A/N - It's been a while! I hope you all are getting on well in the new year so far. Sorry for the time between posts. We had a covid scare here and it was dodgy for a bit, but we're all good now! I hope I'll be able to get new chapters out more regularly now that we're passed the new year and healthy again. I hope you enjoy this next chapter focusing on the young clone commandos in training.

The young Clone Commandos of Mav Squad are about to clear the Arena A17, nicknamed the Killing House, in a terrorist training exercise. They are paired off with a rival squad and race to the midpoint of the rooms to win, but the prize isn't wait anyone was expecting.

28 BBY

The training armor was getting tight again. This was the third set RC-17-074 and his brothers had gone through in the last five months. It pinched around his shoulders and thighs, but he knew better to complain. Gilnt, the Mandalorian trainer assigned to him and his brothers, would sooner knock his teeth out and make him do the training in only his body glove. They all knew that's what happened to RC-17-020, and he was in a bacta tank for two days afterward.

"I wonder what configuration the rooms are going to be in this time," Phantom mused. He was the first of their squad to get his name. It was easy. He was paler than the others with a shock of white hair instead of black, and he could sneak around undetected better than any of them. "How many baddies do you think we will have to take out, Nine-four?"

RC-19-094 shrugged, "Hopefully enough to make my new toy worth showing off." He grinned at his recently acquired rotary mini-gun. It was nearly his size, big enough that he had to lean back to keep his center of gravity. "I can handle this big baby." To prove his point, RC-19-094 shouldered the oversized charge pack and lifted the mini-gun into firing position. He jumped from side to side, spinning in place and swinging the gun with relative ease. "I'm not going to slow us down."

"You look like a tank when you turn like that, Nine-four," RC-17-074 said, trying not to laugh.

"We don't have to rush." The last member of their squad finally looked up from the small tangle of wires he'd been connecting inside the drone he'd pieced together from various droid parts he'd collected from past training sessions. "This will make it easier to scout ahead without getting brained by a blaster bolt. I'll be able to control it through the HUD, and transmit images to the rest of you. We've got this, vode."

"Just as long as you do not crash it like you did last time, Sideswipe," Phantom said with an eye roll.

"Hey, it was only a glancing blow," the boy corrected with an exasperated sigh. "How was I supposed to know the droid was a bomb?"

"We have to be prepared for anything," RC-17-074 said. "One day it won't be in training, it'll be in a real fight."

"Like you all will live long enough to see a real fight," Wiz, a boy from Hodayc squad prepping next to them, spoke up.

"What the hell's that supposed to mean, vod?" Sideswipe asked, setting aside his drone and standing up, his jaw clenched in a frown.

"It means there's no way the Misfit squad is gonna make it in a real fire fight." Blitz said with mocking laughter as he stood shoulder to shoulder with his squadmate Wiz.

"Just cuz we aren't from the same batch doesn't mean anything," RC-19-094 said as he stepped up, pointing the mini-gun towards the ground. "We all have the same blood. We're all vode."

"Everyone knows Mav Squad is a quad of vat jar rejects," Wiz retorted. "The only reason Gilnt hasn't sent you into the live-fire is because of his golden boy," he taunted, disdain practically pouring out of his eyes as he glared at RC-17-074.

"That's not true," Sideswipe said. "We've had-" he paused mid sentence with a quick look from RC-17-074. "The algorithm is completely random."

"Yeah right," Sam and Jarit joined their other two squad mates. "Gilnt doesn't want to lose is best trainee, or his top spot with the other trainers. So he coddles you babies."

"Take that back," Phantom said, his voice and expression unreadable.

"Or what, ghosty?" Blitz jeered back, crossing his arms over his puffed chest. "You gonna spook us? Fighting with your vode won't look good for your golden boy here."

"You mess with one of us, you mess with all of us," RC-19-094 said before charging the group. "Here comes the tank!" He swung the mini-gun at them, knocking down Sam and Blitz. The others joined in, keeping the rest of Hodayc squad from overwhelming RC-19-094. Phantom and Sideswipe went to work on Jarit, kicking at Sam and Blitz to keep them on the ground. RC-17-074 rammed into Wiz, his shoulder connecting with Wiz's solar plexus and knocking the wind out of him. Martial training took over and he pressed his advantage. He would have pummeled Wiz into the ground if not for the high pitched whistle that stopped all of them in their tracks.

The main door to the training center was open and Gilnt stood under the bright entryway lights. His perpetual scowl of derision he normally wore had morphed into some kind of sneering smile. The fluttering in RC-17-074's chest turned to a lead pit in his stomach. Bad things happened when their trainer had that look.

