Chapter Two
Anakin heard someone—probably Rex, since it was his room too—moving around in the wee hours of the morning. He cracked one eye open and looked at the chrono by the side of his bed. Four forty-five in the morning. Breakfast wasn't until seven. Why was Rex up so early? He heard the door to their apartment open, the soft murmur of voices, then the soft hiss as the door closed. Anakin rolled over and snuggled back into his bedding.
When his alarm went off at six-thirty, Rex was still gone. Anakin caught a quick shower, dressed in his uniform, and headed downstairs. He'd studied the map provided in his admission packet, but still got lost on his way to the dining room.
"Looking for someone?" a voice said.
Anakin pulled his head out of the room he'd popped into. Another student stood in the hallway. His skin was an olive green with darker spots down the sides of his neck, and where his wrists were exposed below the sleeves of his jacket. His long green hair was hung in leather bound dreadlocks almost to his waist. His eyes were completely maroon, without a visible white or pupil.
"Looking for the dining room," Anakin said. He held out his hand. "Anakin Skywalker."
The young man smiled. "Kit Fisto. Good to meet you. I can show you to the dining room."
They began to walk.
"You're a Nautolan, right?" Anakin said.
"That I am. Where are you from?"
"Tatooine."
Kit winced. "I was sorry to hear about the bombing."
"Thanks."
They walked in silence until they reached the dining room. Anakin stopped in the doorway and stared. The room was a sea of gleaming white with hints of black. It was an impressive, and intimidating, sight.
"Do you have someone to sit with?" Kit asked, leading the way to the chow line.
Anakin looked around for Obi-Wan but didn't see him. "No."
"Come sit with me, then. I've been here for a week, so I know some of the boys. I'll introduce you."
"Great," Anakin said.
They got their food and Anakin followed Kit to a table where three clones sat.
"Morning, Craft, Arch, Virdall," the Nautolan said to the clones as he seated himself. "This is Anakin."
The three clones lifted their utensils in a kind of salute. "Good morning, sirs," they spoke in unison.
Anakin bobbed his head in greeting. "Good morning."
Obi-Wan had said that the older clones customized their armor to help differentiate themselves, but that was apparently not the same—not allowed?—for the younger clones. Anakin wondered how he'll tell these three apart, since they were all sporting the same hair color and cut, with no visible tattoos. He reached out with that other sense that he sometimes had. The one that allowed him to sense others' motives. It worked this time—it didn't always—and he could feel the differences in the clones.
Craft felt yellow; joyful, positive, and full of vigor. Arch felt blue; tranquil, secure, and trusting. Virdall was orange; courageous and confident, the leader of these three.
As his other sense faded, Anakin was still able to tell the differences between the clones. He was content for the moment to sit and watch Kit and the clones interact. They seemed a lot more at ease, more friendly than Rex had last night.
As the meal wound down, a group of seven clones walked to the head of the room. Everyone fell silent.
"There will be a first day orientation in the assembly hall in fifteen minutes," Cody said.
Anakin wasn't sure how he knew it was Cody, but he was certain. Just as he was certain that the more heavily muscled clone to Cody's left was Bacara.
"Our esteemed student body officers," Kit said. "Cody is the president. Bly, on Cody's left, is the vice president. Then there's Gree, Doom, Neyo, and Fox." Kit pointed out each officer as he named them. He rose to take his tray to the trash receptacle
"How do you know so much?" Anakin asked, following him.
"Like I said, I've been here a week already. There wasn't much to do but get to know people."
The mass of young men filed out of the dining room and Anakin followed them to the assembly hall. The clones all seemed to be lining up in some kind of order that Anakin wasn't privy to. He saw Rex at the head of one column.
"Anakin, Kit, over here."
Anakin looked and saw Obi-Wan waving to him. The professor gestured to where three other non-clone young men stood. Anakin and Kit hurried over.
"Anakin, Kit, I wanted to introduce you to Caleb, Cal, and Even," Obi-Wan said. "The headmaster got notice today that no other non-clones would be joining us this year, so it will just be the five of you. I'll leave you to get acquainted."
Obi-Wan bustled off, leaving the five young men glancing awkwardly at each other. Kit broke the silence quickly, introducing himself properly and encouraging the other to do so as well.
