"So, this is his first training session correct?" Hawke asked as his hologram turned to the two who stood next to him, Jedi Master Shaak Ti and Clone Commander Ray.
Shaak Ti was a female togruta, and one of the several members of the Jedi Council. Her skill and knowledge alone was enough to have her chosen to oversee the clone training process.
And Commander Ray was the commander of the current section they were in. He wore Arc Trooper armor with the Kamino security design across the white of it. However, unlike most troopers under his command, he had several horizontal blue paint patterns across his forearms, legs and helmet, the pattern being inspired by his Jedi general's own natural skin pattern across her montrals and lekku.
He currently had his helmet off, revealing the face he shared with countless other brothers, the only unique feature to him being a small scar on his lower jaw.
"That'd be correct sir." Ray responded as he and Shaak Ti kept their gaze towards the pure white simulation room below their observation deck. Currently there was test going on, where Jack and a squad of four clones in simulation gear with a black shoulder pad to represent their team. "He managed to pass the academic portion of training, so he seems intelligent enough to plan. But there is a problem I noticed with him."
"And that is?" Hawke asked, getting a raised finger from Ray.
"Give it a second, you'll see soon."
"Blast!" Jack shouted as he ducked behind cover, holding a DC-15S blaster rifle. He had on the simulation armor with the number 5 on several parts including his colored shoulder, back and right chest.
The current simulation they were on was C-27-4HT, codenamed: Badlands. The simulation places the team in a wide-open area with little cover, each spread by several empty and very open paths. Across the whole large arena were two towers, both with three droid gunners on different levels. Add in the large droid force that accompanied the towers and that was a slaughter waiting to happen if you just ran in gung-ho.
"Kid! Move up!" CT 25-32-46 shouted the order to Jack, using his Z-6 rotary blaster canon to mow down the several droids that were in the starting area. The clone had a 1 on his armor, signaling his identification on the group.
"I'm not a kid!" Jack yelled as he stood and shot at the towers, missing and having to duck to avoid a shot to the head. "And are you crazy!? The moment I move into open area I'll be shot to pieces!"
"Ah just grow some thicker skin and move you brat!" CT 25-47-93 barked as he held his DC-15A rifle over his cover, attempting to hit several of the farther distanced droids with his better accuracy. The clone's armor number was 3.
"Rgh, fine!" Jack snarled as he moved up, keeping his head down to avoid getting shot. As he was about to reach the next set of cover, he was suddenly tackled to the side as a blast hit where he was going to be.
"Guys, you did not just use the kid as a distraction!" The clone that tackled Jack into cover shouted as he brought his DC-15S blaster up and fired at the droid formations.
"I'm not a kid." Jack muttered as he picked himself up and sat against the cover. "And thank you Tacs, you saved me there."
Tacs, the clone with the number 2 on his armor, nodded once and continued to fire. "No problem Jack, I got your back."
"Tacs, stop babying the kid and focus on the objective." The last clone, Stiches, said as he took cover behind a wall, holding his DC-15S as he kept behind the corner to avoid the blaster fire.
"Exactly, we have more important things to worry about! Like the objective!" CT 25-32-46 shouted as he kept moving forward, taking cover just ahead of the group, leaning from the side to fire the minigun at full speed, decimating the several droids at point blank.
"The kid's on our team, you can't just use him as bait!" Tacs yelled back as he moved up with Ct 25-32-46, moving his body to the side to avoid a blaster bolt.
CT 25-47-93 chuckled as he shot a droid in the faceplate. "Well he's sure as hell is good at it. You wouldn't believe how many I hit as he ran through the field like a headless chicken."
"Deadshot, what the hell!?" Jack yelled as he vaulted over his cover, moving up along with CT 25-32-46 and Tacs.
"What did I say? Don't call me that stupid name." Deadshot responded as he ducked under cover, avoiding several blaster bolts.
