After a short visit to the med bay, we're on our way to the barracks. A tracking device had been removed from under the skin of my arm.
Inside, we find the entire squad...plus a new guy. I have time to raise an eyebrow before the questions start. Jax is welcomed warmly. Things are asked, like are you two alright, what happened, did you fight Dooku, et cetera.
"Nah, the coward wasn't even in the building." I reply to the last of the questions.
"And we're alright." Jax adds. Decker looks especially relieved. He and the sniper are close, so it isn't surprising.
Then Tail offers a scorched chest plate and helmet, the latter with one hole and the former with several. He smiles sheepishly.
"We, ah, dealt with the droid inside." He tries to console while the poor trooper looks over the damage wreaked on his armour.
"Um...thanks..." Jax mutters, thumbing a gap where two laser bolts hit and connected.
"Stop moping. You'll get a new set soon enough." The new member says condescendingly. Spitfire glares at him.
"Sarge, this is our new member." Tail's voice is slightly strained. Not a good sign.
"Name and number?" I ask steadily.
"Chopper." He drawls, not bothering with his number. I get the feeling he's going to be one of those troopers. I note some facial scarring on the right side of his face. Not to mention that while his left eye is the standard brown of all clones, minus Spitfire and I, his right is pale yellow. I take this all in during one quick sweep of my eyes. "You're still angry, kiddo?" I looks at Spitfire. Her teeth clench.
"My kriffing name is Spitfire." She spits out. It's like watching me with Dytin, except in third person.
"Sure, sure." My mind goes about ways to reprimand him without making a big deal of things.
"Just remember that you earn respect as you give it." I state calmly.
"You fought well enough on Christophsis, but that doesn't mean I think you should be a sergeant." He challenges. You could hear a pin drop, the room has become so quiet right now. Then I smile.
"Well, you'll have to face the fact that what you think and reality won't always line up." I say. I hear a sudden flurry of Twi'leki and my smile widens. Numa flings herself right into our group, stopping short when she sees the new member.
"Nerra?" She asks nervously, shying away from Chopper's stern gaze.
"Nerra." I reply. She's hesitant, but approaches our newest addition nonetheless. She shyly waves at him, not risking a hug. He glowers, not amused in the least. "Chopper, this is Numa. She hangs around the squad a lot." I explain. The girl turns on her heel and hurries back to me, hiding behind my legs and clutching my waist. I twist around and stroke a lekku.
"Yeah, she especially likes Twitch." Wing jokes. Sensing that I'm being teased, Numa transfers to holding his hand. I have no idea what it is with her and grasping people, but it's cute. Chopper sighs irritably.
"I didn't sign up for the kiddie squad." I restrain a glare. The face I'd worn around my squad when I first took command of them slides across my features now.
"Lucky for you, this is Pyro Squad. I suggest you make the best of it." My voice is steely. Numa looks at me sharply, surprised at my sudden change of tone. I hold Chopper's gaze until he grumbles and goes to his bunk. He's going to be a real piece of work.
"Sorry, Sarge. He's been a bit difficult." Tail apologizes.
"Not much you could've done. Besides the obvious, did everything go smoothly?" He nods. That's a relief. I notice Numa leaning over Chopper's arms to see what he's doing. He ignores her, continuing in motions that suggest him cleaning his equipment. This is going to be interesting.
§ § §
Interesting has many meanings. One being a pain in the shebs. Chopper does not follow my orders, is rude, and by now, my entire squad is ready to strangle him. Even Tail is showing signs of aggravation. If you can draw angry responses from him, you know you're a jerk.
I have a few questions for Chopper's former sergeants, such as; what the heck did you do to make him listen? He acts like a child!. I'm currently in the Mess Hall, eating lunch With Rex for the first time in weeks.
"I know that look. Who's the unlucky man?" He says.
"Chopper. The only funny thing about it is that when he and Spitfire fight, it's like watching you and me when you were posing as Dytin." He shakes his head in amusement.
"So, has she told him to shut up, then?"
"Couldn't count the times on both hands. Know what happens when someone with a sharp tongue meets someone with a sharper tongue?"
"Exactly why I assigned Chopper to your squad. Figured you'd whip him into shape." I chew some slop thoughtfully.
"Depends...do you have a whip I could borrow?" Someone forcing their head in between my arms catches my attention. Numa smiles at me.
"Nerra?" She softly chirps, smiling at Rex. He definitely doesn't intimidate her as much as Chopper did.
