Day Four: Cookies and Lightsabers

* * * Chet * * *

It wasn't hard to tell that the rest of the boys in Gamma Squad had already taking a wary liking to their General – well, not sure about Ace, but no one can tell what he's thinking. Anyways, it wasn't hard to see why they liked her, either – the General was nice, she wasn't domineering, she was open and friendly, and she could cook really well (earlier this morning, she'd made cookies as a treat, and for a minute I'd thought I'd died and joined the Mando).

As ARCs, we weren't afraid to let Jedi have a piece of our minds. We were more restrained with the General, because she was a girl and you don't treat girls rudely or impolitely or blow up at them like you could with guys, and like I said, they liked her. But when she told us she wanted us to shoot at her - I'd been hoping she'd forgotten about that request, but Fate hates me - there were a few…outbursts.

"Holy – Force – stars – never – WHAT?" Scout spluttered.

"You know, we love a good joke," Flash said, taking a step away.

"But that's a little extreme, even for us," Darek finished, edging backwards.

Lex raised his eyebrows, which for him was like screaming "ARE YOU INSANE?"

Vick just looked absolutely, positively horrified...You can guess the rest.

"C'mon, guys," the General tried again, her violet eyes huge. "I'm not going to get hit, and I don't want to get rusty."

Why did her puppy eyes work on me when no one else's did? Why?

"No," I said strongly. I was not going to give in to puppy eyes. I'm a trained, hardened soldier.

The General crossed her arms, taking up the stance I now recognized as her stubborn, never-surrender one. "Please?" she asked again. She can be headstrong, that's for sure. At least she didn't get all demanding.

I glanced at Lex, who after a minute sighed and shrugged.

"Fine," I muttered. "But if you die, don't say I didn't warn you, Princess."

"I'm not going to die…Soldier Boy," she said, rolling her eyes. "I'm just as unhappy about it as you are. But you're making me uphold my part of the bargain, so you're going to have to uphold yours."

Flash and Darek snickered, having way too much fun than the situation warranted. I flushed and shot them a look, which only made them laugh harder. Traitors.

"Fine," I growled. Let's get this over with.

* * * Mera * * *

I was really starting to have second thoughts. Actually, I wasn't starting to get them, I already had them. But a deal was a deal, and I wasn't going to back down, no matter how much I wanted to.

I finished stretching, activated my lightsaber, and took up my stance, nodding calmly like I was perfectly in control (which I wasn't). After a moment's hesitation, my squad lifted their Deeces and got ready to shoot. I stared down the black muzzles of ten guns in the heartbeat before they fired, and very nearly lost it.

Guns. Lasers flying. Screams of pain. Death!

No, I wasn't in the factory, I was in my base with my men and the guns were for practice –

Men jerking with the force of the blasts, waves of shock and pain and then nothingness, DEATH –

My sweaty hands started shaking, and I almost dropped my lightsaber. My breath hitched. No, no, no, that wasn't the present, they were only memories! I blinked, refocusing on the here-and-now, and saw Chet staring at me with something like concern, which some part of my mind found touching, as he didn't seem to like me very much.

Then came the sound of guns being fired, accompanied by red laser blasts. Acting on pure instinct, I leaped high to avoid one, deflected two in one swing, flipped over another, spun, leaped, twisted and repelled four, leaned backward and watched one skate above my face, and rolled under the last.

Panting, I somersaulted up into a sort of defensive crouch, one hand on the ground to brace myself and my lightsaber held behind me in a Shien grip, and was about to lunge for the attackers when my mind finally caught up with the last few seconds.

Horrified, I scrambled to my feet with a bit less grace than normal and deactivated my lightsaber. I was more than a little scared of myself - I'd been about to attack my own men!

No one seemed to have noticed what I'd been about to do, which gave me a sort of shameful rush of relief. But when that was gone, terror moved right on in.

It'd been my fault about Master and Jas…what if I killed Gamma Squad too, accidentally or not?

I was a monster.