"Well I gotta call you by something." Jack said as he took cover. "And you're a good shot, so I thought it was a good idea to-"
"Kid, just shut up!" CT 25-32-46 snapped as he stopped firing, turning to Jack. "Stop acting like you're one of us! You've been like that for the whole month you've been here, and you clearly aren't! Why can't you just see you're not meant for this and-AGH!" Halfway through his vent, CT 25-32-46 was shot in the shoulder by a droid, knocking him down and stunning him.
"32!" Jack shouted as he ran into the blaster fire, running up to the downed clone and firing back at the droids.
"Jack no!"
"Blast! Cover the stupid kid!" Deadshot ordered as he began to fire at the droids aiming directly at Jack, who stumbled as he approached CT 25-32-46.
Once he was by him, Jack wrapped his arms under CT 25-32-46's armpits and dragged him, pulling him behind cover and safe from possibly getting hit again.
Hawke winced as he stared at the skeptical, seeing the problem clear as day. "They aren't working together at all."
"Yeah, and the problem is that all of them are to blame." Ray responded as he watched Stiches get hit in the chest, knocking him down and eliminating him. "CT 25-32-46 always rushes into a fight, and he never listens to the others in any situation. He's really hardheaded, and on the field that isn't good."
"CT 25-11-11, or Tacs as they call him, focuses too much on trying to get everyone to get along then focus on the objective. He sees problems at face level and it only makes things worse for the group in the end."
"Deadshot is a rogue." Shaak Ti spoke up, continuing on Ray's assessment. "He could care less of teamwork, something not often seen with clones, but not uncommon with snipers. Stiches also doesn't assess situations well, so call outs seem pointless to him."
"And Jack, the kid you recommended." Ray picked back up, cupping his chin as he saw Jack suddenly double his efforts, managing to hit a few droids at a good distance as Tacs was shot and eliminated. "He's far too emotional. He has trouble directly following the orders and chooses his allies over the objective. Not only that, but a good portion of his squad doesn't like him. Tacs is the only one who seems to have respect and worry for him while Stiches could care less, and Deadshot and CT 25-32-46 seem to despise him. Not very good team chemistry."
"I wish I could've stayed personally." Hawke groaned as he watched the botched attempt of a simulation. "But I only got permission to bring him, I had to be on the field the moment after he recovered."
"It wouldn't make a difference." Shaak Ti explained. "This team has a difficult challenge in accepting each other. You can't force a team with bad relations like this to get along. The clones felt irritated to learn their fifth failed in batch, and even worse when they learned a civilian would join their group."
"It sounds like I made things worse for the kid." Hawke said as he rubbed the back of his head.
"Eh, his attitude doesn't help him too much either." Ray responded as Jack's left shoulder got hit, the boy still standing and firing with his right arm. "He doesn't take well to everything the clones say about him, and that adds fuel to the fire even. And despite his clear skills he has, he's still really green in warfare tactics."
"I can't get any further in this position." Jack muttered as he leaned his back against his cover, ducking down to avoid the elevated blaster fire. "The limited cover and even the elevated turrets make this near impossible. What am I supposed to-" He was then interrupted as several shots missed around his head, pulling his attention towards Deadshot's position, seeing the clone getting his weapon knocked away and shot twice in the chest.
"Oh come on!" Jack shouted as he aimed and fired at the droids flanking him, barely missing due to the range and limited recoil handling with a single arm. Once the droids turned to him, he attempted to run to the side, but tripped halfway into his third step and out of cover. The enemy turrets wasted no time as they barraged his back, stunning him.
Almost as quickly as it started, the simulation ended with the sound of a buzzer. As the squad started to feel the stuns wear off and the cleaning crew came in, Hawke sighed and shook his head. "I have never seen a team fail such a simple assignment. They weren't even doing the Citadel simulation and they were wiped out in just over a minute."
"If they could put their differences aside, they could be an effective unit." Shaak Ti started as the squad started to walk off, all the clones seeming to keep a distance from Jack, who's head hanged down as he took his helmet off. "And Jack, even at 15 he can keep up with clones, if they could tell that then maybe they'd accept him more."
"16." Hawke spoke up, getting both the Jedi Master and Commander's attention. "You said he was 15, he's 16. I don't mean to be that guy but it is an important piece."