Caleb was from Coruscant and had brown hair and teal eyes. Anakin liked him. Cal muttered something about his homeworld with a flush on his cheeks, and no one asked him to repeat himself. He had red hair and green eyes, and seemed a bit shy.
Even . . . was off-putting. It wasn't the terrible scar on his face, or his short stature. He seemed to carry an air of his own self-importance and wasn't afraid to make it known to those around him. Not even Kit's cheerfulness was able to counter Even's sour disposition for long. Anakin was grateful when a line of men finally walked out onto the stage at the front of the assembly hall.
A hush fell over the assembled young men.
An older man with silvery hair and beard approached the podium. He wore black velvet robes trimmed with silver and red.
"Good morning, gentlemen," the man said in a deep smooth voice. "I am Headmaster Dooku."
"Good morning, headmaster," the everyone said in unison.
Anakin joined in belatedly.
"I welcome you all to another splendid year at the Corusca school," the headmaster continued. "I'd like to introduce you to some of our teaching staff. You'll meet the rest later as you attend classes." He held out a hand to indicate Obi-Wan. "This is Professor Kenobi. He will be teaching you about etiquette and diplomacy."
Obi-Wan bowed to the assembled young men.
"Hardly necessary in the middle of a war," Even muttered.
Caleb snickered.
The headmaster gestured to a dark-skinned, bald man next. "This is Blade Master Windu. He will train you in the art of fencing."
As the headmaster went through the other professors on the stage, Anakin soon tuned out the introductions. The range of classes seemed incredibly varied, from topics he agreed with Even that seemed better suited to peacetime, to definite wartime classes, like tactics and strategy. Why would the school bother with diplomacy at a battle school when there were diplomats and senators to handle such things?
"And now I will announce the squad assignments," Headmaster Dooku said.
Anakin's attention snapped back to the headmaster. Squads?
"Seniors first," Dooku continued. "Kit Fisto, you're assigned to Hammer Squad. Please come join your squad."
The headmaster indicated a row of five troopers, and Kit went to stand at the head of the group.
"Even Piell, you're assigned to Lightning Squad."
The squat Lannik young man with the big pointed ears and black topknot joined his new squad.
The headmaster turned his eyes on Anakin, and he didn't like the cool assessing gaze. "Junior students next. Anakin Skywalker, you're assigned to Domino Squad."
Anakin walked to the row of five clones and stood at the head of the column.
"Caleb Dume, you're assigned to Soot Squad."
"And now our sophomore," Dooku said. "Cal Kestis, you're assigned to Iron Squad."
Once Cal joined his squad the headmaster looked out at the assembled students. "Command, Nova, and Torrent Squads all have their leaders assigned already. Get to know your squads, gentlemen. They'll be your groups for most of the activities during the coming year. That is all. Troopers, get changed into your uniforms, and everyone, please head to your first classes."
Ahsoka had paid polite attention through the welcoming ceremony after breakfast, but she was eager to get to her first class; fencing. Her father had taught her some but with his busy schedule, he hadn't been able to spend as much time on the subject as she would have liked.
She changed into the fencing uniform in the locker room then hurried out to the gym. She wished Riyo or Padme were in the class with her, but both girls had claimed no interest in fencing. There was only one other girl in the fencing uniform in the gym when Ahsoka arrived. The girl had pasty white skin and had shaved her head bald. All the better to see the lavender tattoos on her head. She regarded Ahsoka with contemptuous silver-gray eyes.
"Are we the only two then?" the girl asked.
Ahsoka shook her head. "There were a few more still changing. My name's Ahsoka. What's yours."
The other girl didn't look like she was going to answer for a moment, but then she said, "Ventress."
"It's good to meet you."
Ventress folded her arms over her chest. "We'll see."
Eight more girls came out of the locker room over the next couple of minutes. Another Togruta, a Twi'lek, two Tholothians, two Mirialans, and two Mikkians. As the bell rang to start the class, a woman with tan skin and dark hair joined the group, a hoverrack filled with cylindrical objects trialed her.
"Ladies, I am Blade Master Billaba," the woman said. "I welcome you to the fencing class."
"Good morning, Master Billaba," the girls said in unison.