"Well, looks like we have our first volunteers for the new configuration," Gilnt said with a laugh that was anything but humorous. "I was going to debrief everyone before we started training, but I think Mav and Hodayc Squads can go in blind."

RC-17-074 stood up, readjusting the pauldron digging into his armpit. "Sir, I take full responsibility." He looked towards RC-19-094 with a frown. "Mav Squad threw the first punch, we should go through blind. Let Hodayc stay for the briefing."

Gilnt snorted and shook his head. "No Seven-four, this one is for two teams. It's a race, of a kind. Whoever clears to the middle first," he paused, and for a moment his eyes shined with morbid excitement, "wins the prize."

RC-17-074 turned to his squadmates, not wanting to look Gilnt in the eyes any more than necessary. Instead he packed up the rest of his kit, checking his deece and charge packs were in place, then nodded towards the entrance to the training hall. "Let's get in there, vode. We'll show Hodayc how it's done." The rest of Mav squad followed silently through the enclosed arena. Once they put on their helmets he opened their secured channel. "Here comes the tank? Really Nine-four?"

"It sounded better in my head," the other clone said, "but I don't regret it."

Phantom snorted. "Okay, Tank."

"Oh no you don't, you don't get to pick my name."

"Why not?" Sideswipe asked. "You picked his, seems only fair. Better than Golden Boy over here. Too many syllables. Ha!" He nudged RC-17-074's shoulder with a laugh.

"Yeah. Tank's definitely a better name. Maybe we can shorten yours, huh Seven-four?"

"That sounds like a terrible idea."

"I dunno," Sideswipe said as he readied a code cylinder. "Maybe you should just own the jab. You do that, then it can't be used to piss you off." They split, two on each side of the door to the start of the A17 arena, affectionately known by the young commandos as the Killing House. Inside their HUD the countdown began. "So what, Golden?"

"What about Goldy?" Phantom offered as he crouched.

"I dunno," he said as he pressed his back to the wall. "Maybe."

"Well, it's a better name than Wiz," RC-19-094 scoffed as he set the door buster charge.

"It'll grow on you. I didn't like Sideswipe at first but I got used to it."

"I'll think on it," RC-17-074 said. "Ready, Nine-four?"

"Call me Tank," he replied. "We'll give it a test run while we kick Hodayc's shebs."

"Alright, Tank," RC-17-074 said. "Might as well give Goldy a go for now. In five, four, three, two, one, go go go!"

The door buster blew inward, taking the door with it. A split second afterward they heard the second door go. Hodayc squad were moving into the building from the other side. The race was on, but they paused a few meters past the entrance to slice the computer system. Sideswipe slotted the cylinder and ran the pre-programmed search code.

"Damn," he said as he started keying instructions into the Killing House's computer systems. "That's twelve for twelve tests with live-fire. Sending through the disabling command now."

"There's no way this is random," Tank said. "Live fire, every time? No one else's had it even close. He's got it out for you Seven-fo, uh, Goldy, that's for sure. Never should have bested him in the range. If the others only knew they'd have come up with a different name for you."

"It's better this way," Goldy said. "The more he focuses on me the less danger our brothers are in."

"Then we should probably speed this up," Phantom chimed in. "Hodayc is two rooms ahead of us."

"Almost," Sideswipe said as he keyed in a few more instructions. "There. Flipped them back to duds. We're good to proceed."

"Alight," Goldy replied, "Let's get that drone in the air and ahead of us. Phantom, take point. Tank, you're on doors. Sideswipe and I will clear rooms."

"You got it, Goldy," Sideswipe said. "Phan, you're driving the drone. Try not to crash it. Heh."

"That is your job, not mine," Phantom replied.

"Stay focused, vode," Goldy said, halting their banter. "We're not going to rush. Gilnt added explosives last time. I have a bad feeling about this."

The configuration of rooms and the number of droid "terrorists" changed with each training run, but Mavsquad fell into an almost comfortable routine. After their first live-fire run, Sideswipe managed to slice the algorithm so they wouldn't be surprised. After the third he'd figured out how to switch the instructions to blank shots. Even so, their goal was to avoid getting hit. They were cautious, and with practice became faster and more efficient regardless of the scenario they faced.

Even with the advantage of practice fire from the droids, clearing rooms was nail biting. Tank spent more time checking doors for hidden explosives after the fourth door was wired to incendiary bombs. Goldy hoped that the other squad were managing the traps Gilnt included for the run. He was sure they weren't used on other squads. No one else mentioned explosives, having live-fire every time, having other living people inside the rooms they were clearing. He could hear Hodayc squad's blaster fire as they got closer to the center. They were only three rooms away from their end goal.