Both the Jedi and clone looked at each other before looking back at Hawke. "Sir, we checked everything about the kid before putting him in. The year he was born could suggest he's 16, and he may even believe it too, but from what his carbon data shows, he hasn't matured past 15 yet. He was likely born late into the year."
"He lied to me?" Hawke muttered as he looked down.
"No, he may actually believe he's 16, he hasn't said anything against it yet." Shaak Ti answered as Jack patted 99's shoulder, a disfigured clone, as he walked past him. "He more likely doesn't know the day he was born, something that we should inform him once he and his squad finally work together."
"…Yeah." Hawke agreed, knowing full well how bad it would look on Jack if he were actually a year younger than he thought he was. Or more specifically, how bad the clones' views on him would worsen. He then sighed as he shook his head. "I have to go now, please keep me updated Master Shaak Ti."
"Of course." The Jedi Master responded as Hawke's hologram disappeared, leaving the two to themselves. "Tell me Ray, what do you think Hawke sees in the boy?"
"Well, he isn't wrong about the kid's potential." Ray answered. "The kid has good aim, even with a DC-15S he's hit targets some clones can't at the time. He's also very mobile, his reaction time is quicker than you'd expect too. Sometimes though his body can't keep up with it or he slips up. Honestly, right now he's no better than the average soldier."
"And on the first day of simulations."
"And with armor that doesn't fit." Ray added. "I'll make sure he gets a real suit for tomorrow's simulations. Don't want him tripping over himself like he did today."
"Think that will change the outcome?"
"It certainly won't make him look like an idiot."
"Blast!" CT 25-32-46 shouted as he took his helmet off and threw it against his locker.
"Well, that could've gone better." Stiches said as he laid on one of the many sleeping platforms that were out, waiting for the clones to sleep in them.
"That's a way of putting it." Jack sighed as he started to take his gear off, starting with the colored shoulder pad.
"We have to start working together out there." Tacs said as he stopped on the ladder up to his platform. "We're dead in the water if we can't even get close to one of the towers. That's not even the hardest simulation we'll be tested on."
"I don't want to hear it from the guy who can't focus on the objective and get's shot while in cover." Deadshot said as he leaned his head over his platform, looking down at the group.
"Hey, give Tacs a break." Jack said as he finished taking his chest piece off and walked into the open, looking up at Deadshot. "At least he actually communicates with the team. I didn't know you were about to be eliminated until after several of your missed shots grazed my helmet."
"Yeah well maybe it would've done better if you just got hit by them."
"I don't see that logic." Stiches said with a raised eyebrow as he looked up to Deadshot, lying on his back.
"Of course YOU don't."
"Come on man, what's your problem?" Jack asked as he tried to understand the clone. "What's the problem with all of this?"
"The problem is that you're here." CT 25-32-46 said as he jabbed a finger on Jack's chest. "You shouldn't even be here, you're just a kid."
"I'm more than just a kid." Jack responded as he slapped 32-46's hand away. "And calling me the problem? That's a neat way of shifting the blame of today's mishaps on me."
"What does that mean?" 32 asked with a glare.
"You got unfocused and literally stopped fighting to yell at me in the middle of a simulation." Jack said. "You were the first one down because you decided yelling at a teammate was better than the fight at hand. You think I don't belong here, but I see someone who's had the lowest scores in his whole batch right in front of me."
The next thing Jack knew, he received a slug to his cheek as 32, had enough. As the clone was about to throw another punch however, Jack's body went on autopilot and he caught the next punch, delivering one of his own to the clone's gut. The two's slugfest went on, with the others yelling at them to stop.
"Guys stop!" Tacs ordered as he began to climb down the later.
"Seriously, you'll get us in trouble if you…" Stiches slowly trailed off as he saw who was approaching, looking nervous as he saw the increased pace. "We're so dead."
"Enough!" As the two were about to hit each other again, both found themselves getting their legs kicked out from under them by Ray and landing on the ground by their backs.
