pissed off as I am at all of this… you all finally worked together.” This makes 7567 shift in his seat and frown at the Captain.
“That can’t be the real reason. We did a terrible thing and then tried to cover it up. We shouldn’t be here right now.” 7567 says trying to understand the Captain.
“Oh, you are welcome to go tell the Prime Minister what really happened! But…” the Captain trails off. He looks out the window at the dark sea and pitch black skies. “Shit happens out on the battlefield. Shit you’ll never see coming and if you don’t know how to adapt and go with it you will die. And the eight clones I saw try and fix this crazy mess they found themselves in didn’t just shut down and panic. They acted. Say what you will about this situation but you, 7567, stayed calm and cool headed enough to see a possible way out.”
7567 fidgets nervously. “So, does this mean we’re not in trouble?”
“Hell no. You’re in trouble and as far as I’m concerned, you’ll be always in trouble. You eight are forever on my shit list. Congratulations. You’re just not getting court marshalled and executed.” The Captain says with anger appearing in his voice again. Despite the revival in anger, 7567 can’t help but to laugh. Maybe it was from the exhaustion from everything that happened today, but he let himself laugh. The Captain gives his own chuckle before taking a sip of his drink. When 7567 finally regains himself the Captain nods towards the door. “Now go to bed. I don’t want to hear another word out of any of you.”
“Yes, Sir. Thank you, Sir.” 7567 stands and starts for the door.
“Hey, kid.” The Captain calls after him before he can walk out. 7567 pauses in the open doorway. “You want a name?”
7567 must be hallucinating from the exhaustion. He blinks a few times before says, “Sir?”
“You had the balls to steal my armor and then impersonate me while I was still in this building. Someone brave enough for that deserves a name.” he says. all 7567 can manage at this point is a nod. The Captain smiles and says, “From now on your name is Rex. It means king. Now go to bed.”
7567—no, Rex stands tall in the doorway wearing the biggest smile he can.
“Thank you, Sir!” he says before leaving the Captains room. Rex almost runs back to the barracks. He busts through the doors and stares at the racks. The sound of his return makes the others pull their racks out so they can look at him.
“What happened?” Cody asked from his rack.
“He gave me a name,” Rex says feeling the weight of the day and all his jealousies and insecurities fade away. “My name is Rex!”
(I know I haven't posted in a while, sorry! I've taken a break to focus more on my novel but now I'm taking a break from that... so here is the next chapter! Sorry it's a shorter one.)
“ARC Troopers, you have been selected for this task because you are the best, the elite, you all know what to do. The success of your mission is our key to a swift victory. When you get into position, send word as planned. Then I will join you.” Obi Wan Kenobi’s words were clear and direct, but Alpha wasn’t listening. His mind was somewhere else back on Kamino stuck in a conversation that plays on an endless loop through his mind. When the Jedi leaves so that they can prepare for the mission, the other Troopers regain life and begin to move around the room and speak amongst themselves. Alpha doesn’t move. He is rooted to his spot. He uses all his self control to focus on calm breathing and forces his eyes to glare at nothing but the ship floor. After a moment of Alpha not moving, one of the Troopers in pure white clone gear steps forward.
“Sir, we’re prepped and are ready for battle.” Cody stands at attention waiting for his Captain to respond. Alpha lets his eyes scan over to the clone beside him. With both men wearing helmets, it was impossible to tell what either was thinking. Cody clears his throat and fights the urge to sneak a glance at his brothers while under Alpha’s silent stare.
“Line up Troopers.” Fordo’s voice is sudden and nearly startles the kid, but he manages to keep his cool by giving a quick salute before speed walking over to the group of newly graduate clones. Alpha’s stare follows the boy only causing Cody to stiffen and grow more uncomfortable. Fordo turns his visor on Alpha.
“A word, Captain,” Fordo’s voice comes out a little to loudly causing the other ARC Troopers to take notice of their Commander and Captain stepping out of the room. Now in the corridor, Alpha lets his eyes land on the ARC Trooper in red and white gear. His hands clench into tight fists.
Fordo puts his hands on his hips with a sigh before saying, “You can be mad at me all you want but I need—theyneed you to have a clear head!”
Alpha’s jaw clenches so tight it hurts. It takes everything to hold himself back.
“Sir. Yes. Sir.” Every word is forced before the real words can come pouring out in an irreversible flood of rage. The air around them is heavy where one wrong move could end in complete disaster. Neither of them could afford anything to go wrong today. The Jedi were watching their every move in this mission. They couldn’t slip up before the mission even started.
Alpha is the first to walk back into the room with the other Troopers. One second more and he wasn’t sure if he could restrain himself. While walking towards the far end of the room a cluster of soft voices comes over his commlink.
“… not something we did, right?” it was one of his new Troopers. Alpha almost comes to a complete stop.
“I don’t think we’ve been Clone Troopers long enough to make him angry.” A different clone, probably Rex says.
“You don’t think we did anything to get knocked down to cadets again, do you?” the voice is timid so it must be Gree.
There’s a chuckle and a different boy with too much confidence in his voice says, “That would be a new record I’m sure.”
Alpha feels his anger subside for a moment as a smile begins to form across his lips. He clears his throat and says, “I can hear you.”
Eight clone’s whip their heads in Alpha’s direction. He holds in a chuckle while laughter erupts on the other end of the room where the other ARC Troopers were listening in on the newly graduate clones open commlink. All eight wince and begin bickering with each other over whose fault this was. Alpha walks over to their group causing them to fall into silence.
“For the upcoming mission I’ve decided to split you up into two groups of four,” Alpha moves on straight to business. “Four will be coming with the ARC Trooper team and the other four will be joining Jedi General Kenobi.”
There is a sudden wave of anger and anxiety with clenched fists and stiffened posture. Alpha waits to let them settle their thoughts before one steps forward. He stands at attention trying to stay professional.
“Sir, I thought the point of this program was to train us to be ARC Troopers? By splitting us up and sending half with the Jedi would it not put that half behind?” Fox’s voice was calm, but Alpha could hear the steel in his words.
“I’m training you to be leaders, not ARC Troopers. One day each of you will be assigned to a battalion that you will lead into battle beside a Jedi general. The ARC Troopers can help you acquire skill but none of that will be worth a damn if you can’t follow the orders given to you by the Jedi.” He waits for anyone else to come forward. When they don’t, he lets out a breath and goes on, “Cody, Fox, Thire, and Neyo will be joining the Jedi.”
Cody and Fox break their forcefully causal stances and look like they’re going to argue. One sharp look from Alpha, even with his helmet on, puts them in their place. Thire and Neyo show no sign of disappointment or excitement. Thire gives a nod while Neyo shrugs his shoulders like he couldn’t care less where he was assigned. Rex and Wolffe give each other looks but with their helmets Alpha couldn’t tell what it meant. Bacara was just as indifferent as Neyo, but Gree looked like he was buzzing with excitement. Alpha gestures for the four going with the Jedi to follow him. He ignores the slight grumble from Fox and the sluggish movements from Cody. When they’re walking through the corridors of the ship Alpha chuckles, “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you boys were pouting.”
“I’m not—” Cody and Fox blurt out before falling into silent embarrassment. Alpha smiles under his helmet and leads them into the ship’s hanger. He spots Kenobi staring at a fleet of starships preparing to depart for battle. When he sees Alpha, he gives a smile.
“Captain, are these the Troops you were telling me about?” Kenobi places a hand on his hip while taking in the four clones. They pop to attention in front of the Jedi. Alpha crosses his arms with a soft chuckle.
“They’re still green but they’ll get the job done.”
“Not a problem. I look forward to working alongside you four. You can board the gunship with the others. We’ll be parting shortly.” Kenobi gestures to the closest gunship. The four salute and walk towards the ship. Alpha stares after them. His hands squeeze the sides of his crossed arms. Kenobi notices and gives him a light pat on the shoulder.