"Goldy, I have a visual on Hodayc squad," Phantom said.

"How?"

"I sent the drone to see how close they were."

"You sent my drone that far away?" Sideswipe asked in surprise. "I didn't know it had that long a range."

"They are ahead of us. Nearly to the midpoint, only around the corner." Phantom's normal calm tone was distressed. "Patching the feed through now."

The drone's display expanded in their HUD, showing three commando trainees rounding the corner three doors away from the center. Goldy paused at the next room, waiting for Tank to check the door and for the fourth member of Hodayc squad to catch up with the others.

"They left Jarit behind," Sideswipe said as he moved past with Phantom. "Why would they leave a vod behind?"

"Probably best not to think on it," Tank said as he stepped back and kicked the door open. Goldy spun into the room, putting a clean shot through the head of one droid and the chest of the other while Tank blasted the other four to bits with his mini-gun.

"They are bypassing the last door," Phantom gasped in alarm. "Why are they breaking protocol?" Before anyone could answer or even move onto the next door the other boys of Hodayc squad breached the midpoint door, running into the room. A high pitched whirring rose above the blaster fire.

"Take cover!" Goldy shouted. Tank rolled over the pile of droids as Phantom dove inside. The drone's visuals played out in their HUD in slow motion as Goldy yanked Sideswipe into the room they'd just cleared. Blitz ran into the hallway in a panic as the whirring stopped. A split second later he was sucked back into the room with a deep, thunderous pop only to be thrown back out again in a fireball that shook the entire training course. Scalding air jettisoned the drone into the ceiling, and the feed to their HUD went dark.

They froze in the relative safety of their cover before they shook off the shock of what they witnessed. "Tank, cover our shebs," Goldy ordered. "We don't want any surprises. Phan, Sideswipe, with me."

"Will do, Goldy." Tank shifted the strap of the charge pack higher on his back and flipped the mini-gun to rapid fire. He walked backwards, following the others as they ran ahead to check on Hodayc squad.

Phantom dropped to his knees and skidded to a halt next to Blitz. He began checking vitals, and pulled the boy's helmet off. Blitz's eyes were open and unfocused. Blood trickled from his ears, nose, and mouth. His breath was ragged and gurgling. The concussive force crushed his chest and broke his right femur in two places. In quick, practiced movements Phantom found a stim pack and injected it into the boy's neck. He activated the bacta processing implant in Blitz's side, hoping he was fast enough to save his life.

Sideswipe followed Goldy cautiously into the midpoint room. They checked for any other surprises, but the only shocking sight were the mangled bodies of Sam and Wiz. Their armor and body gloves weren't able to keep them in one piece. Gore spattered the back wall and the floor where the thermal imploder detonated.

"Fierfek." The whispered curse was all Sideswipe could muster before ripping off his helmet and retching in the corner. Goldy blinked rapidly and turned away from the grizzly scene. He remembered the moments before they began the exercise, the way he had no problem fighting Wiz. He wished he'd controlled his anger, hadn't joined in and kept a cool head. If he had, then maybe Hodayc Squad would've been more focused. Maybe they wouldn't have rushed ahead and paid more attention to their surroundings. Maybe they would've lived.

Maybe we would have died. Blaster fire cut through his thoughts and brought him back to reality. Tank was mowing down droids as they leapt from cover. He had their side under control, but they were still in danger. Hodayc hadn't finished clearing their half of the test. Goldy ran from the room, leaping over Phantom and Blitz. He blasted the lock off the first closed door and threw the two EMP grenades on his belt into the room. A moment later the room rang like a bell and whatever was in there clattered to the ground. Goldy leaned in, checking to make sure the final room was cleared before regrouping with the others.

Tank strapped the mini-gun to his side with Blitz's utility belt, getting ready to lift the other boy to carry him out of the arena. Phantom collected Sideswipe, guiding him away from the bodies of their brothers. They looked to Goldy and he nodded. He took point, checking for anything they might have missed on their way in.

Each loss weighed heavy on the boys, even the deaths of brothers they'd never met. They all knew that they were bred and trained to fight and die in battle, but this was different. Goldy couldn't help but feel that the imploder was meant for Mavl Squad. The way Gilnt looked at them before they started the exercise made him shudder. The walk out was silent. There was no win, no victory in the Killing House when a brother was lost.

Mando'a Translations:

Mav - Free

Hodayc - Cunning

Vod/e - Brother/s

Shebs - Butt

Fierfek - Huttese curse, generally translated as fuck