Everyone's eyes were wide as Ray stood rigid, his hands behind his back as he narrowed his eyes at the down two. "If you spent half as much time fighting the simulations as you did each other, you would be the best squad there is. Never before have I had the disgrace to see two members of a squad fight each other like this."
"I wonder why…" Deadshot muttered as he looked at jack.
"Drop that attitude CT 25-47-93!" Ray snapped, getting the clone to drop silent. "Who the squad is comprised of should not matter! When you head into battle, there is a fair chance you could fight alongside the locals. What will you do then, throw the same excuses out and refuse to work together?"
The commander then turned his attention to 32, who flinched under his gaze. "Jack was right about one thing though, it was because of your refusal to understand what's more important in a battle that ruined your team. You all had mistakes, but yours was a blunder that would kill more than just four other soldiers."
"But sir-"
"There is nothing else about it!" Ray shouted as he walked past the squad. "If you think you even have a chance of passing any of the simulations with skills like that, then you're in for a road that leads to a swift end. You're a team, so act like one."
As the clone commander left, the whole squad was left in silence. None of them were able to even consider what to say after the scolding from the commander. All they could do was continue with finishing up what they were doing and go to sleep, the platforms going into the wall to save space.
While the clones went to sleep one by one, Jack remained awake, looking up into the interior as he processed everything Ray was saying. He also wondered if he was really the reason the squad was being dragged down, like 32 and Deadshot really believe.
The thoughts plagued his mind till he couldn't take it and had the platform exit the wall. He then jumped off the platform and landed gently on the ground, barely making a sound as he started to walk down the halls. The sterile white of the facility had always bothered him, it hurt his eyes just being in the buildings.
Jack would continue to walk until he was by a hangar, walking past the shuttles and into the rain. His clothes were instantly soaked by Kamino's near constant downpour of rain. He sighed as he closed his eyes and let the cold calm his body. He couldn't explain it, but the cold always seemed to make him feel more at peace, more relaxed and collective.
"A good night for a stroll." Jack nearly slipped over at the voice of Shaak Ti, who was now next to him with her brown hood over her head.
"Oh man…" Jack panted as he looked down, seeing the raging waters that he almost fell in to. "Please don't do that again ma'am, I'm pretty sure I could've died three different ways because of that."
"I did not intend to surprise you." Shaak Ti responded as she looked into the clouded horizon, not even bothered by the rain.
"I… figured." Jack responded uneasily. He was wary of Jedi, not because he didn't like them, but to him they were the pinnacle of warriors. Just a Padawan could defeat just about any soldier on their own, and he's standing right next to a Master so recognized she's on the Jedi Council, filled with the most gifted and talented Jedi Masters.
"Something troubles you." Shaak Ti spoke, turning her head to him.
"What makes you say that?" Jack asked as he focused on the clouds above them.
"99 says you always come out here when something bothers you."
"Blast it 99." Jack mumbled as he closed his eyes. The disfigured clone had a heart of gold, he always knew when someone was bothered and usually helped the best he could. Some clones have passed and were grateful of 99's help with fixing problems the team had, but some see him as a failure. CT 25-32-46 being one of them.
Knowing the Jedi Master was going to make this a conversation, he decided to answer. "It's just… did I make the right choice?" Jack asked as he looked at the togrutan. "I mean, our first simulation and the whole team gets slaughtered like we're nothing. Every other team passed or came really close to, while we didn't even get to the second set of orders. And Deadshot and 32 think it's my fault, what if they're right?"
"And what if they're wrong?" Shaak Ti asked. "It was the first simulation, trouble will always occur."
"But it was flat out horrible. We can't even work together to get past the first objective."
"If a team fails, it is not because of a single individual." Shaak Ti said as she looked out. "Your whole team had their faults, not one of you are to take all the blame for this failure. Your team needs to understand their weaknesses and work on covering it with the others' strengths."
"And what if it is just me, and they would do just fine without me?"
"You are where you chose to be, you made the decision to come here. If you believe you shouldn't be here, then what keeps you from just leaving?"