“It never gets easier,” Kenobi’s eyes look out to the new Jedi Knight getting settled in his starship. “You just have to trust your training and trust them.”
Alpha lets out a shaky breath exposing how anxious he really was. Wanting to move past the emotional moment, Alpha turns towards Kenobi, “Where are the Troops coming with us?”
Kenobi points to a small squad of clones in pure white armor standing to the side. With half of his boys going with the ground assault they were going to need to fill in their ranks. Fordo wasn’t happy with the thought of splitting them up but Alpha didn’t care. Cody and Fox would excel alongside the ARC’s, but what they really needed was time working beside a Jedi. Neyo was a wild card and Alpha would be the first to admit he lets him get away with a little too much. If he can’t handle following a Jedi, then he’ll have to go back to the drawing board with that one. He wasn’t sure how Thire would do. In the ground assault Thire wouldn’t be able to rely on the shadows. He’ll have to adapt and quickly. At least that’s the reason he told Fordo. The real reason he was sending half his squad was a truth Alpha wasn’t quite ready to admit to himself.
When he leaves Kenobi and begins leading the new Troops back towards the ARC Troopers the conversation with Fordo on Kamino comes flooding back. He squeezes his eyes shut when the wave of anger washes back over him. The Troops behind him notice and give him a wide berth. When he makes it back to the room with the ARC’s he sees his boys checking their gear one more time before lining up. The Troops Alpha had escorted in takes in the new four.
“Who are you four supposed to be?” one of the newer ones say. Bacara manages to side eye the Trooper even with his helmet on.
“We’re part of the ARC Training Program.” Gree explains proudly. The new Troops exchange looks with each other before the one who approached them snorts.
“ARC Training Program? You’re either born an ARC or you’re not one at all.” The Trooper crosses his arms. “How long have you been in?”
“Since… yesterday.” Gree says with less enthusiasm. The Troopers burst into hysteric laughter. Alpha reaches his limit and clears his throat with a glance over his shoulder towards them. the new Troopers straighten up and put some distance between them and Alpha’s four. Bacara keeps an eye on them but follows the others when it was time for them to board their gunship.
“Listen up,” Alpha turns to his four and quickly shows them how to connect to the ARC commlink. “We’ll be silent from here on out. The Seppies like to try and listen in on our chatter so we’ll be relying mostly on hand signals. Only use verbal communication when necessary.”
“Understood.” They say as one. When the gunship departs, they can already hear the blaster fire from the fight in space. Alpha keeps an eye on his four and an eye on the new Troops. He was feeling something he’s never felt before. His legs begin to feel weak and a sour taste coats his tongue making him feel nauseous. Memories of finding his boys in the training simulation covered in blood and shrapnel burns behinds his eyes.
“You’re kidding me.” Alpha had laughed expecting what he was just told to be a joke. He was standing in his room with Fordo who stood with arms crossed, his expression serious.
“It’s time Alpha. If we’re going to take Muunilinst we’re going to need them to fill in our ranks.”
Alpha couldn’t believe what he was hearing. A sudden urgency falls over Alpha as he says, “Cody just got out of his bacta tank! Half of them still walk with a limp. They aren’t ready.”
“We’ve gone into battle with much worse. They’ll be fine.” Fordo doesn’t budge. Alpha knew he was talking to a brick wall and the fact that Fordo was keeping his cool and Alpha was close to losing it only fanned his anger. Fordo goes on, “They were able to complete an ARC Trooper level battle simulation with training blasters. I’m not even convinced all ARC Troopers could do that. They’re ready.”
“It’s not your call. This is my program Fordo. I say when they’re ready or not.” Alpha stands his ground. He’s worked to hard for this to be swept out from under him. Fordo’s eyes fall to the floor for a moment before meeting Alpha’s again.
“It’s already done. I spoke with the Prime Minister. They’re already marked for graduation and assigned to the Muunilinst mission.”
Alpha feels the breath get knocked out of his lungs. His limbs feel numb as he tries to grasp the words coming out of his Commander’s mouth. It’s already done.A pain aches through his chest with a heavy weight. The image of Fordo changes in that moment for Alpha. He was no longer speaking with a trusted friend and brother. This was his Commander. Nothing more.
Alpha’s grip on the handgrip tightens as the gunship lowers into Muunilinst’s atmosphere. The gunship has fallen into a dead silence. His four were holding up under the anticipation for their first battle. After a time, Kenobi’s voice comes over their commlink.
“ARC Troopers, deploy!” with that command their gunship pulls away from the horde heading for the ground assault. Alpha closes his eyes pushing back the memory of Thire’s limp body being carried down from the tower in the battle simulation. Fox cold and lifeless, Neyo barely recognizable under a pile of droids, and Cody falling from the citadel tower. He opens his eyes with a deep breath. Kenobi’s words ring in his ears. Trust your training and trust them.
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(Alpha finally starts giving the cadets names as he grows closer to them and others around him.)
Alpha walks into the once vibrant jungle with dense vegetation that has now faded back to nothing more than a bare simulation room with grey smooth surfaces. The cadets are scattered around the room trying to adjust to the sudden change. 7567 stands slightly shocked on an extended block from the wall that had just been a tree branch like he hadn’t realized how high up he was. The others slowly adjust to the plainness while giving Alpha their full attention. Alpha stares down at his datapad taking in the information while 2224 approaches him.
“Sir, permission to lead the next simulation?” the cadet stands at attention.
“That’s fine Cody.” Alpha starts to walk back to the observation room.
“Sir?” 2224’s voice is unsure which makes Alpha pause. He turns back to see all eight cadets wearing confused awkward faces. At least more than normal.
“What?”
“You called me… Cody, Sir.” 2224 starts carefully. Alpha is glad he has his helmet on to hide his face as the realization dawns on him. In truth, Alpha has been slowly coming up with names for all his boys. He didn’t want to start giving them names until he had one for each of them. So far 1004, 4477, 8826, and 7567 were the only ones missing names. Alpha realizes that he hasn’t said anything for a moment, so he clears his throat.
“Yes, that’s your name now.” Alpha hopes he doesn’t sound as awkward and unsure as he felt. “If you don’t like it…”
“Cody was the name of a Mandalorian that helped train us ARC Troopers. I thought you and he shared a likeness in some respects.” Alpha watches the cadet’s face closely. He was trying hard not to show any form of excitement, but it was there. “Now, Cody, get the others to the start and redo this simulation. I want to see some real results this time.”
“Yes, Sir!” Cody salutes as Alpha turns away. In the reflection of the window leading into the observation room Alpha can see the smile spreading across the cadet’s face. Alpha holds back his own smile despite his face already being hidden by his helmet. When he walks into the observation room, he finds Fordo staring at him with crossed arms.
“Commander.” Alpha grunts while stepping in front of the controls. He has the jungle simulation up again disrupting the cadet’s conversations over 2224’s new name.
“So, you’re naming them now, huh?” Fordo tilts head slightly.
“Why not? We both have names and so do most clones now.” Alpha commands a few of the torrents to aim fire at 1138. He takes cover behind a tree signaling 3636 for back up.
“Well, you know what they say about naming something? You start to get attached to it.”
Alpha watches closely as 1138 and 3636 take out the torrents. “And what if I do? We’re not Jedi.”
“No, no, you’re right,” Fordo begins walking towards the door before stopping right behind Alpha. “But unlike the Jedi we don’t get nice funerals surrounded by friends and loved ones. We get left behind as the squad advances. Will you be prepared to leave Codybehind if he gets shot down in battle?”
Alpha finds himself unable to answer. When the doors open, Shaak Ti walks in. She nods politely to Fordo as he walks out. Alpha crosses his arms and focuses on the simulation.
“I can sense your unrest, Captain. What troubles you?”
