A/N: I wrote this down a while ago but only really finished the last part of it now. This is my pent-up feeling towards my school sometimes (especially when I'm behind) No, it's not quite this bad, but this was written for anyone who knows what this is like with any type of school (Homeschool, public, private, collage) and is more of a 'it's bad...but not that bad so what am I complaining about?' thing (for me, at least)

This kind of introduces my OC squad 'Chaos'...but mostly just introduces one of the kids rather then all of them. Also, this one isn't as silly as the others with them might be. Then again, maybe them being silly is how they coup with everything :/...


1412 sat on his legs as he leaned over the bench, his pencil hovering over his homework pad ad tears bleeding down his cheek. To his left, his note books were stacked haphazardly next to his currently open text-pad in front of him. Whereas, stacked to his right, sat the rest of his text pads on every subject the Kaminoans deemed important.

Come on, just stop...

No, no, no, no, the other voice in his head whispered urgently.

On the wall behind him, the chrono chimed midnight. As the chrono chimed again, he let out a muffled, choking sob, burying his head in the crook of his arm.

I can't do this. Come on! he thought, chest heaving, why can't I just catch up! I'll never get this finished!

He was tired, but he knew he couldn't sleep. If he slept, he wouldn't catch up on his assignments and if he didn't catch up on his assignments, he didn't pass. So he stayed where he was. Despair crushing his breath, he waited in the semi-lit staging area under his squad's bunks; waiting for morning or the tell-tale 'ping' on his compad saying that the Kaminoans wanted him in the lab for reprocessing. Whichever came first.

It was really only a matter of time before the later came to fruition.

It was only a matter of time.

Feeling a fresh burst of sorrow, 1412 crossed his arms over the bench, rested his head down, and wept; knowing no one was around to see it, and knowing no one would care even if they were.


Nearly an hour later...

Hammer tried to stifle the oncoming yawn, but he couldn't help it. Sometimes there were just some battles you couldn't win.

Smoothing down the hair at the back of his head, he let out a another yawn and quietly padded through the barracks, glancing through the dimly lit hallways as he passed. It was well into midnight, he knew and he berated himself for allowing reports in his office to get in the way of sleep. Why didn't the long-necks just make the officers quarters with the offices in them? he wondered, not for the first time.

But then he chuckled. Chances were, he already knew why. The likelihood of a trooper completing a report when his bed was lying not three feet away from him was practically nil. Still, human reasoning couldn't stand but to wonder...even the obvious.

Amused now by himself, he turned a corner and stopped suddenly in his tracks. He'd thought he'd heard something. Cocking his head as he frowned, Hammer tiptoed four paces to his right and paused again, peering down the next hallway that led to the junior cadets wing of the training facility. Nothing. Shrugging, he was about to turn away when...it sounded again. Peering once more down the same corridor, this time he noticed the fainted hue of a black light on the corner along with another of the muffled sound.

When he reached the corner, he backed against the wall, peering into the next foyer. There, two rows of squad's staging area. The ARC raised an eyebrow. Since when did the little ones have problems with staying up late? He knew several of the children did find it hard to manually fall asleep, yet they never were up an about. And certainly not passed curfew.

He had been expecting the worst, so it surprised him when all he found was a small figure hunched over the bench, surrounded by the text-pads and notebooks. He recognized the figure as a junior cadet but his frown deepened when he saw his shoulders shaking. Two seconds later, another muffled sound...which Hammer could now recognize as a sob.

What the kriff!

''Hey!'' he flipped on the light in the stage.

The cadet jerked back, falling on his haunches in surprise. The tall ARC trooper was about to, rightfully, scold him when he suddenly saw the cadet's expression.

It was terrified. His eyes were glassy and the skin around them was red and puffy, the tell-tale signs of crying even without the obvious tear-trails on his cheeks.

Hammer put his hands on his hips, peering down at the frightened boy.

''What are you doing up?''


1412 didn't hear the soft foot-steps coming left. The chrono's faint clicking had failed to register in his mind so he had no sense of time. All he knew was that it was late (or early). All he could think of was the impregnable stack of work he had to complete. Suddenly, the lights flicked on and startled by a sharp voice, the cadet jerked, sending him flying backwards so he fell on his back. Then he glanced up.