Jack tightened his right hand into a fist as Shaak Ti finished speaking. "Because… I want to make a difference." He said as he looked at his fist. "I don't want to just sit around and wait for this war to be over, I want to help end it before too many lives are taken."
Shaak Ti smiled at Jack's answer. "Then you are not a problem. You are exactly where you belong, you just have to work things out with your team." Jack then flinched as the Jedi Master placed a hand on his shoulder. "You still have much to learn, but I believe you can become a great soldier. You just have to believe in yourself, and find trust in your squad."
Jack looked down as Shaak Ti removed her hand and stared to walk away. "Standing out in the rain isn't healthy, you'll catch a cold. I don't think your team will be happy if you get another handicap added on to you."
Jack looked back to Shaak Ti in mild surprise before smiling and looking back to the clouds. "I won't stay much longer, just need the reminder of what I feel ma'am."
"Just a reminder."
"Get down!" Jack shouted as he tackled Deadshot to the ground, raising his blaster up to take out the two droids that were approaching them.
The two then got back up and Deadshot went back to sniping, aiming for the droids at the towers at the front corners of the arena. Not a word was spoken between the two as Jack would provide cover for Tacs, Stiches and 32.
After the, scolding from Ray, the squad knew they'd have to improve in some way. And the best they could think of was keep 32-46 and Jack apart. Jack would be pushed back from the forward position with the heavy gunner and be placed back with Deadshot, both guarding Deadshot from being flanked and providing cover-fire for the rest.
The squad still was rough around the edges, but proved to have improved over the course of the month. Enough that they had started to work on the Citadel simulation.
The advancement in training was a little overwhelming for Jack, but he always managed to keep up with it. He knew they wouldn't have much time over a month to train, since clones are expected to be ready and out of the simulations as quick as possible. And he would be no exception in the assembly.
The stress of this being the final test didn't help, as he knew one slip up could ruin it for the whole team. So he focused on his part, kept the droids off of his team the best he could, and relied on the others to do their part.
"They look like they're doing well." Hawke said as he was now here in person. Along with Commander Ray and Shaak Ti, Anakin and his former master Obi Wan Kenobi were there. Even their clones, Captain Rex of the 501st and Commander Cody of the 212th were watching.
"A little restricted though, they seem tense." Rex commented, noticing how careful the squad was, which was too much for an active field team.
"They haven't passed the Citadel simulation yet." Ray responded. "They've come close once or twice, but never quite getting that final step to win."
"Tell me, the one shorter than the rest is this Jack correct?" Obi Wan asked.
"Yes Master Kenobi." Hawke answered. "He's the boy we found back then. He's shown a lot of potential since coming here, more then expected."
"And you want him, a child, to fight on the frontlines with us?"
"Ah, HE wants to Master." Hawke said, smiling at Obi Wan. "He volunteered, wanting to help end the war. He even was willing to go through this training to prove his mettle."
"Kid's got guts." Rex said as Jack ducked under a bolt, quickly recovering and blasting the droid in the faceplate. "Has pretty good aim too."
"How's his teamwork?" Cody asked.
"Ehhhh…" Ray and Hawke both went, unsure of what to say.
Shaak Ti gave a small chuckle before answering for the two. "He follows authority well, although he doesn't seem to care for ranking. He'll follow orders, but he'll find his own way to do so. Also, don't expect a commander, captain or general response from him right away. He's very informal at the start, but he'll learn authority after a few missions I'm sure."
"Sounds like a soldier perfect for you Anakin." Obi Wan commented, getting an eye roll from the Knight.
"Ha, ha, very funny."
"We're getting close!" 32 shouted as he continued firing. "Move up! Let's get this final push going!"
"Wait, we haven't cleared the droids out yet!" Jack responded, ducking behind cover as several bolts almost hit him. "You guys can't just move up, you'll get swarmed!"
"We can handle it! Stiches, Tacs, move!"
"Blast!" Jack cursed as he clenched his blaster, fighting against the urge to do something stupid.
"Uh oh, he's got the look." Ray said as the whole group looked at him.