Not for the first time, I wished I'd been killed in that factory, too.

What added to my terror was that this simple exercise had let my chest heaving and me gasping for breath, and the Force was slipping through my grasp like water.

I was really, truly scared; there was a time when I could last a day on the battlefield, doing what I'd just done for hours instead of mere seconds. And I knew that as your physical condition deteriorates, so does your ability to use the Force; and my condition wasn't exactly top-notch. But if this short workout left me exhausted…I didn't want to think about what it meant.

* * * Chet * * *

At the moment, my gut instinct was telling me that something was off (we don't all need Force powers). Not in a horrible something-creepy's-going-to-jump-around-the-corner-and-try-to-kill-us bad, but the something's-wrong-with-someone bad. The "someone" being the General.

She was acting a little weird – weird beyond the normal Jedi weird. Heavy breathing, huge, glazed over eyes and dilated pupils, and was it me or was she holding her lightsaber like it'd killed a friend of hers?

…Nah. I was probably just being paranoid. I'm no expert on Jedi.

But just in case, once things had calmed down a bit I'd ask if she was okay. Maybe have Lex look her over or something.

Anyways, the guys were very appreciative of the General's skills. Yes, I was too – that Jedi stuff was breath-catching, the quickness, the power, the grace (oh Force, I sound like some stupid poet) – but I'm not as loud as…say, Flash and Darek.

Still, it was definitely impressive. Except for Vick, we'd all seen Jedi fight before on the battlefield, but not a close-up demonstration like that where we weren't distracted by other things (i.e. bombs, getting shot, etc.)

And as you may have noticed, my squad's not exactly the most diplomatic group of people. But then again, who wouldn't cheer a bit for their general, especially after a display like that?

"Holy Force, that was AWESOME!" Torch crowed, pumping his fist in the air.

We may be (literally) genetically superior and professional, hard soldiers, but we were boys at heart. Maybe it had something to do with being ten years old but actually twenty? Or our lack of any childhood whatsoever?

"Poetry in motion!" Darek proclaimed.

"Wicked," Flash agreed.

Sparks nodded appreciatively. Lex raised an impressed eyebrow, most likely running a full analysis on the General's fighting style to break down for us later. Ace merely grunted (no surprises there). Shy Vick just looked awed...apparently it was going to take more than one day of fun to break his shell.

"Cool," Scout said fervently.

Cade looked amazed. "Great stars…"

The General seemed to shake herself out of whatever weird trance she was in and blushed midnight blue."Was nothing," she mumbled.

Torch raised his hand. "Can I lob a grenade at you and see what happens?"

"Um, not right now. I don't want to blow the place up."

Torch sighed in disappointment, then brightened. "Sometime, though?"

"Sometime," she promised. She looked down at her lightsaber hilt and fiddled with some knobs. "I could show you some basic lightsaber forms if you want…"

It took me a few moments to get over the shock of hearing her say that - a Jedi let someone, not even a Jedi, much less a clone, hold their weapon? Force… to be honest, I was pretty excited. Plus, it was a very good move – it was a friendly offer that showed that the General trusted and respected them and was accepting them into her circle.

Although, personally, I didn't think teaching Flash and Darek how to use something as dangerous and cool as a wand of glowing plasma energy was that great of an idea. They wouldn't be able to resist. And don't get me started on Torch – I didn't know if lightsabers could light things on fire, but I don't want to find out.

The General glanced my way with a hint of a smile, probably doing her Jedi thing and "reading" my emotions in the Force. She seemed to be fine now, after that creepy trance-thing. Odd…I decided I'd still ask her later if she was okay. Couldn't hurt.

Anyways.

Picking up on my unease didn't mean she listened to it. The General went right ahead.

"Vick," she chose. The poor kid looked thrilled and terrified at the same time. The General smiled encouragingly.