Above him, the harsh dark eyes of an ARC trooper glared down at him.

1412 could only stare, terror seizing his throat.

Oh no.

He recognized ARC trooper Hammer by his armor rig and red tracings. At first, given body language, he'd looked annoyed, though he had tried to place his words gently. The cadet, however, couldn't register any of it.

This is it, he thought, He's going to report me and that will be the end. And all this would have been for nothing.

He knew he was supposed to answer, but when he opened his mouth to reply, his throat caught so he couldn't trust himself to speak. Instead, he gestured helplessly to his 'desk,' dropping his head in shame. He didn't want to see how disgusted his older brother was with him; his day had been bad enough.

As the frown deepened on his face, Hammer glanced briefly at the bench, noticing the titles of the textpads.

Biology 3, Arithmetic 7, Language 14, Galactic History 2.4, Outer Core Geography, Mandalorian Battles/timelines 101...plus all the homework note books and assignment pads.

Gee, no wonder he's stressed.

But Hammer had asked a question...one that had yet to be answered.

''Cadet, what are you doing up so late?'' he asked, more gently this time as he squatted down to eye level. ''You need to sleep.''

At this, the kid shook his head vigorously, gesturing again at the school work that piled next to him. He tired to speak, but nothing would come out and a fresh horde of tears gathered in his eyes. Wincing, Hammer could practically hear the silent I CAN'T! he was mentally screaming. Hammer knew; he had screamed it many times himself...but not at this age. Still, coming at the problem from this angle wasn't going to work, he knew.

Okay, different approach.

Putting his hands on his shoulders, Hammer asked, ''What's your name, son?''

''1412,'' he managed, voice choking.

Well...not what I was looking for, but I guess it is some progress.

''Your squad mates haven't named you yet, then?''

1412 nodded.

''At least,'' he sniffled, 'not that they've told me.''

Hammer frowned, but seemed to let it pass.

''Alright then, I need you to put all this up and sleep. You're supposed to get up to at least six hours - ''

''But I can't!'' he cried, his voice higher then he would have liked and Hammer winced mentally, ''I'm already behind and if I stop now, I'll never catch up!''

''But you can't catch up if you're not thinking straight.'' he pointed out. ''Then, not only would your grades fail but also your physical performance, target score, and your risk of injury goes way up.''

1412 shook his head, eyes drifting into space helplessly and once again, Hammer could hear the unspoken, 'but I can't!'

Then the chrono chimed. One A.M. The cadet moaned, putting his head in his hands.

Sighing, Hammer briefly closed his eyes.

I don't have time for this.

He glanced back at the textpads, wracking his brain as he tried to remember everything he'd had to study at that age. The kid was young, obviously - no more then four by standard years, eight by clone years - and that many subjects at that level was nearly impossible to complete.

Shifting his weight on his feet, he peered at 1412.

''So, what are you going to do?'' he asked, ''Cause we both need to hit the sack.''

Shrugging, 1412 just continued to stare dolefully at his homework, rubbing his eyes.

''I. Don't. Know. I won't have time to finish this if I sleep now, and even if I did try, I wouldn't be able to because I'd be worrying about it anyway so I may as well stay up doing it. My instructor said he wanted everything done before the next test...which is in three days. And-''

''Wait a minute,'' Hammer held up a hand, now mildly confused. ''Did your instructor say he wanted you to complete your book homework? Just the reading? Answering the questions? Taking the notes?...''

1412 just stared at him, lower lip trembling despite his obvious attempts to stop it, shaking his head slightly as if to say 'you just don't get it, do you?'

''That's just it, he didn't say.''

''Then you need to learn to prioritize. Find the subjects with the least bold terms and-'' he paused, the brightened, knowing smile on his face suddenly fading nearly as soon as it had come as he saw the kid's pointed, frustrated expression.