"Nerra." I agree, knowing what comes next. Numa, true to tradition set by her previous actions, slips over to the Captain and examines him while holding his arm with both of her tiny hands.
She paws the yellow stubble of his hair curiously. Except for the short hairstyle Tail personalized for himself, Rex is the first clone she's been in close contact with with short hair. And he's certainly the first to have yellow hair.
"Uh..." He mumbles.
"Thought you'd be used to kids after Saleucami." I tease quietly.
"In case you missed something, I wasn't too great then, either." He mutters.
"I thought you did a great job. You didn't gag either one of Suu's kids." I'm careful to avoid mentioning Cut in this conversation.
"Rahg!" I hear a roar and twist to see the same Trandoshan as last time fighting with a human man.
"One moment while I go knock his head into the wall." I say, standing and marching over to the reptile. He's too busy holding the man's head in place while aiming a blow to notice me until I grab him by the trapeze muscle near his neck, planting my left leg and bending its knee, and yanking him backwards to trip, flooring the Trandoshan swiftly. "I will kick your tail off this ship if I catch you in one more fight. Do you understand me?" I demand in the tone drill sergeants use.
"Like you have the clearance to do that. Only soldiers have the authorization." He spits back.
"Think about how many fourteen year old girls a third of your size can knock you off your feet in three seconds and tell me I'm a civilian. Don't get in another fight." I hiss. He staggers to his feet and shoves his muzzle an inch from my face, baring his teeth. I resist the urge to tell him to get a breath mint while he's at it and stare him down.
After a full minute of us standing deadlocked, I yawn. "I'm sorry, are you trying to intimidate me? Because it's pretty hard to intimidate me." He loosely wraps his fingers around my neck, not enough to hurt, just to brush the my skin.
I smile and a click sounds. He looks down to see my gun pressed against his stomach. He releases and I holster the weapon, glaring at him until he leaves.
"That wasn't the wall." Rex points out once I'm seated again.
"I know, but the wall doesn't have gravity working for me."
"You take your guns to the Mess?" He adds.
"Did I not just prove a good point on why?" I counter, giving my piece of bread to Numa casually. She cautiously takes it from me, shying away from my hand as though it holds a gun instead of food.
"I think she's demonstrating on why not." He murmurs.
"She's a six to seven year old civvy. Of course she's scared." I argue.
"I don't know wether to call this paranoia or a result of experience." He mutters.
"Probably both. Is Pyro Squad going out anytime soon? The others get cranky if I don't give enough forewarning." He thinks about it.
"No, not for a while. The 104th Battalion has this week's shift, then the 212th after them, followed by the 659th." I don't know wether that is a blessing or a curse. Sure, my squad will get some rest, but that also means we'll be cooped up for Force knows how long.
§ § §
I take my time going back to the barracks. My mind is wandering, hovering over random topics and ideas.
I never got to test out that thermal detonator/droid popper 1029 helped me with. I have zero idea where that thing ended up. Some unsuspecting trooper probably tossed it and got a pleasant surprise. I'd designed the weapon so the popper part happened first, then the detonator half took effect. Disabled droids can't run from a grenade, after all. Not that they usually run, anyway.
I come into the barracks to see a space has been cleared for sparring once again, and Spitfire is handing Chopper's shebs to him. I stand next to Tail and watch.
"This just sort of...happened." He says.
"Well, it's only a matter of time before they try killing each other. At least this'll postpone the inevitable." I sigh when a somewhat fancy move on Spitfire's part lands a kick to the grouch's head.
"Come on, Choppy! If I was a commando droid, you'd have a concussion." The young girl jeers. Chopper tries landing a punch, but his small adversary dodges easily and twists his arm behind his back.
"Didn't you use that move on me during the Braxis Campaign?" Bark murmurs.
"Yep. She's working on the same fighting style as me, too."
"Hope she isn't dead set on using explosives like someone." Wing teases.
"Not that I've seen yet. So, we won't have any missions for a while, since other battalions and legions are taking the next several weeks' shifts." I say. Chopper nosedives into the railing of a bunk.
"I don't think he can handle several more weeks of this." Tail comments.
"Who knows. Maybe Spitfire'll do my job for me and beat him into submission." Said girl flooring the older clone proves my point.
"And to think, she's still an amateur in that type of fighting." Wing muses.
"I'm half your size! If you're really the 'ideal soldier' you claim to be, then this army is in trouble!" Spitfire yanks him to his feet.
I'm pretty sure not one of my men, who have all gone a round or two with her, are offended. If this is the only way to embarrass Chopper, then let it cause them minimal ego damage as well.