"Here," she said, taking Vick's hand and positioning it correctly on the lightsaber hilt. She guided him through a few sets of basic parries and thrusts, talking him through it. Vick eventually lost his freaked look and relaxed more than he ever had round the General (which, I had a sneaking suspicion, had been the General's plan.) He even got over his shyness to ask a few questions.

The General worked her way through the whole squad. I was amazed at her patience – she didn't seem to mind in the slightest, and my squad's a bit of a handful.

I was last, being the captain and all. The General had dismissed everyone else as their turn was finished so it wouldn't be too crowded, so it was just us. I took my chance.

"You okay? You looked a little…" I couldn't find a good word, but the General got the picture.

"I'm fine now."

Notice the 'now'.

"What was wrong?" I pressed. Lex always did say I was stubborn.

"Nothing."

Jedi – or maybe it was just the General – aren't very good liars. "Nothing?" I repeated skeptically.

She flushed, but she didn't seem angry – sad? Scared?

"Just a spell," she muttered finally.

I crossed my arms. "A spell of what?"

She glared at me, but again, she didn't seem mad. On the contrary – she looked like she was about to cry. I knew when to give her a break. "Let me know when it happens again," I said. She hesitated, then gave a reluctant nod, but still looked wary. I took it one step further.

"We're a team now. You're going to have to trust me," I said. "If it's something that could hurt the team, we need to make sure it doesn't. You're our leader. You have responsibility. I need to know that you'll tell me the truth and everything else. Teams work on trust and fall apart with secrets."

Maybe I was being a bit harsh, but I was worried. And she couldn't be hiding stuff from me that I'd need to know – if she was going to go into trances randomly, then I needed to know so I'd be prepared for it.

The General blinked and looked a little shocked. She hesitated again, and opened her mouth to tell me just as Cade poked his head into the rec room.

"Hey, we're having the rest of the cookies –" He blinked, felt the tension, and blushed. "Oh. Oops. Sorry. I'll save you some."

He disappeared, but the moment had passed.

* * * Flash * * *

So, the rest of Gamma Squad gathered in the kitchen while the General worked with the Chetster.

Why are we Gamma Squad? I mean, come on, it's so…uncreative! I cast my vote in for Team Freaking-Awesome, but for some reason, it never became our squad name...

Anyways, yeah. We were gathered in the kitchen and finishing off the cookies. They were super-good, let me tell you.

"I'd give this a ten," I proclaimed. "It's soft and the chocolate's gooey and do I detect a hint of vanilla?"

"Flash, swallow, then talk," Scout instructed. "Do you know what manners are?"

"Why, yes, but there's no one here to impress." I swallowed my mouthful of cookie. "Pardon me, Scout old chap."

"Don't call me that."

"Call you what, Scout old chap old buddy old pal?" I asked innocently, internally cracking up. I could practically see Scout's blood pressure rising.

"Don't call me that," he repeated through gritted teeth. His hands were starting to clench.

"Ignore them, Scout," Lex stated calmly, not bothering to look up from his novel. Darek and I used to prank him to see if we could a reaction, but the guy's like an rock. A logical, really smart rock.

"You're no fun, Lex," I sighed.

No reaction. He didn't even twitch.

I decided I'd pushed Scout far enough. Didn't want him to pop a blood vessel, after all. I sighed, starting to get bored, and reached for anther cookie, but Cade slapped my hand away, the meanie.

"Only two," he explained.

"Unfair!" Darek protested.

"That falls under the category of cruel and unusual punishment, Cade," I agreed.

He shrugged. "Sorry."

Time for Plan B: Puppy Eyes.

They didn't work – Cade just gave me an apologetic yet firm look and scooted the jar away. Come to think of it, my puppy eyes rarely worked – maybe my mohawk offset them? I put a protective hand over my awesome hair. Puppy eyes or no puppy eyes, I was keeping my mohawk. Like I said, it was awesome, and plus, girls like cool dudes with mohawks.