''My point exactly.'' he suddenly snapped. ''You can't do that when literally every other word is in either bold print, italicized, or has a superlative hidden in the sentence. As for the notes, I can't memorize by flashcards so I have to write everything down.''

''Then-'' Hammer began, but just as quickly he was cut off again.

''No, I can't just study what's going to be on the test simply because my instructor won't tell us. And if we don't read a chapter or two ahead before every lesson, he might pull out a pop reading quiz that we won't know a kriffing thing about!''

The seasoned ARC trooper would have been lying to himself if he said he didn't flinch just the tiniest bit at the venom in the cadet's voice with every word he said, each one spoken louder then the last.

''Same thing on tests. I've had it where it had stuff that I knew nothing about because it wasn't gone over in the class; and in the datapad it was mentioned in one sentence and we were expected to write a paragraph on it! Yes, a paragraph over a none-bold-print term! And guess what? Same karking thing with homework! So you never know what to study specifically! You just have to study everything and hope the test is mostly multiple choice - which, it never is!''

1412 paused, shaking before his face pulled into another enraged frown. ''Because the chances of that are near zero since my instructor's favorite system is modified 'true or false.' And at the very top of every! Single! Karking! Piece of flimsi for the test, quiz, or Maker-knows-what says 'every space must be filled out. Period.' They expect us to just learn everything; but guess what, I'm not perfect! I can't!''

Hammer just stared at him in silence.

''See why now?'' His voice had dropped again, now to a near, desperate whisper as once again tears filled his eyes. ''If I don't do this work - all of it - I won't pass. I don't pass, I get recycled.''

Sighing softly, the ARC nodded.

''Yeah,'' he said quietly, ''yeah, I...I get it. I remember the feeling from back when-''

Suddenly, he stopped. ''Wait, you actually do everything you're assigned?''

The cadet raised an eyebrow.

Dumb question; still...even I didn't do all of them...

''Yes. Well...'' he dropped his head shamefully. ''No.''

Okay, so he knows somewhat how to prioritize-

''I do the work...but I don't always do it properly where it's all neat, outlined, restates the question, and is in proper sentences.'' he finished. ''I don't always do that because of time.''

This time, Hammer sighed out loud.

Okay...

''You do realize most people only complete half their work, right?''

1412 just threw up his hands. ''I'm just doing what I'm told and right now, it's not working!''

As Hammer considered how to respond to that, the chrono chimed one-ten.

He's not going to sleep if I leave and won't sleep while I'm here basically arguing with him. I could make it an order, but...No. I can't. He's just trying to do what he can. Fine. Option three that doesn't involve the Kaminoans...And, he grinned slightly, one where we both sleep.

''Okay, here's what we're going to do.''

The ARC began stacking 1412's datapads and handed them to him, nudging him towards the storage compartments.

''Put your work up and follow me.''


He accepted the stack, then glanced up fearfully at Hammer as he rose to his full height.

''I'm in trouble, aren't I.''

''If you keep staying up like this, you will be,'' he replied, turning, ''Come on.''

Hastily reacting on autopilot despite inwardly screaming at himself to just keep studying, 1412 started cramming his school work into its compartment before he darted after the ARC. Though he automatically trusted his older brother, he couldn't help wondering where they were going and why he was supposed to be there...


As they traversed the drab grey walls of the facility's maze-like wings, fantasies of where they were going plagued the cadet's mind. During the day, he could easily recognize where he was; on the other hand, here in the dark and shadows was another matter entirely. There was an eerie stillness about the place. Compared to the rambunctious and rather frenzied midday, the witching hour of a Kaminoan night lay hushed, still save for the rare shadows which the pair made under safety lights and the faintest pitter-patter of feet on the plasticrete floors.

Once, when he paused, 1412 noticed with curiosity (and slight apprehension) how the pitter-patter had also paused; however, soon as he started again, it also resumed. It was uncanny to him how the ARC trooper could make no sound despite his armor.

Must be an ARC thing, he thought, nervously trying to shove aside the images in his head of himself on an operation table while surrounded by Kaminoans who all held surgical instruments of sorts.

No, he's not taking me there. Not to them. Even though he's an officer, he's still a brother and a brother wouldn't do that...right?