Shit.
“Nothing. Just… stressed about the boys training.” He sighs the last bit feeling a wave of exhaustion wash over him. She eyes him curiously.
“You carry much on your shoulders. Do not forget that you do not have to carry it alone.”
Alpha glances at the Jedi. She smiles softly at him before turning her head towards the simulation. Alpha stares a moment longer before doing the same. They stand in a comfortable silence while the cadets go through the simulation. After a time, Alpha begins pulling up the different monitors.
“What are you looking for?” Ti asks.
“4477. I lost track of him.” Again.
Ti closes her eyes while focusing through the Force. When her eyes open, she says, “There, in the upper east side.”
Alpha pulls up the camera pointed in that area. When the image appears they both squint until they can finally make out 4477 crouched down in a tree. A droid walks below scanning the ground for lifeforms. 4477 drops down stunning the droid before darting into the bushes unseen.
“Clever kid, I’ll give him that.” Alpha chuckles. “That one’s getting harder and harder to spot in these drills.”
“A useful skill to have.” Ti nods. She reaches down checking on the other cadets. After a moment she says, “Your cadets are improving more and more each day. But still, something troubles you.”
This again. “It’s really nothing.”
“Knowing you, if you’re this rattled its not nothing.” She arches her version of a brow at him. Alpha feels his lips twitch into a smile.
“Fine,” He sighs at last. “These cadets… am I getting to attached?”
“Ah,” she says as if she completely understands. Hell, maybe she does. “The hardest part of teaching.”
“Though, who am I kidding? I’m sure the great Shaak Ti would never grow to close to anyone. To good of a Jedi.” Alpha crosses his arms. He sees a flash of… somethingin her eyes before she quickly returns to her natural expression.
“I’ve had padawans, Alpha-17.” She says with a hint of ice in her words. Alpha chuckles. Hit a nerve, did I?
“Oh? And did you ever form attachments?” Alpha leans against the control panel now giving her his full attention. Ti stares down at the controls in thought.
“I did.” She lifts her eyes to him. Even though he still wears his helmet it felt like she was staring right into his eyes.
More softly he asks, “So, what happened?”
“When my last padawan’s training was complete I took her to coruscant to go through the trials and become a knight. And she did.” She looks back at the training cadets. Alpha stays silent feeling the tension in her words. “On her first mission she was sent to a planet filled with Jedi hating mercenaries. She was killed.”
The once comfortable atmosphere now feels like they were trapped in a pressurized room. Alpha uncrosses his arms failing to find the right words.
“And do you know what I did after receiving the news that my former padawan died on her first mission? I grieved. The grief felt suffocating at times, but I found my resolve in the fact that I must go on for the sake of myself and others. Now I carry her death and the death of all the others with me every day. So, no. I may not be that great of a Jedi after all, Alpha-17.” She begins to walk towards the door. Alpha doesn’t quite understand why he did what he does but it achieves its goal. He pulls his helmet off showing his face and by doing so it stops her in her tracks. This wasn’t the first time she’s seen Alpha’s bare face, but it is rare for him to remove his helmet out of his private quarters. Now, unable to hide his expressions and facial tells he feels naked before her. She can sense his unease and can clearly see it too. Alpha clears his throat awkwardly trying to pull a neutral expression on.
“I’m sorry Ti. I didn’t mean to upset you.” Alpha also hadn’t meant to call her Ti out loud. A smile spreads across her face before she turns back to the controls as if trying to hide it.
“I’m not upset, Alpha.” The comfort from before slowly settles between them again.
Trying to move past their last conversation, Alpha asks, “So, any ideas on what to name one of these guys? I’ve got a few in mind but still struggling with the rest.”
“Hm,” she lifts a hand to her chin in thought. “If you wouldn’t mind, 1138 reminds me a lot of one of my very first padawans. He died in a fierce battle. He was strong and very brave. I think he would be glad to share his name with 1138.”
“And what was his name?”
“Bacara.” She smiles sadly with eyes looking towards the past. Alpha smiles softly. He finds himself reaching out to gently touch her shoulder.
“I think that’s a perfect name.” definitely better than Steroids that’s for sure. They find themselves staying like that for a few moments longer before the doors open and a cadet steps inside. Alpha takes his hand away and slips his helmet on as fast as possible. Ti occupies herself with the control panel. Alpha turns to see 1010 looking between Ti and Alpha before slightly tilting his head and smiling. “What are you doing? Get back out there and finish the simulation!”
“We did. Ten minutes ago.” 1010 gestures to the simulation room that has reverted back to a bare bland grey training room. The other cadets lean against pillars and blocks looking bored. Oh.
“I knew that.” He snarls at the cadet who already knows that he definitely didn’t know that. “Get back in the room. Now.”
“Yes, Sir.” He says before looking past Alpha to Ti and going, “General.”
“Cadet.” Ti says politely. 1010 smiles wider while returning to the others. Alpha shakes his head with a heavy sigh. He freezes when he feels a warm hand gently touch his left shoulder.
“I’ve distracted you long enough. I’ll leave you to your cadets.”
Alpha watches her walk out of the room. Now standing alone he smacks the side of his helmet. Get it together Alpha. He walks into the simulation room prompting the others to pop to attention.
“Alright boys, we’ll be running sprints next.” There is a collective of groans even from the more obedient ones. As the boys start gathering their gear to head to the indoor track, Alpha stops 1138. “What do you say about having the name Bacara?”
“Bacara?” 1138 repeats the name while wrinkling his nose as if something smelled bad. Alpha eyes him through his helmet.
“It was the name of a strong and brave Jedi. They were also trained by the greatest Jedi I’ve ever known. Anyone would be lucky to have it.” Alpha watches the cadets face slowly come to terms with it. Eventually he nods. “Good, Bacara it is then.”
Alpha sees excitement and intrigue grow on the faces of the others who haven’t been given a name yet. A clear flash of jealously burns across 1010’s. That put a smile on Alpha’s face.
Over the next few days Alpha begins giving out the clones names. He gives 3636 his name after successfully out witting everyone, including 1010, in a drill. He was more then happy to be given the name Wolffe. Alpha was a little hesitant to give 1010 his name. 1010 already put himself on a high pedestal, Alpha didn’t want his ego to grow any bigger. But the kid had skill and earned it after completing a training course in record time. Though it still made Alpha grit his teeth after giving the kid his name and he responds, “Fox huh… this is acceptable.”And then going about his business. Ti ended up helping again in naming 4477. Alpha was close to naming the kid Ghost before she pointed out how many other clones shared the name already. They finally settled on Thire, and the cadet was happy to take it. 1004 was the easiest to name because the cadet chose it himself.
“Gree?” Alpha repeated the name. “Like the species?”
“Yes, Sir. They’re my favorite species to read about.” 1004 says proudly. Alpha shrugs his shoulders.
“Fine. Gree it is.” and that was that. This left 7567 and 8826. Alpha could see how much it bothered 7567 no matter how hard the cadet tried to hide it. He could also see how unbothered 8826 was. Fordo and Alpha lean against the barracks wall talking quietly to each other while watching the cadets clean their gear.
“I don’t know… maybe Clumsy?” Fordo shrugs his shoulders while watching 7567 trip over a bag on the floor. Alpha shakes his head.
“No, he’s been doing better. A name like that might affect his confidence.” Alpha can feel Fordo’s stare but keeps going. “What about 8826?”
“I don’t know. I still like Lil’ Psycho for him.” Fordo chuckles to himself. Alpha rolls his eyes but doesn’t necessarily disagree. They look over at 8826 as he tells a story to Bacara and Wolffe.
“… and you should have seen the way I jumped over the droid!” 8826 goes on in his story. Wolffe rolls his eyes.
“We did see it, you plebe. We were there.” Wolffe says while Bacara continues to silently clean his blaster.