"Everyone, please come select a laser foil from the rack," Master Billaba said, indicating the hoverrack which had settled by her side.
The rack held an assortment of white and gold hilts. There didn't seem to be a blade, but that didn't bother Ahsoka. She had a feeling about the "laser foil". She chose a slightly longer hilt and gave it an experimental flip into the air, catching it easily. It felt good in her hand.
"Please do not—" Master Billaba started to say.
Ahsoka pressed the activation plate on her hilt and a white-yellow blade sprang from the blade emitter.
"—activate the foils," the Blade Master finished with a wry look at Ahsoka.
"Sorry, master," Ahsoka said with absolutely no remorse.
She deactivated the blade.
Laser foil. Ahsoka rolled her eyes. It was obviously a wannabe lightsaber.
As Master Billaba spoke about safety with the foils, Ahsoka pulled the hilt apart enough to view the crystal chamber. She sighed in disappointment. Not a kyber crystal.
Her father had allowed her to take apart his lightsaber—under his supervision of course—on her fourteenth birthday. He'd said she would be ready to build her own lightsaber soon, and he'd wanted her to get an idea of what a finished saber entailed. She'd been gathering components ever since. She'd hoped to build her lightsaber on her fifteenth birthday, but had yet to find her kyber crystal. No kyber, no lightsaber.
Master Billaba took them through beginning stances and drills. Ahsoka had been worried that she'd be bored in the class for a little bit, since her father had taught her some of the basics, but she'd been paired with Ventress, and it was clear she also knew something of sword fighting.
"It's clear we both have an idea of what we're doing," the Dathomirian said. "Why don't we up the stakes a bit?"
She lunged at Ahsoka with a quick one-two strike. Ahsoka blocked it easily, and felt a thrill of adrenaline. Ventress and Ahsoka traded blows, dancing across the mats as their laser foils hissed through the air and clashed together. Ahsoka was vaguely aware of the other girls watching the two of them. Master Billaba called something, but Ahsoka was too focused on Ventress.
The Dathomirian girl suddenly reached out with her off hand. Ahsoka felt a tug on her foil, nearly pulling it from her hand. She wasn't able to block Ventress' next attack and had to throw herself to the floor to avoid being hit. She lay there panting as Ventress held the tip of her foil inches from Ahsoka's throat.
"You were right," Ventress said with a sneer. "It was good to meet you."
"Ventress!" Master Billaba snapped.
Ventress lifted her humming blade away from Ahsoka and gave her a mocking salute, then deactivated her blade.
"Return your foil to the rack," Master Billaba said to Ventress. "Then go change. You're dismissed for the rest of the class. "You will report to detention tonight after your final class."
Ventress bowed to Master Billaba, but her smirk was still firmly in place. "As you wish, Master."
She turned on her heel and walked toward the locker room, casually tossing her foil hilt at the hoverrack. It landed neatly.
Ahsoka climbed to her feet and faced Master Billaba.
"Are you alright?" the blade master asked.
Ahsoka nodded.
"You've had training," Master Billaba said.
"My father is a general in the GAR. He made sure I could take care of myself."
Master Billaba frowned. "This class will probably be too easy for you. I will be holding an advanced class in the evening, and you're welcome to attend."
Ahsoka bowed. "Thank you, Master."
While the other girls worked on basic drills, under the watchful eye of an instructor droid, Ahsoka spent the remainder of the class going through the drills her father had taught her as Master Billaba watched. When the dismissal bell rang, Master Billaba placed a hand on Ahsoka's shoulder and smiled.
"You will definitely be better suited for the advanced class. I look forward to seeing your skills grow."
"As do I, Master."
Anakin's last class of the day was physical fitness. He'd worried it would be like the P.E. classes he'd had as a youngling; playing bolo-ball or learning basic tumbling or sitting through boring lectures about nutrition.
Nothing prepared him for the Corusca school's gym. There was the usual gym equipment along the boarders of the room—treadmills, free weights, and the like—and training rooms for small classes. But the majority of the gym was a simulation arena.
"The holoprojectors along with the mobility of the room's floor and walls can simulate almost any terrain," one of the instructors, a Siniteen male named Bric, said. "We can rerun old battles that the GAR has fought, and create new ones they might face in the future."
