Chapter Two.
"Sergeant Coric I'm glad you could make it." Rahn welcomed the veteran trooper, as the clone greeted the Zabrak with a firm handshake before taking a seat. His white armor was scorched from blaster fire and scarred from his time in the field, his helmet sat in his lap showing off his face. Coric had a completely shaved head and took the grooming standards very seriously as he didn't have a single hair on his face, running down his left eye was a scar which tended to draw attention. The clone shifted in his seat while trying to get comfortable, after spending so many weeks in the field and on board a star destroyer he found actual nice furniture hard to get comfortable on. Rahn watched as Coric finally got settled and offered the trooper some water with a wave of his hand, "I'm sure you're happy that the 501st Legion is taking some time off on Coruscant."
"I wish it was for other reasons." Coric admitted, "Although I'll be sure to get a few drinks at Bar 79."
Rahn nodded as he acknowledged the true reason of the unit's arrival, "You guys took a nasty beating at both Christophsis and Teth."
"Nasty is being gentle about it." Coric forced a rough laugh, "Torrent Company has only six members left including the Captain."
"Must of been rough considering your the company medic." Rahn stated, as he could tell Coric used humor and a deadpan tone to cover up his true feelings. Unlike Slick who showed his emotions within his eyes, Coric hid them behind a wall. Rahn assumed this was because the clone was uncomfortable with emotions or as a medic he felt it was his duty to be strong for the wounded, in the end it was his job to find out.
Coric nervously sipped the water, "Troopers fall in battle every day."
"Doesn't make it any easier." Rahn responded back quickly, he knew it would take a bit to tear down the sergeant's defenses.
"I do what I can, but I don't pick who the blasters hit." Coric explained, removing his helmet from his lap and placing in on the cushion beside him. Coris threw his hands at his side in a wide gesture, "I mean we were up against some crazy odds."
Rahn took note of this as Coric didn't have to add more to his short statement, "How so?"
"We had left one battle and were heading into another, so the men were exhausted. Next thing we know it we're scaling the side of a mountain! Once we capture the kriffing thing not only are we overwhelmed, but six of us are left and captured." Coric once again forced a laugh, as he threw his arms around creating a big show with his gestures. Exhaling loudly he shrugged and took a sip of his water, his eyes never left Rahn though.
"Six survivors." Rahn nodded slowly as he examined the report on his data pad, "Torrent Company is picking up a fresh batch of troopers today."
Coric groaned, "Yeah replacements straight out of training and a few other transfers from other units."
"You don't like replacements and transfers?" Rahn asked, as he noticed the tone in the sergeant's voice shift into a more annoyed pitch.
"Transfers aren't all bad, just gotta remind them they're not in their old unit." Coric explained, "But replacements are just so young."
Rahn took note of this, "Aren't majority of the active duty clones the same age if not only a few months apart."
"Young as far as experience goes." Coric corrected the Zabrak rather sternly, "They're so excited for a fight that most get themselves killed the first hour."
Rahn nodded as he watched the shift in the sergeant's gaze as it was the first time he looked away, "You don't like it when your brothers get injured?"
"Of course not." Coric exhaled loudly squeezing the bridge of his nose.
"Even the replacements." Rahn pushed forward.
Coric shook his head, "I see what you're getting at."
"Then let me get at it." Rahn responded back right away, "You can make all the jokes you want with your men but here you don't need to put up a wall."
Coric eyeballed his water as he moved it around, "The men depend on me as a sergeant and a medic."
"That's why you're here." Rahn explained, as he shifted forward so he could make direct eye contact with the clone. Nodding slowly he smiled, "Your Captain is worried about you and he needs you in tip top shape. You're his right hand man and the only way you can get the job done is if you let yourself heal."
Coric nodded slowly after a minute of silence, "The replacements might just barely be younger than me but they feel like my younger brothers."
Rahn smiled as he knew bringing up his duty to his captain would convince Coric to open up, "You feel the need to protect them."
"My job as a medic is to patch them up when they're hurt." Coric explained, his eyes wider than usual as his speech picked up slightly quicker. Gulping lowly he looked up from the ground and returned the gaze with the Zabrak, "But my job as a sergeant is to keep them from getting hit."
"Very conflicting sense of duties." Rahn admitted, as he was happy he finally found the source of the clone's pain. The doctor was surprised though how fast Coric opened up, he expected the clone to be more forceful with his wall separating him from his emotions. Yet, if the sergeant gave up this quickly than the pain he felt must of been very deep. Rahn crossed his legs as he sighed lowly, "Earlier you said you don't pick who the blasters hit."
"Not even Jedi can do that." Coric released a weak chuckle.
"Picking who gets hit isn't your job, so why worry about that." Rahn explained, as he could see a confused look take over the sergeant's face. Rahn leaned forward again placing his data pad on the table, "You're stressing over events you have no control of."
Coric looked to the side as he though about it, "I get that."
"Than why stress over it?" Rahn asked, trying to dive into the mind of the sergeant.
Coric growled out of frustration, "Because I hate not being in control of the lives of my brothers."
Rahn forced back a smile, "You hate the feeling that your brothers fall in combat and you can't prevent it."