“Yeah? But did you see how fast I was going? I went NEYOOUUM!” He stands and moves his hand quickly as if to demonstrate his speed. Alpha and Fordo look at each other.
“That’s it.” They both say.
“Hey, 8826, you want a name?” Alpha calls across the room. The cadet looks over at them.
“If you’re giving them out.” He shrugs with a half grin.
“Good. Because from now on your names Neyoum.”
This causes the other cadets to erupt in laughter. 8826’s face pales.
“Sir, no.” he says with a face so grim it even brings Alpha and Fordo to laughter. “Sir, anything but that. Please.”
“Alright. Since you said please,” Alpha chuckles. He tilts his head thinking it over. “How about Neyo then.”
“Neyo works for me Sir!” the cadet sits with his cheeks growing a few shades of red. Bacara is still in a laugh that shakes his whole body prompting Neyo to smack him.
Fordo pats Alpha’s back as he regains himself. “Well, that was easy.”
“Yeah, but we still need to find one for 7567.” Alpha nods his head in the cadet’s direction. The cadet stares at his training blaster like someone just told him he had six weeks to live. Fordo taps the side of his helmet.
“We’ll have to come up with one later. Just got word the Generals are arriving.”
Alpha lets out an exhausted sigh. That’s right. The meeting. A bunch of the Jedi Generals are coming to form a plan of attack on the upcoming battle of Muunilinst and Hypori. All of the ARC troopers have been requested to be there. Alpha groans deep in his throat.
“My sentiments exactly but we need to change if we’re going to be on time. They want us in the new officer attire to look more professional.” Fordo snorts while making his way towards the exit. Alpha forces himself to walk out to the center of the room.
“Alright, listen up,” Alpha says loudly getting all of the cadets attention. “I have to go to a meeting for the next hour or so. You are to stay here. I don’t care what you do as long as you don’t leave this room or burn anything down. Are we clear?”
“Yes, Sir!” they say loudly. Alpha leaves the barracks to return to his quarters. The only time Alpha was ever out of his armor was when he was sleeping here on Kamino. Sometimes not even then. So peeling off his armor and pulling on a thin grey fabric uniform felt like putting on uncomfortable pajamas and parading around the city. Alpha walks out of his room while tugging at his collar. A chuckle gives him pause as Shaak Ti approaches him. If he felt naked before with his helmet off in front of her, he definitely does now.
“This is ridiculous.” He says while still struggling to adjust the collar.
“It’s good to see how well you can function in them. I hear they are about to issue these to all clones stationed in control towers.” She reaches up and helps him adjust the collar size.
“Thanks.” He says now that he doesn’t feel like he’s being strangled. She smiles softly before walking with him towards the meeting room. “Will you be joining us?”
“I will. From what Master Mundi is saying I will be accompanying him and a few other Jedi to Hypori.” She explains. He gives a hm. As they walk Alpha spots a familiar face walking down the corridor with 99.
“CT-7567, what are you doing out of the barracks?” Alpha frowns at the cadet. 7567 just stares back at Alpha to shocked to speak from seeing him out of his usual armor. Alpha clears his throat loudly. “I’m waiting.”
“It’s my fault Sir. I came by the barracks needing help carrying some boxes. 7567 was kind enough to help me out.” 99 says. Alpha softens his expression at 99 before hardening it again at 7567.
“Back to the barracks the second you are done helping 99.” He orders. 7567 can only nod with eyes still wide with shock. He silently follows 99 down the corridor. Alpha rubs his face tiredly. When he hears a laugh from Ti, he arches a brow at her. “Something funny?”
“I’ve never seen you so uncomfortable before.” She says as they continue walking. Alpha fidgets in his uniform.
“Yeah, well…” he trails off unable to argue with her. when they make to the meeting room, he makes out the other ARC Troopers all as uncomfortable as Alpha in the new officer uniforms. He turns his gaze over to the Jedi filling the other parts of the room. Masters Mundi, Windu, Secura, and K’kruhk along with a hand full of others Alpha didn’t recognize huddle around each other in their jedi robes. Alpha keeps looking through the faces trying to see everyone he recognized when he spots a boy standing with a scrunched-up face of constant disapproval. Alpha feels himself chuckle before approaching the boy.
“Didn’t know they let kids in here?” Alpha snorts with a grin. Skywalker looks him over with a raised brow. Then a smile spreads on his face as he realizes who Alpha is.
“I’ll have you know I’m a Jedi Knight now.” He says standing a little taller. Alpha chuckles while crossing his arms.
“Oh? And who in their right mind decided that?”
“I did, Captain. Along with the rest of the Jedi council.” Another familiar voice comes from behind him. Alpha turns to see General Kenobi approaching them. He reaches out and shakes the Jedi’s hand. “Good to see you again.”
“You as well.” Alpha crosses his arms as they stand around each other. “But what I really want to know is who came up with this uniform?”
“That you’ll have to take up with the Admirals I’m afraid.” Kenobi laughs slightly. He reaches up to stroke his beard.
“Oh, I don’t know Master. I rather like the outfit.” Skywalker says making Alpha roll his eyes.
“Outfit? It’s a uniform.” Alpha corrects him but the kid just smiles.
“Call it whatever you want. Either way it brings out your eyes.”
This time its Kenobi’s turn to roll his eyes. At that moment Windu walks towards the holotable letting everyone know they are about to begin. Alpha stands next to Skywalker taking in how much he’s grown since the last he saw him. while the briefing goes on, he notices the kid yawning. Alpha nudges him slightly before leaning closer to say, “If you watch Commander Fordo closely, you’ll see him roll his eyes from time to time. I think he’s forgetting he’s not wearing a helmet.”
They watch Fordo for a moment before he rolls his eyes at something Secura says. This makes both Alpha and Skywalker laugh earning a harsh glare from Kenobi. They straighten up and try to act professional but snicker every time Fordo makes a face or rolls his eyes again. Maybe the briefing won’t be too bad after all.
(WARNING: this chapter has some bloody graphic scenes. You have been warned.)
“Level out!” Alpha growls when the ship jerks hard to the right. He adjusts himself while the other cadets hold on for dear life. Fox and Cody struggle to regain control of the ship.
“I’ve got it!” Cody shouts as the ship levels to smooth flying. Most of the cadets return to normal while waiting for the last two to finish flying the ship. Alpha notices Gree relaxing back into his chair but doesn’t loosen his death grip on his chair.
“You two need to focus and get it together!” Alpha barks from the back. Fox and Cody mutter a yes sir but not with out giving each other the evil eye. Alpha lets out an aggravated breath while crossing his arms. He rests back in his chair biting his tongue trying to give the two highest ranking cadets in his program a chance to fix themselves. He looks down at his notes. So far Wolffe has the highest ranking in flying followed closely by Neyo. A terrifying unfoldment for sure. Rex was subpar and Thire was fine but nothing special. Bacara and Gree did as well as most troopers. Alpha was expecting Cody and Fox to excel in this, much like they do in all other categories. But apparently not. While Alpha scans over his notes he notices Neyo getting out of his seat from the corner of his eye. “Back in your seat cadet.”
“There’s something wrong with this compressor shaft. I’m just going to fix it.” He reaches up to the roof of the ship. Alpha nods, letting the cadet do what he’s doing. After a moment Rex is up using his cadet helmet headlamp to help Neyo see. Alpha crosses his arms again and starts tapping his foot impatiently. He can hear Cody and Fox arguing quietly with each other from the front. He can barely make out what their saying over Neyo and Rex trying to fix the ship. Eventually it gets to a point where Alpha finds himself unbuckling himself and standing.
“Here just let me…” Alpha starts while reaching for the roof when the arguing between Cody and Fox becomes shouting. Alpha opens his mouth to yell at them but the next thing he knows he’s flying towards the back of the ship hitting a wall so hard it knocks all the air out of him. He tries to regain himself before two cadets fly back into him nearly knocking him unconscious. The ship is in a nosedive towards the ocean. Alpha struggles to get air to speak.