The second instructor, a green-skinned Arcona male named El'les stepped forward. "You'll use modified training blasters within the arena. They won't do any lasting damage, but you'll definitely know you've been hit."
Bric took the lead again. "You'll wear a special suit under your armor when doing battle training. The suit is fitted with sensors that coordinate with other sensors in the arena so that every injury you sustain from a blaster hit, explosion, or holoenemy will feel like the real thing. Kamino ain't got nothing on this range, boys. If you thought the simulations on Kamino were tough, you've got another thing coming." He shot them all a wicked grin. "But lucky for you, today we're only doing an obstacle course."
"You'll run the course in your squads," El'les said. "The two squads that make it through the fastest won't have to run it again tomorrow. Every member of the squad must cross the finish line, or the squad will be disqualified. Torrent, you're first."
Anakin watched Rex and five other clones take their place at the beginning of the course. Somehow it didn't surprise him that his roommate was captain of his own squad. His aura matched Virdall's from breakfast; courageous and confident, only orders of magnitude more so. Rex stood at the head of his squad, and when the go tone sounded, the blond clone was off like a shot, his squad mates not far behind.
"They're going to be hard to beat," Kit said.
Anakin hadn't heard him approach.
"I have the sinking feeling that I'm going to be the one holding my squad back," Anakin said. "They've been training for war since they were born—"
"Decanted," Kit said helpfully.
Anakin nodded. "I don't think I've run a mile since . . . I don't even remember when."
Kit laughed and clapped Anakin on the shoulder. "I guess all of us non-clones have a high standard to work ourselves up to, eh?"
Anakin nodded again, glum.
Torrent Squad finished in what Anakin was sure was record time.
"Iron Squad," Bric called.
Cal and his squad lined up, then took off at the go tone. Kit's Hammer Squad went next. And then Domino Squad was called. Anakin walked to the start line, gathering his squad as he went.
They'd had a few classes together during the day, so Anakin had the chance to learn their names, and try to get a feel for them with his other sense. Fives and Hevy were easy to identify with their tattoos. Cutup was always cracking jokes, and had a bright, energetic yellow aura. Echo's aura was a conservative, dependable beige. Droidbait's was a nervous, shy gray.
"I'll bring up the rear," Anakin said when they were all assembled. "I don't want to slow you down."
"I'm sure you'll do just fine, sir," Echo said.
"Thanks."
The go tone sounded. Hevy was off first, followed closely by Fives and Echo, then Cutup and Droidbait, with Anakin last. The first obstacle was a belly crawl beneath wires that hummed with electrical current, which was easy enough. Next came a set of hanging handles that dangled over what looked lava. Despite not wearing the special suits Bric had talked about, Anakin had no desire to lose his grip and fall. Next came a wall. Heavy and Fives stood at the base of the wall and helped the others over. Anakin and Echo reached down and caught Fives as he leapt for their outreached hands. Droidbait and Cutup pulled Hevy up and over.
Anakin's chest was heaving for breath, but he felt good. He'd somehow managed to stay with the squad, despite his misgivings. They climbed up a rope ladder, then crossed a wobbly plank bridge. To Anakin's surprise, he found himself at the head of the squad for the next obstacle; a rope climb of at least twenty feet to a platform. He leapt onto the rope and twisted the trailing end around one leg as he'd seen Rex, Kit, and some of the other clones do. His hands ached and his arms burned as he climbed.
Just keep going, he thought. Don't look down, don't look up, just climb.
Somehow, he reached the platform and hauled himself up. He rolled to one side, then lay on his back, gasping for air. How on Coruscant had he managed that climb?
"Gotta keep moving, sir," said Hevy as he pulled himself up onto the platform.
He offered a hand to Anakin, who accepted it gratefully, and pulled himself to his feet. They walked to the other side of the platform and started buckling on the harnesses attached to a zip line. Just as Anakin kicked off from the platform, a yell rang out. Anakin used his legs to spin himself around and saw Fives falling from the platform. He'd be seriously injured, or worse, if he fell all the way to the course floor.
Anakin didn't think. He just reached with his other sense . . . and caught Fives.
I didn't know I could do that, a part of him thought.
"Emergency repulsor field in effect," came a voice over the PA system.