He glanced at Hammer, who hadn't said a word since they'd left his squad's staging area. When he finally got up the courage to break the silence by asking him where they were going, the only reply the cadet got was: ''You'll see.''

It was less then comforting though. Yet, still he followed, knowing that being on his own here in the dark would only serve to get him lost until the lights turned back on just before early morning PT...which, would only certainly get him caught by the long-necks.

Thus he continued at his brother's side, waiting with for their destination to appear.


After the ten minutes of walk, Hammer stopped at his door, tapping in his entrance code which, thanks to his bucket's night vision, he was able to see where the numbers where. Once it was open, he tossed his helmet onto the bed to his left while simultaneously flicking on a lamp with his other hand before gesturing for the kid to enter. The room was small, neat (in certain areas only), and distinctly military in the sense of a man who had too much time on his hands while at others, clearly not enough.

The bed itself was made, the floor clean, and the walls were fairly unadorned...well, most of the walls.

Around the desk, on the other hand, was the example of 'too little time.' The flimsi sheets were stacked (out of order) haphazardly at the edge of the desk, a full cup of caff sat next to them (now cold), and on the walls were several variations of different schedules pinned to the wall by pushpins. It was just like any other apartment Hammer had ever seen and it wasn't much, but it was likely the closest thing he'd ever get to a home.


1412 had been holding his breath, awaiting the worst, so he had been surprised when they had stopped at the officer's quarters.

''What are we doing here?'' he asked quietly, still shaken from earlier, but beginning to calm down...though, he was still waiting for...well, something that involved Kaminoans and and operating table. In front of him, Hammer shrugged, nodding towards the bed.

''Hop on.''

What?

1412 blinked, wondering if he'd heard his big brother right. Had he literally just said 'hop on'? Startled, he asked instinctively, ''Why?''

''Because, we need to talk,'' Hammer replied without skipping a beat, ''Now, hop on.''

The cadet blinked again, still unmoving. ''I-why?''

Sighing, the ARC glanced back at the chrono before turning to 1412.

'' 'Cause everyone deserves at least an hour of undisturbed and peaceful sleep.''

There was still a look of confusion on the kid's face, but at least this time he obeyed even before Hammer had finished, crawling slowly onto the dark blue mattress. Once they were both situated, sitting more or less cross-legged opposite each other, Hammer rubbed the bridge of his nose.

''Okay, lets start from the beginning. I know most of the little guys in your battalion, so don't tell me you don't have a name. You may not be sure it's your name,'' he held up a finger to stop the kid from replying too early, ''but they still call you it. What do they call you?''

1412 paused, then murmured uncertainly, ''Ledger? I guess? My squad says it's because of how much I like to read and record things.''

Raising an amused eyebrow, Hammer grinned. ''How did a little guy like you get such a snazzy name?''

He shrugged. ''They said they found it in the dictionary.''

''So then why didn't you tell me that was your name when I first asked?'' he shifted his expression ever-so-slightly to show he was serious; even half-truths weren't exempt from lying to an officer at Kamino.

The cadet's face went pale and he cried, ''Honest! I didn't tell you because I don't know if that even is my name! They call me 'Ledger' every once in a while, but not consistently; and they certainly never just came out and told me that was my name!''

Hammer smacked his forehead. ''That's because they're waiting to see your reaction to determine whether or not they should keep calling you that. It's kind of a general unspoken rule when you're naming yourself that you kind of at least can tolerate it.''

''Oh.'' he sounded surprised. ''Well,'' he said quietly, ''yes, I like it.''

''Okay, good, we've established that. So, Ledger, let me ask you why this is so important to that you complete every single question...including the ones that aren't assigned to you?''

Once more, anguish showed on Ledger's face, his expression crest-fallen that his earlier explanation hadn't been enough to show him that it was impossible to complete it all; still, once again, Hammer rested a hand on his shoulder.

''I remember what you said and I understand; but now that you've had a couple of minutes to clear your head of school, I want to hear something just a little more calm and controlled. Then the answers are a little clearer.''