“Pu…pull… up!” Alpha wheezes but he can barely hear it himself over the cadets yelling. Rex and Neyo struggle to get off Alpha while they are stuck against the back ship wall. Alpha uses as much strength as he can to press his commlink. “Colt!”
Nothing comes back so he tries again but the ship is now spiraling more out of control then before. It almost levels out causing Alpha, Neyo, and Rex to fall on the floor before spiraling towards the ocean again forcing them against the back wall. Rex crashes into Alpha crushing his arm making it impossible to reach Colt. Alpha grits his teeth already anticipating the end before the ship crashes into the water. When it hits, Alpha goes flying to the front hitting the glass so hard he starts to see stars. Rex manages to snag Thire’s chair to keep from crashing into Alpha again and Bacara has a death grip on Neyo to keep him in place. Big red words spread across the glass. FAILURE.
“Uh… Captain?” Wolffe speaks through the heavy pants of the other cadets. “Are you okay?”
Alpha stumbles out of the flight simulator trying to find his footing. He pulls his helmet off so he can take deep breathes. He glares up at Colt and Havoc who cackle behind a control panel. While the cadets tumble out of the simulator behind him, he growls “You saw what was happening and didn’t stop it?”
“You said not to stop it unless you said so.” Colt shrugs. Alpha wants to argue more but the room is still spinning. Gree knocks into him. When Alpha turns to see if he’s alright he empties his stomach into Alpha’s helmet that he still holds in his hands.
“Sorry… Captain…” Gree gags. Alpha flinches at first but feels his shoulders relax with a tired sigh. Colt and Havoc laugh harder from the control panel.
“What was that?” Alpha asks. When Cody starts to speak, he cuts him off. “If this had been real you would have killed us all! What do you have to say for yourselves?”
“It’s fine kid… just go wash up.” Alpha says at last. Rex helps Gree towards the refresher just as two cadets try to slip past him. “Hey! You two. Front and center.”
Fox and Cody pause with stiff shoulders before slowly walking to stand in front of their Captain. Alpha doesn’t quite know what to do with his helmet now but decides to yell at the cadets anyway.
“Don’t you two have your own rooms?” Alpha mutters while walking past.
Fox tries to speak but Alpha cuts him off too. “You two need to get your shit together or else Wolffe and Bacara are going to replace you as the top in your class.”
They give small nods. Before he lets them go, Alpha hands Fox his helmet. “Oh, and clean that would ya?”
Fox walks away with Alpha’s helmet held as far away from his body as possible. Alpha sends the cadets back to their barracks for some rest mostly because Alpha needed a break. He tries to walk back to his quarters without stumbling or swaying like a drunkard. His head was killing him from all the chaos. All he wanted to do was to get a hot shower and fall into bed. He would berate the cadets more later tonight. When he reaches his room, he finds Fordo and Ti sitting on his couch with drinks in their hands.
“Yes, but they don’t have as fine of drinks as yours.” Fordo lifts his glass before taking a sip.
“What’s wrong?” Ti looks him over with a concerned eye.
“Flight practice.” Is all Alpha says while peeling off his upper body armor. He rolls his shoulder hearing a few pops.
“That bad huh?” Fordo doesn’t move from his spot.
“Everyone did fine except Fox and Cody. Alone they probably would do alright. More than alright actually. But those two have a vendetta out for each other.” Alpha sits on the edge of his bed. He rubs his temples with his eyes closed trying to force his headache away. He doesn’t open them until he feels a cold rag press against his forehead. He looks up at Ti who gives him a small smile. “Thanks, Ti.”
She walks back to the couch and takes a seat. Alpha sprawls out on his bed with the cold rag draped over his eyes.
“Well, just make sure your good to go for later.” He hears Fordo set his glass down. This makes Alpha peek from under the rag.
“For?” He sees Fordo arch a brow.
“ARC training? We have that live ammunition training later before we deploy.” Fordo explains making Alpha cover his eyes once more and growl deep in his throat. That’s right. He had forgotten about the training they have planned to get everyone back in gear. It’s been a while since a full squad of ARC Troopers have been deployed. They’ve also decided to test run a live ammunition simulation. It wouldn’t be anything to hard. At least not for them. It was to make sure everyone takes the training seriously.
“I’ll be there.” Alpha says finally.
“Good, make sure your kids don’t try to assault the Prime Minister while you’re away this time.” Fordo snickers before walking out of the room. Alpha gives another deep growl. He hears Ti shift on the couch.
“I’m sure they’ll be fine.” She says. her voice is soft and calming. He lifts the rag off his eyes pushing it over his forehead so he can look at her.
“Will you stay to watch the training?”
She gives a slight shake of her head. “Unfortunately, Mundi has requested I leave tonight to rendezvous with them early. I’ll have to leave during it.”
“That’s a shame. You won’t get to see some real ARC Troopers in action.” Alpha grins. She rolls her eyes.
“I’ve fought beside you before remember? I’ve seen what you can do.” She takes a sip of her drink. Alpha feels him self give a soft laugh.
“Not everything, though.” He grins at her. She gives another eye roll while standing.
“I’ll leave you to rest.” She starts for the door.
“See ya Ti.” Alpha finds himself yawning. When she leaves, Alpha sets an alarm and lefts himself drift to sleep.
When his alarm goes off it only feels like he’s blinked. He grumbles a few choice words while sitting up and swinging his legs off the bed. His headache is mostly gone so he counts that as a victory. He really didn’t want to do this live ammunition training. Maybe he was getting lazy. That thought makes him roll his eyes as he gets dressed. He walks out of his room to head towards the barracks. Inside the cadets have music playing as they are scattered about the room. Gree reads from his bunk while Wolffe looks over something from the holotable. Bacara and Neyo work on the speeder bike while Cody and Rex practice sparring with each other. He has to take a second look to spot Thire napping on a bench beneath the bunks. Fox walks out of the refresher holding Alpha’s helmet.
“Here,” he says handing over the helmet. Alpha inspects it carefully. It appears clean but after a quick whiff it still reeks of vomit. “Sorry I couldn’t get the smell out.”
“It’s fine. Thanks.” Alpha slips the helmet under his arm. The others notice him and slowly stop what their doing. Alpha walks more in the center and waits for Wolffe to turn off the music before speaking. “Alright, I have to leave to do a practice simulation with the other ARC Troopers. While I’m away you will be practicing the citadel simulation.”
This warrants a group of groans. Alpha continues. “No complaining. After the stunt you eight pulled you’re lucky I’m not sticking you all into a stasis chamber.”
“And here I was planning on burning the entire Kamino facility down.” Rex nudges Cody.
“We were thinking about causing trouble in armory.” Wolffe crosses his arm with a grin. Alpha rolls his eyes with a smirk.
“Fucking brats.” He chuckles to himself before leading them out of the barracks and to their training room. The cadets arm themselves with training blasters before lining up on the lift. “I’m going to be setting it to a difficulty a little higher than what your used to. When it’s over it’ll reset. Keep going at it until I get back.”
“Good luck Sir!” Gree calls as their lift.
“I don’t need luck, kid.” Alpha says warranting a few eye rolls. Alpha leaves their private training area. When he makes it to the training room the ARC Troopers will be using everyone is already there. He begins to approach Fordo who speaks with the Prime Minister and Shaak Ti but stops when he spots Havoc.
“What’s up Captain?” Havoc asks when Alpha stands in front of him.
“Let me inspect your helmet.” Alpha holds his hand out. Havoc pauses for a second before pulling his helmet off and placing it in Alpha’s open hand. He pretends to inspect it before handing Havoc Alpha’s helmet. “Take mine. Yours has a defect.”