"What look exactly?" Anakin asked.
"The "I'm going to do something really stupid to fix a mistake" look." Ray responded, getting an eye rise from the Jedi. "His squad leader, CT 25-32-46, has a habit of going head first into any situation. Jack has several times had to step in and do something to keep the squad from falling apart. It usually does in the end, but he's got a moment or two on him."
"Jack, I know that look." Deadshot spoke as he stopped firing. "Don't you dare go running out there like an idiot or…" The clone trailed off as he looked to his side, seeing the kid already gone. "Oh come on!"
"Don't blame me!" Jack yelled back as he started to make his way up to the rest of the squad. Every few steps he'd have to roll to the side, but his rush was working effectively, much better than the cautious and slow approaching sniper.
"Well, well." Rex spoke as he nodded. "Kid's got some moves. Haven't seen a recruit move like that in a long time. Let's see what the turrets think of this then."
As the captain finished speaking, the tower's turrets started to branch off from the advanced squad and started to fire at Jack, who rolled behind cover and stayed down as the right layer of guns kept him from advancing. "Blast." Jack spat as he kept his back against the cover, not even able to poke his head out to see the squad. As he was prepared to jump out and run, he looked to his left to see a destroyed droid, and idea flashing in his head. "This is either going to be really cool, or really painful."
He then holstered his gun on his lower back and grabbed the droid, feeling the weight of it. "What is he doing?" Cody questioned as he looked at the kid test ways he could hold the droid, an excited grin forming on his face.
"Here goes nothing!" Jack shouted as he ran out from the cover, holding the droid in front of him as he ran as fast as he could. He could feel the pounding the turrets were giving the droid, but knew it would hold since the rounds used were stun and not live.
"Kid? What are you doing!?" 32 demanded as he saw Jack advancing, unable to move up because of the turrets fire.
"Improvising!" Jack responded as he kept moving, not stopping despite to blasting power that hammered against the droid.
The clones all stared as they saw Jack get closer and closer, none able to think of a response to such a stupid and risky tactic. All except for one.
"Well, what are we waiting for!?" 32 spoke as he threw his minigun to the ground, picking up his own droid and taking off as Jack ran past him. "Grab a Clanker and get moving!"
Tacs was the first to follow through, holstering his weapon and running after them with his own cover, shortly followed by Stiches. Deadshot was the only one not to grab a droid, but instead started to approach the tower while shooting at the turrets, taking them down and lessening the onslaught.
"Kid, this is by far the only good idea you've ever had!" 32 grinned as he ran next to Jack.
The kid grinned back in response and picked up the pace. "Of course you'd see this as good. You're a really straightforward guy Blitz!"
"Blitz?"
"You always run ahead of us and rush things! It's perfect! Whadda say?"
"Get through this and maybe I'll accept you're simple minded name!"
"Then make way!"
"Well, this is certainly a first." Ray said as he smiled. "They actually agreed on a battle plan in the middle of a fight."
"Yeah, but that would never work on a real battle field." Cody commented. "Those droids would've been destroyed beyond use after only a few shots."
"Maybe, but this isn't a real battle field." Ray countered. "Work with what you got, not what you may have."
The squad was fast approaching, just mere meters away from the main tower as they kept pushing forward. As they started to run up the inclined plain close to the trench area just before the tower, disaster struck as Jack's leg was shot from behind. The sudden and unexpected pain stumbled the boy and he fell back, rolling down and just short of the turret's range.
The boy grunted as he attempted to get up, seeing several droids that jumped from the surrounding towers begin to approach him, aiming down their blasters in a mocking way. Jack then attempted to reach for his blaster, but was shocked when the three were shot down in an instant, two from the front and one from behind.
"Come on kid!" Deadshot shouted as he crouched next to Jack and put his right arm over his shoulders, helping him run up the incline. "We're so close and I refuse to let you screw up now!"
"Huh, that's an improvement." Ray commented. "If this were just a week ago, they would've just left him there."
"That doesn't sound very cooperative." Obi Wan responded, raising an eyebrow at the clone.