"Yes." Coric shamefully admitted.
"You hate that replacements are so eager to rush into battle, but tend to die first." Rahn added on.
"Yes." Coric hissed.
"You hate that for every brother who dies you feel responsible." Rahn sighed, as he could see that was enough and he got the reaction he needed from the sergeant.
"Yes!" Coric shouted, his hands shaking as his breathing became heavy.
Rahn nodded as he placed his hand on the trooper's knee, the contact calming the trooper enough that he could control himself. The Zabrak smiled as he pulled his hand back, "Is this the first time you've admitted any of that?"
Coric nodded, "Of course."
"Feels good?" Rahn asked.
"Yeah." Coric smiled softly, "I feel comfortable here but with the men I gotta look strong."
Rahn smiled as he clasped his hands together, "No matter how strong you are everyone needs to release their emotions every once and a while."
"Even the Jedi?" Coric asked, grinning as he knew he was making a joke.
"They're an unusual case." Rahn chuckled, waving his hands in defense.
"So now what?" Coric chuckled loudly as he sat back, "Do you magically heal me now?"
"Unfortunately it's not that simple." Rahn admitted, chuckling softly as he was glad that Coric had returned to his usual style of humor after such a emotional break through.
Coric ran his hands over his shaved head, "Were you trying to piss me off on purpose?"
"Just a little bit." Rahn snickered, "I realized it was my best way to get you to open up. You had a wall blocking a wave of emotions and you don't seem like the type to hold a grudge, not a textbook psychology tactic but it works sometimes."
Coric nodded with a soft smile, "So now what?"
"It takes time to properly heal." Rahn admitted, "However you've opened up a lot."
Coric looked down for a second as he allowed himself to open up further, "I lost a good brother at Teth."
"Go on." Rahn encouraged the clone, he was expecting for Coric to end the session there but was surprised the clone was pushing forward.
"Sergeant Hez." Coric threw his head back as he stared up at the ceiling, "He was actually one of my batch brothers and a good friend."
Rahn nodded as he had studied clone lingo and understood what a batch brother was, "I'm very sorry."
"Hez was a good trooper, always taking point and rarely missing a shot." Coric smiled as he remembered their training days, "Before graduation he almost got washed back because another clone was talking down on our squad."
"What did Hez do?" Rahn asked, amused by the story as Coric sat up already laughing.
"Hez waited until the clone was on sentry duty on the outer pad." Coric laughed, using his fingers to act out the story. Rahn smiled as Coric dived deep into his emotions once again showing great progression, "The damn idiot jumped at that cocky clone and threw him into a headlock."
"Wow." Rahn chuckled, amused by Coric's usage of hand puppets.
"Scared that clone so badly he nearly pissed his training suit!" Coric laughed, slapping his knee as he almost fell over. Coric's laughter slowly died down, "He never messed with us again and he was so afraid of Hez he never reported him."
Rahn chuckled softly as he knew it was his job to dive further though, "How did he die?"
"Damn doc." Coric forced a chuckle, but replaced it with a heavy sigh as he knew it was a necessary question. Rubbing the top of his head he looked down at the ground, "Poor guy took a blaster to the chest by a spider droid."
"Must of been rough for you as a medic." Rahn sighed, as he could see the pain in Coric's eyes.
"Died right away." Coric admitted, "Tough as both a medic and a brother."
Rahn knew it was a cliche but he pulled it, "There was nothing you could of done."
"I know." Coric whimpered lowly, ever since that day he hated himself for not saving his brother. He wished he could go back in time and warn Hez about the droid. His mind shifted back towards that day, there was so much chaos and blaster fire he didn't even notice that Hez was exposed. Across the hall he was just a few feet from his brother, but it felt so far when that blaster canon went off and the lifeless body of his brother hit the ground. Coric had seen many of his brothers die, but the sound of Hez's body echoing throughout the hall even with all the blaster fire going off would always stick with him forever.
"I saw in the report that your leadership helped the six survivors stay alive." Rahn interrupted, as he could see the pain in Coric's eyes. Rahn motioned towards Coric to look up, "Your Captain said you were an essential part in the survival of Torrent Company."
Coric nodded, "Yeah the boys keep telling me that."
"Then maybe for once you should listen to them." Rahn stated sternly, "You did your job as both a sergeant and a medic perfectly."
Coric sat up weakly as for the first time he felt like he was ready to agree, "I did my best."
"That's all you can do while under fire." Rahn encouraged the clone.
"I feel better." Coric admitted, standing up proudly. They both knew he had a long road until recovery, but for the first time Coric could look himself in the mirror and be proud. It was his job to be true to himself and be strong for his men, especially the new replacements.
Rahn chuckled as he stood up, "Good."
"I should get back to the unit." Coric checked the time on his wrist gauntlet, "I should help Captain Rex greet the shinies."
"I'm glad you're ready." Rahn smiled happily, as the sergeant grabbed his helmet and made his way towards the door.
Looking over his shoulder Coric said one last thing before leaving, "If drinking with your patience is allowed the boys and I will be at Bar 79 tonight."