“Uh, thanks. Sir.” Havoc eyes him suspiciously but doesn’t argue. Alpha smiles to himself while walking up to Fordo. He hears Havoc gag and yank his new helmet off his head. Alpha keeps eye contact while slipping his new helmet on his head.
“…. anyway,” Fordo glances at Alpha for a moment before continuing his conversation with the Prime Minister. “I understand your concerns, but I assure you us ARC Troopers can handle this.”
The Prime Minister takes a long breath before nodding. “Just promise me you will refrain from damaging my facility to much.”
“We’ll do what we can.” Fordo crosses his arms not giving the Prime Minister much reassurance. Alpha glances at Shaak Ti.
“Thought you weren’t gonna be here?” He speaks softly so not to talk over Fordo. She gives a slight shrug of her shoulders.
“I’m leaving now. I just wanted to make sure I was no longer needed.” She explains. Alpha arches a brow from under his helmet.
“Well… good luck General.” Alpha holds a hand out. She takes it giving a firm handshake.
“You as well.” She nods politely at the others before leaving. Alpha watches her go without being to obvious but Fordo still elbows him when the Prime Minister leaves.
“What’s going on between you and the General?” he asks through gritted teeth. They lead the group of ARC Troopers over to the lift.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Alpha says softly. Fordo shakes his head while running a hand over his helmet.
“Just go put in the simulation so we can get started.” He orders. Alpha walks over to the control panel. He has to think about it at first. He barely remembers Fordo giving him the simulation number now. Maybe he was getting old? That makes him curse under his breath while punching in the code. He rushes over to lift where the others wait.
“Alright,” Fordo starts as the ARC Troopers ready their weapons. “This simulation is designed as a life or death situation. The simulation cannot be turned off. It will only end when all the droids have been destroyed or if we all get shot and can no longer go on.”
“He means die.” Alpha clarifies. The group either doesn’t react or gives small chuckles.
“The room will also be closed off so no one can come to aid us. The Prime Minister will be watching so don’t fuck up. And I’ll say it again for shits and giggles. This is a live ammunition simulation. So don’t get shot!” Fordo waits for the group to shout a yessir before stepping onto the lift. Alpha and the others follow behind them. Alpha checks his rounds. He’s ready to go. He wasn’t nervous for this. He’s faced much worse on the actual battlefield. Still, hurts like hell to get shot so he wasn’t planning on holding back.
When the lift reaches the bottom, they spread out. Alpha stays close to Fordo behind cover. They wait until the announcers tells them to begin. When it starts, they open fire on the advancing droids. For the most part it felt like a normal simulation except the blasters gave more of recoil from live shots. They find themselves advancing rather quickly.
“Is it me or are we just this good?” Blitz asks while taking out two commando droids. Alpha ducks behind cover giving Fordo a glance.
“Somethings not right.” He says on a commlink just to the commander. Fordo pauses for a moment while taking in the battle. He then holsters his blasters and looks over at Blitz. He carefully lifts his foot, kicking Blitz out from behind their cover. They watch their brother tumble into the open just in time for a droid to land a shot. Alpha watches Blitz twitch from being stunned.
“I thought I told you to put in the live ammunition simulation.” It wasn’t a question. Alpha turns to face Fordo as they stand. The other ARC Troopers stopped advancing when Blitz was shot. The simulation comes to an abrupt end with confusion moving through the troops.
“I did. The citadel challenge version PCS variable 2181.” Alpha crosses his arms while staring down his angry commander. Alpha can almost hear the commander grinding his teeth under his helmet.
Fordo tightens his hands into angry fists while walking towards the lift. “Everyone standby. I’m going to find out what’s going on here.”
Alpha follows along. He wanted to know as much as Fordo. The others stand towards the starting point awaiting direction. Alpha can’t stop a sigh from escaping his lips. He can almost see his cadets arguing and bickering instead of waiting patiently. When they reach the top he lets Fordo storm towards the control panel where the Prime Minister and a few Kaminoans stand.
“Want to tell me what’s going on?” Fordo is clearly using restraint to keep himself from going off in front of the Prime Minister.
“If the simulation was inputted correctly…” The Prime Minister starts but Alpha cuts him off not wanting to be thrown under the bus.
“It was. The droids were clearly going through the correct sequence. But they’re still armed with training blasters.” Alpha crosses his arms again watching the Prime Minister turn his attention to one of the fellow Kaminoans.
“You were in charge of preparing the droids, were you not?” The Prime Minister along with Fordo and Alpha stare down the Kaminoan. He pauses a moment feeling the weight of their glares.
“I readied the droids as you instructed, Prime Minister. To room 17F.”
Alpha feels the blood drain from his face. Voices begin to grow muffled and distant. His breathing becomes labored while Fordo says something to him but he doesn’t hear it. All he’s able to get out is “My cadets.”
He’s running. Running with everything he has through the halls of Tipoca City desperately trying to get back to his boys. Training room 17F. the private training room given to him by the Prime Minister to train his cadets. They’ve never successfully completed a battle simulation. Not together. Now they are trapped with droids using live ammunition. And they only have training blasters.
When he reaches the corridor leading into the training room, he’s stopped by a sealed blast door. He slams a hand on the metal hearing it ring. He moves over to the control panel trying to override the system but it’s not working.
“Move, let me.” Colt pulls him from the control panel so he can take over. Alpha finds all of the ARC Troopers surrounding him.
“We need to get inside, now!” Fordo yells. Havoc and Hammer try and cut through the doors but it’s slow. Alpha finds himself unable to move. In all his battles he’s never reacted this way. He’s never felt more useless before in his life.
“Wait, I think I can tap into their commlinks.” Colt says from the control panel.
“Patch us through.” Alpha manages to say in ragged voice. Blaster fire comes over his commlink. He can hear yelling. Someone screaming man down. Some crying out Wolffe’s name. Chaos. He begins to turn away from the blast doors. Fordo catches his arm.
“Where are you going?” his voice is low and filled with more concern than Alpha thought possible for his commander.
“Shaak Ti. If she’s here, then she can get the doors open.” With that Fordo lets him go and he’s racing through the halls again. He accidently runs into a few people and leaping over a stretcher. He doesn’t care. He doesn’t stop. He doesn’t think about the pain in his lungs or the burning in his legs. All he can think about is the sound of his boys dying in the training room.
When he reaches the ship bay, he slides into a crate but manages to keep going. He spots Ti walking up a ramp about to board her ship.
“Ti!” he screams across the hanger. She stops startled by the sudden scream of her name. she meets his eyes through his helmet. Through pants Alpha manages to get out “My cadets… I need you.”
Without a moment of hesitation, Ti leaps off the ramp and is now running next to Alpha as they race back to the training room.
“Step away!” Ti yells when the sealed blast door is in view. Havoc and Hammer move in time for Ti to ignite her lightsaber and stab it through the metal.
“Blasters ready boys. The second that door is open, take out any remaining droid.” Fordo instructs as the others prepare themselves. Alpha’s eyes are locked on the green lightsaber slicing through the door. Any second now. Alpha feels like he’s about to jump out of his skin while waiting. Just when Alpha doesn’t think he can take it anymore the blast doors open before Ti can finish cutting through them. Alpha feels his stomach do a summersault.
“No,” Alpha breathes before running into the room muttering. “No, no, no, no!”
Red. There is so much red splattered throughout the training course below. Alpha leans against the railing trying to register what he’s looking at. Blood stains almost every inch of the course. It’s when he gets over the initial shock of blood does he recognize the bodies. He barely remembers rushing to the lift and taking it down. The next thing his brain registers is walking through the puddles of blood so he can approach the first cadet.
“Fox!” Alpha kneels next to boy whose once white armor is now stained red. He’s barely sitting up against the grey block used for cover. A hand rests loosely next to an open wound that continues to spill blood. Alpha applies pressure to the wound. “Fox, open your eyes. Say something kid!”