Taking a deep breath, Ledger closed his eyes, before replying as calmly as he could manage.

''Because if I don't complete everything, I won't have the answers to complete everything in my tests.''

''Why not just guess?''

''Because if I don't get a straight A, I'll fail the class.''

At Hammer's shocked expression, he nodded.

''You were told this?!''

''No, but that's the impression we're all given everyday.''

''And you didn't think to tell some one who could change that why?''

''Because I know what their answer would be. Same thing as all grown-ups say: 'Well, life's not fair and neither is the war. Besides, this is the time to test your dedication and stress resistance.' ''

He stopped the Kaminoan impersonation and stared dolefully at Hammer.

''I've heard plenty of nearly the exact same thing from the other boys in my class so I'm not the only one who thinks this.''

''Then who is your instructor?''

''Bric.''

''Oh,'' Hammer rolled his eyes, making a face. ''He's in charge of the curriculum? I thought he wasn't the teacher type.''

''He's not. But he's the one who told everyone to teach like this.''

As Ledger said his instructor's name, everything started clicking in the ARC's mind.

Ah, that's why he's so scared he's behind. Bric has an ugly reputation. The kriff'n bully.

''Let me guess, when ever he's around, he tells you to - and I quote - 'Shut up and just do the work. What are you complaining about? This is nothing compared to what real men have to face and if you can't complete it, you must not have what it takes.' and radda radda radda, on and on along those same lines. Am I right?''

Ledger's breathing beginning to hitch again as he tried to suppress the earlier grief that was starting to flood his chest again. But it wasn't working. His eyes and focus zoned out. In the back of his mind, he could see that expressions on Bric's face as he told that to all the cadets. He remembered how he had been singled out for shaking so badly that the instructor had noticed...

Shoving the image aside, he nodded.


Oh boy.

Hammer sat back, thinking of everyone's favorite instructor and what he already knew about him. Bric was the type of being who would threaten anyone to get their cooperation...which, in the case of the baby cadets (as Hammer couldn't help but still consider them) didn't do anything but scare them because they already did comply...all too innocently.

Even though he was technically only supposed to be training the Seniors, Hammer guessed when the long-necks had meant 'Master Chief', that had gone to his head to mean 'Master Chief.'

And if he has them backing him, that means he wouldn't hesitate to send a 'defective' cadet to the labs...which is probably the driving fear behind Ledger's endless studying.

That's when it hit him why the kid had been so scared to follow him and why he had been so confused when Hammer had said they were going to talk.

Oh, the poor lad. You're trying so hard...but missing the whole point.

''You do know that the whole point of all the homework is to simply make sure you understand the material, not to answer every question, right?''

''B-but if that's the case, why would they assign everything?''

''Because not everyone can memorize things quickly. How much work did you manage to get done?''

Ledger was quiet for a moment, knees tucked to his chin, before saying, ''I was able to finish the reading assignments for half of them and I was able to highlight the terms.''

Nodding, Hammer scooched over to the other side of the bed, leaning against the pillow. ''Okay, that's good enough.''

As if on cue, the chrono chimed one-thirty.

''Alright,'' he patted the pillow, ''then come on. You need to sleep.''

But Ledger paused.

''Won't I be late tomorrow?''

Rumpling his little brother's hair, Hammer only smiled gently.

''Not on my timeline.''


Two minutes later, Ledger was already curled up next to his big brother, dozing lightly in the first real bed he'd ever seen. Hammer had positioned the pillow on his arm so the cadet could reach it easier, and as he slept, the ARC watched. He didn't know why, but for some reason, Ledger still seemed...off. He was asleep, for sure, but his expression was pained and getting worse. Soon, he began tossing slightly, and Hammer wondered if that was really sweat breaking out on his forehead.

A moment later, he whimpered.

Hammer sighed. Tired beyond belief, yet duty keeping him awake for now, he shook Ledger, who suddenly shot up, startled and crying. As he woke up with a terrified yelp, Hammer pulled him a little closer, stroking his back as he murmured soothingly, ''Shhh, shhh. It's okay, no one's going to hurt you. You're okay.''