They take up positions and go again. After several more matches, and me noticing plenty of flaws in Chopper's technique, I grow impatient. Just as he drags himself to his feet (for the hundredth time), I walk over.
"I can't take it anymore. Get into your position again." He does so. I examine it carefully. "No wonder she's knocking you off your feet." I give his shoulder a hard poke and he staggers. "You're off balance. Spread your feet out more and face them forward." I use one of my feet to nudge his own into position.
I move his arms to cover his torso better and make it easier to block and send out blows. He must've seen very little hand-to-hand combat in his career to still be alive. I step out of range and nod a go ahead. The fight lasts a little longer, but Chopper still loses in the end.
"Twitch, he may be a lost cause. I was going easy on him that time!" Spitfire says.
"If you weren't holding back, he'd be dead. Chopper, keep one arm in to block at all times. You left yourself exposed to nearly anything Spitfire wanted to throw at you." I coach. The fight still ends with the bicolour-eyed soldier on the floor.
"Haar'chak." He snarls. I really don't have the right to sensor his language, so I find something else to bother him with.
"Stop relying completely on your strength." I lecture.
"Strength wins battles." He spits back.
"Then how does Fire keep beating you? She sure as heck isn't going to beat most of the people she fights in arm wrestling." She glares. "Oh, you know it's true. The point is, try moving a little faster. Concentrate on actually hitting her rather than knocking her out with one blow."
"That's a comforting thought..." My sister jokes while taking up her stance.
"Well, you'd get no better from a commando droid." I reply. I can tell Chopper is actually following my advice for once, and he's putting up a much better fight than twenty minutes ago, but he's still going against Spitfire, so he's doomed to failure, regardless of how well his form is.
"Oh, so you are one step ahead of me." I start and glance at Fives.
"You were going to ask if Fire could spar with Chopper? They've been at it for a while." I pause to watch and mentally face palm. "Balance, Chopper! Numa could knock you over." I order. He grits his teeth.
"Interesting way to motivate him." Fives mutters.
"I'm hoping Fire will knock some respect into him. If we're especially lucky, maybe enough sense for him to stay down..." And down he goes. And up again. "I'm not an expert on his fighting style. Maybe a little help, please?" I murmur to the ARC as yet another fight starts.
If Chopper is going to learn, it might as well be from one of the best fighters I know. Spitfire ends this fight quickly by smacking her opponent into a wall. I cringe at the thump his head makes on contact.
"Lost. Cause." Spitfire labels.
"Not once I'm done with him." Fives says.
§ § §
Turns out that, despite Fives making him dangerous to nearly any adversary, Chopper is still not Spitfire's best. Honestly, who can blame him? The females in this family are not to be trifled with.
I've been checking in with Clara as often as I can, talking with mom (I'm calling her that because it would be awkward to say her actual name) when she's on hand. Apparently, dad had been arrested after several more attempts on getting Clara to move in with him, being forceful about it, too.
On ship, sparring is a common pastime among the squad. We don't have many other ways to get exercise and entertainment. I've been helping Spitfire improve on her fighting style, since we're both on the same page regarding technique.
She's talented and a fast learner, though, she hasn't beaten me in a fight just yet. I'm currently working on Tail's hand-to-hand skills, mainly relaying what I'd learned from Fives on to the scout.
"It's a pity you didn't get that ARC training." He grunts while standing up after I'd tripped him.
"Thanks, but I wouldn't go back to Kamino if they promised I'd be a general." I admit. I'm pretty loose about rank around the others, but Tail is the only one in the squad I ever completely open up to.
"Still holding a grudge? Remind me to never bother you." He says while swinging his leg around in an attempt to brain me.
"There's a difference between holding a grudge and not walking into an obvious trap... Though, I am still a bit angry." We hold straight faces for the whole of five seconds before snorting with pent up amusement.
A chirped 'hello' in Twi'leki distracts me. Tail trips up my legs during a spin and I land on my stomach with an oomph. "Hi...Numa." I grunt while standing up slowly. She walks over and pokes one of my lower ribs.
"Tail?" She asks with an accent, looking to the scout. Oh, now that's just cute...and traitorous. You'd think after repeated visits and us spending the most time together, she'd know my name, too. But, I'm not really upset.
Tail picks the girl up, doing it fast enough to make her squeal in excitement. She strokes the short hair on his head.
Why does she like that hairstyle so much?
And then it hits me.
I'm fairly sure Boil has the standard buzz cut of many clones, while Waxer was bald, so Tail's stubble is a medium that must remind her of both men.