"Well, it was kinda hard for them to do that when Jack was the last one left standing. So there's a plus."
"That doesn't make it better."
"Alright, we're all here!" Deadshot called out as he set Jack down next to the wall, the whole squad just low enough to avoid the blaster fire.
"Good, everyone set up your cables." Tacs ordered, and to that they all went to their belts and set up the cables on their weapons.
"Wait, Blitz and I don't have weapons." Jack said as he looked around, his eyes widening as he saw Blitz holding his blaster.
"Deadshot, leave your weapon and climb up so that the kid can climb up it as well." Blitz ordered as he fired his cable and started to climb, shortly being followed by Stiches.
Tacs however remained, motioning his rifle up to the two as he turned to face their flanks. "I'll cover you two while you move up, go!"
"You heard the man!" Deadshot said as he fired his cable, hooking it at the top before he started to climb up the wire.
Jack grabbed the wire with both his hands before turning back to Tacs, who was firing at several of the remaining droids they missed. Jack took a glance at the droids distance, and ran a quick calculation in his head. "Tacs, move up! We'll be fine!"
"What!?"
"Are you crazy kid!?" Deadshot shouted as he turned down to jack.
"Trust me!" Jack called out as he started to climb up, relying on his arm strength alone to pull himself up.
Tacs seemed to weigh his options, but nodded once and turned, firing his cable up. Once locked in, he began to make his climb up, going quicker than both Jack and Deadshot. The two clones flinched when blaster bolts hit near them, while Jack remained unphased as he ascended up. As the three began to reach the top, blaster fire went across the flag as Stiches and Blitz provided cover fire.
"Get up here! We pass together or not at all!" Blitz called, moving to the side to avoid getting blasted.
The three then picked their pace up, Deadshot and Tacs reacting the top and pulling themselves up and moving to the flag. Jack was still lagging behind, getting close to the top. As he reached his hand to the ledge, his arm was shot, stunning him and causing his hold on the cable to slip. 'Blast! I left the safe zone!'
Jack had flipped over his back before he felt himself stop, dangling by his right foot as the battle continued to go on. He looked up to see that none other than Blitz had caught him, both his hands gripped around his ankle. "You. Will not! Drag us down kid!" With a shout, he pulled up with all his strength, brining Jack up and falling back as he did.
Once the two were up, Stiches ran over to the flag and with a grin picked it up. The red light then turned green and the three clones began to cheer, with jack and Blitz both on their backs looking at the ceiling.
"Why did you tell him to stop shooting?" Blitz asked.
"It's something I noticed during the past month." Jack answered. "The simulation droids have a certain range that no matter what, they won't hit the targets. We were at that perfectly up until the very top, where the range was where their enhanced aim activated."
"He could tell that?" Ray questioned, interested in the thought.
"How difficult is that?" Anakin asked, turning to the Commander.
"Even I didn't know about that. It was risky to just assume that, but managing it was ridiculous."
"Hmm, sounds like the perfect soldier for you." Obi Wan said, smirking at Anakin.
"Hey, he gets the job done, doesn't he? All he needs is a little bit of sharpening around the edges and he'll be good." Anakin responded. "Although it's gonna be a little annoying having a kid around."
"Well, that 'kid' just helped make sure a team of clones could pass their simulation." Rex commented, smirking as Blitz helped Jack up. "I think he'll fit in just fine."
"Well then, I'd get him and his squad ready." Obi Wan said as he and Anakin started to leave. "We'll have them set to come to Christophsis. Hopefully they'll be as good as they are now without parameters to keep them safe."
"Yes sir." Both Rex and Cody responded as they saluted.
Hawke however remained as the team was now cheering together. "You'll do great things Jack, and I can't wait to see you grow."
"Way to go boys!"
"We finally beat this thing!"
"And then the next step: Arc Troopers!"
While the clones of his squad cheered, Jack was just grinning away. He had finally done it, he managed to prove he's good enough for the frontlines. And he'll make sure that he and his team get the recognition they deserve.