Still, Ledger's eyes filled with tears.

''They're gonna take me!'' he hushed, shaking despite his brother's protective embrace. ''They're gonna take me! I'll never get to see Chaos again! I'll just be another one of those cadets who just disappears without a trace! And-''

''Shhhhh, shhh, no, you're not. You'll be just fine. Come here, come here.'' Sitting up, Hammer gently pressed him to his chest, ''What makes you say that? Why do you keep thinking you'll be taken away, huh?''

Gripping his older brother in a near death grip, Ledger squeezed his eyes shut, tears bleeding down his cheeks. ''Because I'm never good enough. I can't even do the most basic work without it taking forever.''

Oooooooooh.

And there it was. The focal point all the kid's frustration and dedication. Probably his greatest fear come to light. It was common enough; but still a problem none the less and it was never easy to reverse.

As he wracked his brain trying to figure out how to comfort the lad, he suddenly remembered all the cadet progress reports he had to look over. Though he wasn't sure why, he sat up, peeling his brother off while promising to be right back before he jogged to his desk. He hurriedly flicked on the light with one hand while blindly brushing his hand over the various datapads in the main drawer as he searched for the right one.

Letting out a slight, 'Ah ha!' he returned.

In his hand was the datapad, which he quickly began searching through, checking the unopened files till he found one that had a familiar designation: CDT1412.

Giving it a quick once-over, he glanced at Ledger.

''I'm pretty sure you don't have anything to worry about.''

Sniffling a little, the cadet lifted his head to meet his brother's gaze, confusion written in his dark eyes. ''Why?''

Hammer shifted to keep one arm wrapped around Ledger while he showed him the screen.

''Because,'' he replied, grinning, ''according to you, you're no good. According to this, you're at the top of the class.''

''So? Doesn't mean anything.''

''Yes, it does. You might be surprised. Look down here. '1412, generation 1400, Theta battalion, Turner platoon, Chaos squad. Grade average,' blah blah blah. 'Notes by instructors: squad' blah blah, 'really quiet unless threatened,' blah blah blah, 'studies the hardest,' bunch of other stuff that has to do with faults that they find, blah blah blah. 'As of last couple of months, health has been going down due to personally assigned pressure; may be required to be given medically forced rest if this continues.' Blah blah blah as is goes onto a bunch of medical stuff I don't understand...Ah. Here it is: 'Watch him. Possible officer candidate if we can break his late night studying habit.' ''

He peered down at Ledger, who's eyes had gone wide.

''M-me!?''


''So...'' Hammer prodded, nudging Ledger in the shoulder. ''With a report like that, given what they've said about what they'll do if you don't sleep...think you'll have to worry about school tonight?''

''No?'' he guessed, a small smile beginning to creep onto his face.

''No? You sure?''

Ledger only shrugged.

''Come on, be confident.''

''No!''

Playfully shoving him back down onto the pillow, he too grinned. ''Good. Now: No more talking! Until tomorrow. I need. To. Sleep.''

''Sir, yes, sir!'

''Okay, settle down.''

Hammer waited till he was sure Ledger was settling down before nodding with a faint smile.

''Okay, then,'' he murmured. ''G'night.''


The next morning, everything was back to normal. The lights were back on. The pristine hallways were filled with the noises of hundreds of men and boys chattering as they hurriedly made their way to classes. The chrono chimed louder now that it was day. It was the typical, everyday, same-old same old routine.

But despite all that, there was an ARC trooper and one tiny cadet who didn't even notice.

After all, everyone deserves at least an hour of undisturbed and peaceful sleep...


Deireadh (Irish) the end


Just a note by the way, I don't know all these languages that I end with; I literally just look up 'the end' in...*pick a random language* and play around with the Google Translate until I find one. So if I get it wrong, please let me know :D Honestly, it's really cool how many different ways to say it there are. :D

Didn't this just make you want to hug Ledger? I mean, poor kid and darned Kaminoans...and Bric. XP

CDT=Cadet, btw

Thank you so much for reading! :D I hope you enjoyed the story; let me know in the comments if you did!