I push the thoughts from my mind as I watch the scout holding Numa, letting her sit on his shoulder while supporting her to be sure she won't fall.
I hear a annoyed groan and swivel my head around to see Chopper. "Nerra." The little Twi'lek greets. He glares at her reproachfully.
"Kick puppies and spit on kittens if you want, but don't scare her." I sigh. He relaxes his scowl, but won't crack a smile. I get the feeling abusing small animals actually is the only way to appease him. Too bad for the grouch we don't have any animals on board except for the ones we eat.
"Get them!"
"Our parents are going to kill us!"
"Move it! We're going to lose them, and then we're dead." I watch the door as a young girl and boy race past.
"Gotcha...no!"
"I'll go see what they're chasing." I mutter while jogging out the door and dashing to the kids' sides before slowing my pace to match theirs. "What's going on?"
"Our pets got loose! If we lose them, mom'll flay me." The boy answers.
"You? She'll blame both of us." The girl argues.
"What kind of animals are these pets?" I ask, interrupting the siblings.
"Tarantulas. They're a big, fuzzy kind of spider, but they won't bite. They're just fast runners." The boy answers. I almost stop in my tracks, but force myself to keep running.
As long as they aren't small and red, I don't mind being bitten. I have to convince myself of that. Then I see one of the spiders. Big, BIG spiders...
"You hold those things with your bare hands?" I gasp.
"They never bite. Sometimes, they sit on our heads while we read." The girl answers. These kids are braver than ninety percent of the universe. I run ahead of the kids, outdistancing them before swooping down and scooping up the spider. I almost drop it as my nerves mistake the stiff bristles as mandibles, but hold on.
"How many are there?" I ask.
"Three." The boy answers. I slow down and hand him the spider, scratching my palms to relieve the itching. The girl swerves off and snatches yet another of the arachnids off a wall before rejoining us. I hear a scream and dash up ahead to see a woman running around, batting at her head.
"Stop!" The girl pleads.
"Ma'am, hold still and I will get that spider off you." I bark in a tone suggesting she's a panicking rookie. She ignores me and I march up and grab her arms. She thrashes and I resort to smacking her. "For the love of D'haynna's Bow, HOLD STILL!" I snap, grabbing the spider while I have her attention.
The creepy crawly climbs up my arm and neck before taking cover in my hair. I almost scream and bat at my head, too, but grit my teeth and walk back to the kids.
"He likes you! We better get back to our parents." The boy says cheerfully.
"Thank you!" The girl says. On our way past the barracks, I almost collide with Rex. He hops back and gawks.
"No, really, I can explain. Just don't start screaming." I say.
"You're arachnophobic. How..." He stares.
"Believe me, it's taking a lot of self control to not freak out." I say, forcing a smile despite the tingles running down my spine as the spider shifts.
"On your head, though?"
"I know, I know. This is a one time thing. Trust me, you'll never see me with a tarantula in my hair again." I promise, a shudder escaping my control.
"Are you sure?" I glance through the door and see Tail holding a holoprojector that has a recording light flashing. My shock is replaced with a scowl.
"We'll discuss proper usage of a holoprojector as soon as I get back." I warn before following the kids.
§ § §
Of course, once I get back to the barracks after a lengthy assurance to the children's parents that I was fine, it was no bother, yada ya, the entire squad is laughing over the video of their sergeant with a spider on her head.
"Tail!" I exclaim with hurt. "How could you?" I give him a look of complete betrayal. Numa is nowhere to be found.
"You're an arachnophobe?" Wing hoots.
"Depends on wether the spider is a huge tarantula or not." I growl.
"How did you get that on tape?" Bark asks Tail.
"When I saw her walk by with a spider on her head, I knew I would probably want to grab the 'projector." I glare, though a smile is trying to break my expression. Spitfire yelps and swats the back of her neck. A dark red spider lands on the floor.
"Ah, kriff!" She wails while lying down on a bunk. I stomp the spider quickly before it can bite anyone else.
"D'haynna, that better not be the type I think it is." I groan. A panicked gasp from my sister answers my question and I look around in case of more.
"She's scared of spiders, too?" Tail asks, not to tease, but to simply know.
"We both have good enough reason. If you see any red spiders, kill them immediately, or—" A scream from Spitfire cuts me off. "Or they might bite someone." I finish, face palming in frustration and worry.
"What's wrong with her?" Decker asks while moving in to examine Fire.