Anakin landed hard on the mats at the end of the zipline, his concentration broken. Hevy landed beside him.
"What the kriff, Fives!" Hevy yelled.
Anakin staggered to his feet and felt a hand on his back steadying him. He looked up into Hevy's eyes.
"You alright?" the clone asked.
"Yeah," Anakin lied. He was suddenly exhausted. "That just startled me. I thought . . ."
"Didn't look good for Fives," Hevy said. "Should'a known they'd have a safety field in place."
Droidbait, Echo, and Cutup landed on the mats next to Anakin and Hevy, and they all rushed to Fives' side. Bric and El'les jogged over to where Domino Squad stood.
"You okay, trooper?" Bric asked brusquely.
"Fine," Fives said.
"You should report to medical," El'les said.
"I said I'm fine," Fives ground out.
Bric put a large hand on the clone's shoulder. "You disobeying my order, trooper?" the Siniteen asked in a dangerous tone.
Fives looked mutinous but said, "No, sir."
"Good. Go get changed and report to medical." Bric gave Fives a little shove as he released him. The Siniteen looked up at the other squads that were gathering around. "Domino Squad is disqualified. They'll run the course again tomorrow. Lightning Squad, you're up!"
Fives took a seat on the examination table and pulled a small crystal from his pocket. It had been clear when the Headmaster had given it to him a week ago. Now it was a deep blue. He rolled the crystal between his palms and considered tossing it in the medical waste receptacle on the wall. The chute lead straight to the incineration unit in the basement. He could tell the Headmaster he'd lost it.
"Is that the indicator crystal that Headmaster Dooku gave you?" Doctor Nala Se asked as she strode into the room.
Fives jumped guiltily. "Yes."
The tall, pale-skinned Kaminoan held out her hand. Reluctantly, Fives dropped the crystal into her palm.
"You performed well today, Fives," Doctor Nala Se said as she checked his vitals. "The Chancellor is very pleased."
Fives suppressed a shudder as she took his hands to examine his palms. "The Chancellor can go kark—"
"CT-5555." The Kaminoan's tone sent ice shooting through Fives' veins. "Is that any way to speak of the man who gave you life?"
"No, ma'am. Sorry, ma'am," Fives said through gritted teeth.
"Is Clone Protocol 29 still in effect, CT-5555?"
Fives' mind went gray and fuzzy, as it did whenever the protocol was mentioned. "Yes, ma'am."
"Repeat if for me." Nala Se applied some heal-all to his abraded palms.
Fives came to attention as best he could while seated. His mind blanked further, and it was as if a stranger were speaking through his mouth. "In the event that a suspected Force-sensitive natural born citizen of the Republic arises, all activated clone troopers will engage in reconnaissance to determine the power and training of the suspected threat. Clone troopers will only report their findings to the Supreme Chancellor and others as designated by the Supreme Chancellor. Doctor Nala Se and Headmaster Yan Dooku of the Corusca Young Gentlemen's School are the designated contacts for this assignment."
"Very good," Nala Se said.
Fives blinked and slumped, putting a hand to his head. A dull ache throbbed behind his eyes and he felt a little sick to his stomach.
The Kaminoan gripped his chin and forced him to look at her. "You were created for the Chancellor's war, and you live on his sufferance. Never forget that, CT-5555."
"Yes, ma'am. May I go now?"
The doctor released him and pulled a clear crystal from her lab coat pocket. "Keep this with you. We believe there are more Force-sensitives among the non-clones. Bring the crystal back to me, or to the Headmaster, if it changes color."
Fives took the crystal between two fingers and dropped it into a pocket. "Yes, ma'am."
"Now you may leave," Nala Se said, patting his cheek.
Fives slid off the table and double-timed it out of the medical wing. He wished to all the little gods that the Headmaster had never approached him for this assignment. He felt like he was betraying his squad, and today he had by deliberately failing the obstacle course.
He knew he was betraying the nat-borns. Fives hadn't expected to like them. But Skywalker seemed kind and Fisto was a caring, for all he hid it behind humor. Of all the nat-borns, only Piell seemed dislikeable.
"Fek it all," he muttered.
Fives wondered if the Headmaster would let him back out of this assignment. Somehow, he doubted it.