The boredom was getting worse. Ace was fiddling with his precious Deece (Darek and I named it Alice, just to annoy him; it was hilarious to watch his face when we asked how his date with Alice went, ha ha), Lex was reading, Torch was lighting a napkin on fire and watching it go up in smoke…Vick was being taught the fine points of remaining unseen by Scout…Sparks was assembling what looked remarkably like a speeder out of toothpicks…Cade was guarding the cookie jar…

Hmm. The cookie jar.

Lightbulb moment!

I discreetly nudged Darek. He sent me a questioning look, and I flicked my eyes toward the general direction of the cookie jar. Darek got the gist of what I was thinking and flashed me a wink. I swear, sometimes we can read each other's minds - we're so alike, it's almost like we're clones.

Hmm, what do you know, we are. I love irony.

Not.

It's hard to do practical jokes when your whole life feels like one, but we do our best. Granted, this wasn't the most awesome prank ever, but still, stealing cookies is a classic.

I started off. It was Darek's turn to name it. "Time for Operation-"

"Cookie Monster," Darek finished.

* * * Chet * * *

At the same time Flash was concocting a devious plan….

The General cleared her throat and started the lecture. "Okay. I use Ataru and Shien mostly, but those are a bit advanced. This is the first form, Shii-Cho."

She grabbed my hand in her small blue one and placed it on the cold hilt, but didn't take her hand away. I coughed, blushing, feeling a tight - but not unpleasant – feeling in my chest.

She blushed too, but otherwise ignored me. "Okay. Legs apart. Bend your knees a little. Lean forward a bit." She moved my arms into the right position. "There. Now. Shii-Cho uses diagonal strikes at respective body zones for attacks, the goal being to increase speed and reduce actual movement. The body target zones are: 1 - head, 2 - right arm and side, 3 - left arm and side, 4 - back, 5 - right leg, 6 - left leg. Pretend there's an enemy in front of you." She activated the blade with its familiar hum and slowly guided my hand through the motions of several wide, swinging strikes. "Zone 6 – you cut off his left leg. Zone 2 – you cut off his right arm."

Eventually she stepped away and let me do it on my own. My hand felt cold without hers on top.

She called out zones, and I swung the lightsaber. It was lighter than I'd expected it to be, and very easy to move. I was a little apprehensive about it at first – I didn't want to accidentally cut my leg off with the thing – but then again, every weapon was dangerous. Soon I started to get the hang of it and relaxed a bit.

"Zone 1."

Strike. The General stepped forward and corrected me. "Picture the enemy in front of you, where his zones would be." She stepped back. "Zone 4."

Strike.

"Good. Zone 2."

Strike.

I got better, finding a rhythm. My clumsy swinging changed to something starting to approach smooth.

After a while, she stopped me. "Not too shabby, Soldier Boy," she said.

"Thanks, Princess." I meant it.

The teasing lightened the mood, which was still a little tense. I was still trying to decide what that weird but nice feeling was, but I was clueless. Maybe Lex would know…? Nah, I wouldn't bother him. I'd figure it out on my own.

She grinned at me, showing all her straight white teeth. "Keep on practicing," she advised. "You'll have to use a light rod or staff or something instead of my lightsaber, but it should do the trick."

I bowed, what I'd heard Jedi did to their Masters. "Yes, Master," I murmured.

The General played along, pressing her palms together in a steeple like she was praying (I guess because she didn't have those wide cloak sleeves to fold them in) and bowed gracefully in return, her almost-white feathers falling over her shoulders. "You are welcome, my Padawan," she replied smoothly, and straightened.

We looked at each other, and she giggled. I'm not one of life's great smilers like Cade, but I laughed, too – she had one of those laughs you couldn't help but join in with.

Still keeping in character, the General gestured elegantly at the door. "Shall we, Padawan? Before our comrades eat all the cookies?"

I bowed my head, and was about to reply when there was the sound of wild laughter, running feet and an outraged howl.

"FLASH! DAREK!"

I groaned and facepalmed. Half an hour. Half an hour and already they're in the process of demolishing the ship.

"Let's go see what they're destroying now," I said wearily.

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