"The type of spider that bit her has venom that causes hallucinations. Usually ones that are nasty to watch. They're one of Dooku's favourite torture toys." I wince at another agonized screech. Even Chopper doesn't have a snarky remark.
"How long will she be like this?" Decker says.
"Four hours, if the size of the spider is anything to go on." The medic looks desperately at his sister. It must be hard to see anyone like this and not be able to help.
"Antidotes?" He almost begs. I cringe, but shake my head.
"I looked up every file I could find on them. No known substances to counteract the poison. She's going to have to ride it out."
"Should we get her to the med bay?" Wing suggests.
"They've got nothing to help her. When she comes out of it, a sudden change in environment won't help. And she's going to be making noises—" a scream tears through the room "like that, so the sick people won't appreciate it." So, I take Decker's place by Spitfire's side, Chopper puts on his helmet before lying down to sleep, the others basically either clear out or resign themselves to waiting as they scrub their equipment. Tail loyally sits on the other side of the bed and we hold Fire's arms down as she thrashes.
I hear rushed footsteps and look to see Skywalker hurrying in. Either he sensed Spitfire's fear, or heard her screaming all the way from his quarters. He looks her over.
"What happened?" He asks. The others are standing at attention, though Chopper is dead to the world.
"Spider bite, sir. The type that makes people hallucinate. We've got another three hours and forty minutes or so left." I reply.
"N—numa? Numa?" I see Numa walk in.
"Uh, Numa, go back to your parents." I say in a futile attempt to make her leave. "Tail, could you check the database for how to say 'go home' in Twi'leki?" I ask. He grabs his helmet, stuffs it on, and waits a few seconds before saying it aloud. I look back to Numa and relay the command.
She hesitates, then ignores me and scurries next to Spitfire. Seeing that diplomacy has failed, I sigh and look to my scout. "Tail, could you please take her back to her parents?" He removes his helmet and nods before picking up the girl.
She wails protestingly and struggles, but the man is a lot bigger and stronger than she is. Skywalker glances down at the whimpering form of my sister. My heart wrenches. I know what she's feeling, though what she sees isn't what I would in her place. But...maybe there are similarities?
§ § §
"Twitch? Please don't let this be another hallucination." Spitfire groans.
"Heck, no. Can't you tell? I'm way better looking in reality than nightmares!" She snorts and I help her sit up.
"Whatever you need to say to be happy." She teases.
"Hey, welcome back." Decker greets, abandoning his cloth and already-scrubbed gun to check on her. I let him fuss, though I can tell my sister's thinning patience doesn't appreciate all the attention.
"Did the kid stop screaming?" Chopper yawns.
"Silent and ready to go a few rounds with you." Spitfire growls. She tries standing, but I drag her back onto the bed.
"Oh, no, you don't. You of all people know better than to get up after that."
"I'm used to it. I'm fine." I stop her from standing again.
"I'm used to it and it took me a while to recover last time. Stay down." That phrasing, of course, makes her more persistent. I suddenly feel guilty for all the times I refused to cooperate with Kix and Decker. "Decker, my most sincere apologies for being stubborn when you tried treating me for anything." He smirks.
"Not so fun in the medic's shoes, huh?"
"I'd rather go barefoot. Spitfire, stay down!" I mutter a string of irritated questions (such as, why won't you listen?) and swears in a jumble of languages under my breath. "If you fall over from exhaustion, Chopper will have another reason to tease you." He scowls at my use of his behaviour to tame the girl, but it works.
"Fine. But only for a few minutes." She concedes.
"Twenty."
"Ten." She barters.
"Twenty." I persist.
"Fifteen!"
"D'haynna, you're stubborn!"
"Runs in the female side of the family!"
"Twenty minutes."
"Ten!" I press out foreheads together and glare.
"Twen-ty" I sound out firmly.
"Mggff." She covers her mouth, trying to hide a smile. My lip twitches and we start snickering.
"For goodness sake, just take the twenty minutes before I push it to half an hour." I laugh.
"Fine! But only because I think it'll be quicker than fighting with you. And we already cut out five minutes of it by arguing."
"Kix is going to have fun with you." I say.
"I'm sorry, how do you go from yelling at each other to laughing?" Wing shakes his head.
"I'll let you know as soon as I figure it out." Spitfire chuckles. Couldn't have said it better myself.
A.N. ~ sorry, a bit too much spider in one chapter. The Chopper in this fic has nothing to do with the Chopper in 'Safety of the Pack'. The next chapter will be up within 48 hours. Please review, positive or critical. Believe it or not, I actually read and get excited over comments.