Fox doesn’t respond. His eyes are closed and his face is pale. Someone is moving Alpha. He almost pulls his fist back to attack the person but stops himself when a medic kneels down with two more with a stretcher close behind. He forces himself to back away so the kid can get some help. Alpha swallows the knot in his throat while taking in it all at ground level. By now medics are scattered throughout the room finding each cadet. Bacara is being loaded on a stretcher. He was lying in the center of the room surrounded by destroyed droids. Even from where Alpha stood he can make out the several bullet wounds and giant gashes. Thire was pulled from one of the towers. The kid held a sniper position up there before getting hit pretty bad. Alpha couldn’t make out his condition. Rex was found draped over one of the grey blocks. When the medics try to move him, he moans in pain. Alive. At least he’s still alive.
Alpha counts them. Fox and Bacara have already been taken away for treatment. Rex and Thire are being loaded up now. Neyo was found by one of the medics accidently tripping over him. He was buried underneath a pile of droid parts near a blast zone.
“I don’t understand…” Alpha hears himself say when he approaches the small crater to the side of the course. Colt walks up from behind him and inspects the blast residue.
“It looks like they managed to make a bomb out of droid parts.” He says while squatting near the floor. Neyo’s face in covered in residue. Parts of his armor blew off revealing pink seared flesh. He doesn’t move or make a sound when being moved. When Alpha hears gargling the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. He runs towards the noise to find Wolffe lying flat at the base of the citadel. Blood spurts from his mouth.
“Shit!” Alpha curses while dropping to his knees. “Medic!”
Wolffe’s body begins to shake. His eyes aren’t registering anything. Once again Alpha is pulled away from one of his boys so the medics can do their jobs. Alpha forces himself back while taking slow controlled breathes. A noise from above pulls his attention up. Cody stumbles at the top. Blood drips down his arms and face. His armor is all but destroyed.
“Cody!” Alpha calls up. He takes a step towards the citadel but pauses when the cadet begins to sway before plummeting over the side. A hand lands on Alpha’s shoulder stopping him. Ti walks forward holding her other hand out catching the boy with the force. Alpha quickly walks forward catching Cody in his arms. He knees down searching his face for life. His eyes drift in and out of focus.
“Cap..ta…” He mumbles with bruised cut lips.
“Don’t talk,” Alpha says softly. “It’s over now. The medics are going to patch you up. Don’t worry.”
Alpha feels his voice shaking. Cody nods slightly before his eyes close. Alpha gently shakes him trying to get another reaction, but the kid is out. Ti lays a gentle hand on his shoulder directing him to two medics bringing another stretcher. Alpha helps them stead Cody on top before watching them carry him away. Ti keeps a hand on his shoulder. He lips a hand up to his helmet shaking his head. Cody, Rex, Bacara, Neyo, Wolffe, Thire, and Fox… one more… Gree. Alpha begins searching desperately for the last cadet. He begins shoving fallen super battle droids out of the way out of fear he was under one. Finally, when he circles around the back of the citadel tower, he finds him. he leans against an open bored in the wall. The kid has his datapad plugged into some of the wires. Alpha carefully approaches him while taking in the damage. Shrapnel sticks out of the side of his face and all the way down his shoulder and limp arm. Alpha can barely make out Gree’s ragged breathing.
“Gree,” Alpha says softly. He tries to see his full face but doesn’t dare move him. “Gree, can you hear me?”
“Captain…” Gree’s voice is like gravel. Alpha drops to his knees. He takes the blaster out of his hands to he can squeeze it tightly. “… we tried…”
“I know, I know, but don’t think about any of it now. You’re alive. That’s all that matters.” Alpha can barely get the words out. Gree no longer speaks. There’s only the sound of his pained breathing. Finally, a pair of medics come by and carry him away. Alpha flinches at his small cries of pain every time they move him.
When all eight cadets have been taken to the infirmary, all that’s left is Alpha, Ti, and the ARC Troopers.
“I don’t understand how eight cadetsmanaged to do this.” Hammer shakes his head while kicked a battle droid head.
“All of you, help clean this up.” Fordo’s voice is rough. No one complains. They start gathering droid bits while Alpha stands amongst it all feeling sick from smell of blood. Ti places a hand on his arm.
“Alpha, are you okay?” she asks gently. Alpha turns his head to look at her. he knew she couldn’t see his face and he was glad.
“Of course.” He forces out before walking past Fordo and everything else to reach the lift. He reaches to press the button to go up, but his shaky hand misses the first try before getting it the second try. He doesn’t look back. He can feel their stares. After the lift takes him up everything gets a bit hazy. He doesn’t know how he made it to his room. He doesn’t know when he started pulling his armor off that is now stained with the blood of his cadets. All he knows is that no matter how many times he tries to wash his hands the blood will not come off. He eventually pushes himself from the sink and leans against the open doorway to his room from the refresher. He breathes heavily like he had just sprinted. The room is spinning like it was when he stepped out of the flight simulator. Despite his frequent breathes he feels like he can’t get enough air. He stumbles to his bed to sit on the edge when movement catches his eye.
“Alpha.” Ti kneels in front of him, so he’s forced to meet her eyes.
“It wont stop…” Alpha breathes.
“What wont stop?” Ti places her hand over Alpha’s that squeeze the sides of his head.
“Spinning… everything is spinning out of control… I can’t breathe!” his voices breaks as his vision blurs. She pulls him closer to her, so his face is buried in her shoulder. He doesn’t know how long they stay like that until Alpha is able to get his breathing under control. Ti eventually moves to sit next to him, but they keep their hands folded on top of each other on Alpha’s left thigh. After nothing but silence, Alpha manages to speak. “I thought you were supposed to meet Mundi?”
His voice was dry and lifeless. Ti gives a slight shrug of her shoulders. “Mundi can wait. I’m needed here.”
He feels himself give their hands a slight squeeze. He swallows the remaining knot in his throat. “Thank you. I… I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”
This time Ti squeezes his hands with more force. “Nothing is wrong with you, Alpha.”
All Alpha can manage at this point is a small nod. After another pause, he forces himself to stand. He stares at the bits of armor he’s pulled off. Blood is smeared across several bits. He even finds blood splatters on the front of his helmet. It must have been from Wolffe.
“Let me.” Ti breaks his spiraling thoughts. He lets her take his armor and rinse them off in the refresher. When she hands each piece back, he slowly slips them on until he is fully dressed. With another breathe he pulls his helmet on.
“I need to check on them.”
Ti nods and follows him out of his room. He finds himself squeezing his hands into tight fists and opening them again before squeezing them shut again while walking. When they reach the infirmary Fordo is already waiting.
“All eight are alive.” He says the second they approach him. Alpha nods letting out a relieved sigh.
“And their condition?” Ti asks when Alpha cant. Fordo doesn’t answer at first.
“Not great. From what they say all eight are in bacta tanks. Will be for some time. Rex, Gree, Thire, and Fox should make a full recovery in time.” Fordo explains. He glances at Alpha before continuing. “Bacara, Neyo, Cody, and Wolffe will need more time before they can say.”
“Thank you.” Alpha finally gets out. Fordo rubs the back of his neck awkwardly. This was new territory for both of them. They’ve lost countless of brothers in battle before. But this… this was different.
“There’s something else,” Fordo goes on. “There’s video of what happened… I’m not sure if…”
“I want to see it.” Alpha cuts him off. Fordo lifts his head to stare at him before nodding. “I need to see it.”
He leads Alpha and Ti out of the infirmary to a room with a holotable. Havoc, Blitz, Hammer, and Colt fill in behind them. They hit the lights making the room go dark. Alpha can feel Ti’s hand brushing against his own reassuring him. Fordo looks over at Alpha.
“I’ll start it when you’re ready.”
There was so much swirling in Alpha’s head. So many questions that needed to be answered. Part of him wanted to run out of the room and wait in the infirmiary until the cadets were well enough to walk again. But doesn’t. he had to know. He has to know what the cadets went through and how they managed to survive when they have never successfully completed a battle simulation before. He steels himself letting his hand brush against Ti’s one last time.
(Timeline is going to get a bit messy with this one. Fun fic where Alpha-17 decides to train some young cadets in his ARC Training Program.)
Alpha walks through the pristine hallways of Tipoca City. After facing battle, it was odd to return to a place so quiet. He stops to peer down at troops eating in the mess hall. He lets out a deep Hm.
“Alpha, you wanted to speak with me?” A voice pulls him from his thoughts. Shaak Ti stands with her hands folded in front of her.
“Yes, I was hoping to talk to you about the future training of the cadets.” He starts as they walk down the corridor.
“You think their current training is inadequate?” She asks. He shakes his head while placing his hands behind his back as he walks.
“No, but it worries me that with all troops learning to follow orders that they may be hesitant when the time comes to make the difficult decision themselves. We don’t just need mindless soldiers. We need leaders.” He explains. Shaak Ti lifts a hand to her chin.
“I understand your concern. Then what do you propose we do?”
Alpha stops so he can face her.
“I want to take the best cadets and train them myself. These cadets will go on to not just fight in the army but lead it.” Alpha says. Shaak Ti gives a soft smile.
“I see no harm in that,” She starts before eyeing him. “But these troops must be willing to follow their Jedi Generals. I understand you yourself have had issue with this in the past.”
Alpha gives a laugh deep in his throat.
“Don’t worry about that. They’ll be loyal.” He says. She raises her version of an eyebrow at him before they continue walking.
“Very well. I will compile a list of the highest ranking cadets.”
“Thank you.” He says making Shaak Ti glance at him.
“I believe that is the first time you’ve ever said thank you.” She grins.
“These are strange times.” He says giving her a small smile. When they reach the end of the corridor, they leave each other to prepare.
The Kaminoans were kind enough to give him his own training room for his cadets and their own barracks to set them apart from the rest. He spends the rest of his time going over his plans. Despite all his training he wasn’t sure if he was prepared to actually teach. When the doors to his room open, he lets out a small grunt when Fordo walks in.
“I didn’t think it would be true but here you are.” He says. He leans against the doorway with his helmet under his arm.
“Someone’s got to do it. Jango isn’t here anymore so it falls on us to make sure these cadets are trained properly.” Alpha says while shuffling some papers around. Fordo walks further into Alpha’s room and places his helmet on the table.
“So, you’re really going to train a bunch of cadets? I’m sure some of the Mandalorian bounty hunters wouldn’t have a problem doing it.” Fordo crosses his arms.
“You know they all cleared out after Jango died. Now it’s just regular bounty hunters who just want to get paid.” Alpha leans back in his chair. Fordo stares at the ground thinking.
“Then I wish you the best of luck.” He says finally. He takes his helmet before slipping it back on his head. Just before walking out of the room, he turns back over his shoulder and says “You’re gonna need it.”
Alpha stares at the doors a moment longer before returning to his training plans. By the time Shaak Ti has summoned him he’s already inspected all of the gear and training room a couple times over. He can’t keep feeling like he was forgetting something but chalked it up to just being his nerves. Alpha never got nervous when it came to battle. But this? This made him uneasy.
When finds Shaak Ti, she’s staring at a datapad deep in thought. She smiles when she sees him.
“Find me some cadets?” Alpha asks when he joins her. She motions for him to follow her.
“I have,” She says as they walk down a corridor looking down at different batches training. “The first cadet is CC-2224.”
They stand next to the window looking down at a cadet running through the simulation. Alpha watches the boy take out the training droids. He was impressed.
“Though, I would like to mention that he can be a bit…” Shaak Ti starts before the boy has his blaster shot out of his hands. Alpha stiffens when the boy continues to charge and lands a punch on the chest of the droid. The boy lets out a painful scream before cradling his wounded hand and ultimately being shot. “… reckless.”
“Let’s move on.” Alpha says still unable to take his eyes off the kid that thought punching the metal droid was a good idea. Still, he was impressed. They walk over to the next window.
“This is CT-7567.” Shaak Ti says. At first Alpha couldn’t tell which cadet he was supposed to be looking at until Shaak Ti points towards a pillar. A cadet climbs up the side before dropping down on top of a droid. While steering the droid into the other training droids he manages to hold onto his blaster taking out a sniper droid. Alpha lifts a hand to his chin as a smile creeps on his face. With the droid beneath him the only one left he leaps off it and fires a single shot. The droid falls to the ground. His batchmates cheer for their brother. The cadet wears a proud smile before turning and walking straight into a pillar. Alpha frowns.
“We can work on that.” Alpha says when Shaak Ti gives a worried expression. They move on to the other cadets listed. When they’ve inspected each cadet, Alpha goes over the list. He decides to only pick eight for now. No reason to start too big. He might not succeed in this after all.
“Have you decided which ones you will be taking?” Shaak Ti asks after a moment. They now sit in a room used for meetings.
“I have.” He says sliding her the datapad. She looks over the list and nods in agreeance.
“I will have these cadets report to your training room immediately.”
When she leaves, Alpha feels jittery. What he was about to do could make these boys into the most capable and feared soldiers in the army. He could possibly make them the most useless soldiers anyone has ever seen. He decides that he can’t think like that now. He makes his way to the training room. He paces on one of the platforms while waiting. When the doors open, he stands tall hiding any sign of insecurity. Shaak Ti leads the eight cadets into the room. They stand in formation at attention.
“CC-2224, CT-7567, CC-3636, CC-1138, CC-8826, CC-1010, CC-4477, and CC-1004,” He says already agreeing with the Skywalker kid. They need normal names. Not just numbers. “You eight have been the first selected to undergo the first ARC training program! Here you will not just be trained as soldiers but to lead soldiers!”
The boys are good. They show little to no sign of excitement or shock. Alpha places his hands behind his back.
“Now I’ve seen what you could do with your batchmates. Show me what you can do next to the other elite cadets!” He says. They are given training blasters before he and Shaak Ti clear the training course. They stand at the top looking down from the railings. He notices Fordo on the other side watching as intently as he is. He gives the signal for them to begin and holds his breath.
It first starts out well. They take formation and appear to be follow directions well. Until Alpha gives out the next set of orders. Each cadet is used to being the leader of the batch. Now in a group of eight equally competent cadets they started bumping heads. Literally. CC-1010 and CC-4477 run right into each other while trying to advance. They fall to the training room floor before breaking out in a fight. CC-2224 tries advance past the fighting cadets only to dive for cover when CT-7567 tries to commandeer a droid similar to the way he did in his last training course. This time he’s unable to take control of the droid.
“Watch it!” CC-2224 yells before the droid lands a shot stunning him. CT-7567 steers the droid into the wall knocking himself unconscious. Alpha winces when the kids hits the ground. CC-3636 and CC-1004 are the only two who seem to be capable of working alongside each other. They work along side each other but seem to not want to outdo the other. Alpha rolls his eyes when they pause not wanting to shove past the other resulting in getting stunned by a droid they failed to see. Alpha turns his attention to the last two cadets who have managed to get closer to the citadel then any of the others. Unlike CC-3636 and CC-1004, these two act like it’s a competition. They shove each other in attempting to be first. Alpha shakes his head when they break out into an all out fight. Alpha rubs his face tiredly. He can hear Fordo’s laughing from across the training course.
“It appears you have your work cut out for you.” Shaak Ti says giving him a light pat on his shoulder. She leaves him to stare down at four stunned cadets and four in all out fist fights. He lets out a painful groan before muttering to himself:
