Chapter Four.

The early morning sun pierced through the large window and rained warmth upon the luxurious office, the four occupants that occupied the sofas across the room enjoying the comfort it brought. Sitting in his usual chair was Rahn his right leg resting upon his left with his usual data pad in his lap. Sitting across from him were three armored clone troopers with their helmets resting on the table, their armor marked with the crimson colors of the Coruscant Guard. Rahn was slightly amused as this was an unusual situation, the last time the guard paid him a visit they were escorting Slick. After his meeting with many troopers who fought as infantrymen at the front, he felt it would be interesting to meet with the clones tasked with guarding the capital of the Republic and escorting political figures. The Zabrak couldn't deny this would be an interesting session as not only could he speak with the clones tasked with protecting the planet, but from what he saw in the report they all had an interesting experienced with the Grand Master of the Jedi Order himself.

"I guess I should start off with a proper congratulations on the promotions." Rahn started off, he smiled happily upon the three clones. Of the three the one leading the operation was Lieutenant Thire and upon completion, his team had ensured an alliance that would help the Republic war effort. Due to their part on the mission Thire had recommended both his troopers for promotions, thus both Jek and Rys were promoted to the rank of Corporal. The two troopers had faced some difficult odds on the mission and kept cool heads while facing a large enemy force with no hope of backup. This type of performance was something the Republic rewarded within their army.

"Appreciate it." Rys grinned proudly, "However it's the lieutenant who deserves a promotion."

Thire chuckled lightly, "I appreciate it corporal."

"From what I heard there's talk of you being bumped up to Captain." Rahn hinted, as the two corporals grinned at hearing this. The young officer smiled almost embarrassed by the rumors of his possible promotion, besides the most recent mission he had seen little action and yet leadership spoke about him as if he could be a future candidate for commander. Rahn chuckled as he could tell Thire was a humble leader, "I'm sure it'll get approved."

Thire nodded with a smile, "Commander Stone keeps on telling me the same thing."

"You deserve it Lieutenant, you're tough." Jek simply put it, as Rahn took note that the clone seemed to be a man of few words but great actions.

"Jek is right." Rys agreed, "Even while wounded you kept pushing forward."

Rahn smiled as he felt the three clones who sat before him were different than the clones he met in the past. He could tell they held themselves at a higher stand as members of the Coruscant Guard, but more importantly as members of the division's Diplomatic Escort Group. While not patrolling the streets of the capital these clones spent most of their time acting as bodyguards for senators and other members of the Republic. They were expected to act a certain way and puff their chest out at all times, on top of that their training ensured their skills matched the duty. Looking into their medical records he saw no hint of conflict or stress caused by combat, which interested the Zabrak. As far as he was aware of the cloning process was the same for all clones, but it seemed these members of the Coruscant Guard showed no hesitation or doubt in their service. Rahn was unsure if it was due to their training or maybe it was due to the nature of the work they were in. They weren't directly fighting in the war, but more so they were protecting the senators and Jedi who were trying to end the war. Rahn had scheduled this session for that exact reason, he wanted to know what set these troopers apart from your average infantryman. He was curious if it was simply a mental thing or if there were genetically different from other clones.

"I appreciate it, corporals." Thire responded proudly, turning his attention towards the Zabrak he noticed that he was carefully studying how the three interacted. Unsure if this was apart of his leadership testing if he was captain worthy or if it was a simple mental evaluation. Thire nodded firmly as he decided to go along with the process, knowing he was ready for the promotion and that his men didn't need mental evaluations. Fixing his posture he deepened his voice, "As you can tell my men are solid troopers. They show no sign of stress and preform their duty as guardsmen with pride, honestly I believe these two specifically are possibly the finest troopers in this army."

Rahn nodded smiling as it was rare to find an officer like Thire among his non-clone counterparts. Most military officers simply used their enlisted men as pawns for their political games, doing anything for a promotion and an opportunity for more power. It was the many reasons why he disliked being an officer, but being one allowed him this rare opportunity to help others. Waving his hand so the officer could be at ease he smiled, "This is in no way an evaluation of your mental states."

Thire raised an eyebrow out of curiosity, "Then what is this?"

"I spent most my time on Coruscant and yet I haven't been able to speak with any of the guardsmen." Rahn admitted, rubbing the back of his neck as he was slightly embarrassed. Sighing lightly as he saw the three clone become more relaxed upon hearing this he chuckled, "I requested to speak with you three for two reasons. One from what I've seen you're all excellent troopers and I noticed that you worked directly with Grand Master Yoda."

Rys rubbed his chin as he thought, "You're curious about what us Coruscant Guard clones are made of and what was our experience with the General?"

"Exactly!" Rahn rewarded the clone with praise, playfully clapping at his evaluation. Rys had the standard haircut that most clones kept, but running down the sides of his neck and ending at the back of his jawline was an interesting tattoo. From the report it seemed Master Yoda had spoken with the clone, advising the clone that he should focus less on the enemy, instead more on himself and the men around him.

Jek chuckled roughly, "The General is interesting."

"That's what I've heard." Rahn chuckled, as from what he had seen Jek was a clone of few words and preferred his blasters did most the talking. Jek preferred to keep his head cleanly shaved and had an unusual tattoo on the back of his neck, Rahn unfortunately was unable to get a proper look at it. Examining the trio for a moment the Zabrak decided to get a feeling of how the Jedi had changed them, "So how did Master Yoda effect you men as soldiers?"

Being the higher ranking Thire took the lead, "I feel as if he enlightened us in a way."

Rahn took interest in this, "Care to elaborate?"

"Well as members of the Diplomatic Escort Group we're always in the company of senators and nobles." Thire explained, "We're just numbers to most of them. As far as they're concerned we could be security droids and they would treat us the same. Some treat us with differently though, but as far as they're concerned our only duty is their protection and our lives are simply a factor in protecting them."

Rys jumped in, "Which they're not wrong of course."

"Correct." Thire agreed, "As escorts we are fully prepared to give our lives for the safety of political officials of the Republic."

"Jek do you agree?" Rahn asked, as he expected the hardheaded heavy weapons type trooper would have some words to share against this type of thought process.

"Of course." Jek nodded, "There's honor in service."

Rahn was slightly surprised as he expected a soldier like Jek would oppose such a thought, he imagined a soldier like Jek would share a similar personality to Hevy. As a leader Rahn expected Thire to be more of an individual thinker, which he was but the Zabrak nearly expected a level of open minded thinking like Slick or Coric who were both leaders. He was also taken back slightly by how quickly Rys jumped forward defending the senator's rather inappropriate treatment, he had pinned the well behaved troopers to be similar towards the likes of Fives or Echo. Rahn sat in silence for a moment as it wasn't often he was wrong with his assumptions, however not only did this prove that while the cloning process was the same for every clone it also proved that not ever clone were so similar. A smile developed on his face as he realized that members of the guard were still an unusual bunch, unlike their brothers who had no problem rolling their eyes and making snarky remarks towards their leadership. These three clones shared no hurt feelings towards the senators, a hardheaded trooper like Jek even saw honor in giving his life to save one of them. One might assume this behavior was almost droid like, but these clones also showed personality and proved they could grow as Master Yoda had an effect of them. Rahn made a mental note of this, how the clones within the guard were conditioned on a more professional level than front line troopers. It was rare for Rahn to be wrong, but in this case he welcomed the idea. The Zabrak enjoyed discovering such things as it led to many open doors.

Rys shifted in his seat, "Are you alright sir?'

"Of course, just taken back by how professional you men are." Rahn explained, as Thire smiled proudly at his men. Deciding to get back on topic he cleared his throat, "So you believe that Master Yoda might of helped you men become better soldiers?"

"He reminded us that while we might of been bred the same way, that we're just as human as any other person within the Republic." Thire explained, as even if they all shared the same face they were still individuals. That was something he tended to forget while being surrounded by senators of so many different species, dressed in such luxurious outfits to stand out.

Rys nodded in agreement, "He reminded me that sometimes I need to focus on myself instead of the enemy."

Jek chuckled roughly, "My mind can be a weapon apparently."

Rahn smiled as he could tell that Master Yoda had won the respect of these clones, "All three of you are very interesting."

"We appreciate that." Thire thanked him, it was true that they were trained to deal with politicians. However, the lieutenant couldn't deny it was nice to hear a compliment every once and a while.

Rahn decided to dig further, he knew every clone was born to serve but he wondered if these guardsmen had any deeper desire. Focusing on Rys first he folded his arms, "Do you men have any goals or aspirations?"

Rys was slightly surprised, "Like future plans?"

"Correct." Rahn nodded.

"Maybe make sergeant." Rys shrugged, unsure of how to answer. He was looking into himself more and more ever since his mission with Master Yoda, however this was one thing he never thought about.

Thire looked conflicted by the question, "Our future is with the Republic."

Rahn tilted his head curiously, "What if you could have a future outside of the Republic?"

"I guess." Thire paused for a moment, "I'd stay."

"No dreams of a simpler life?" Rahn asked, as he was starting to see how these three guardsmen might differ from a trooper like Slick.

"We were bred to serve." Jek interjected, "It might not be a luxurious life compared to the people we protected, but it's a life we understand. I'd give nothing up for all of this, fighting alongside men who are like me. Brothers who care for me as much as I care for them, I love blasting droids with my brothers and I love the time we spend together. I see these senators enjoy their fine meals and their colorful silks, but I'd take this life over that any day."

Rahn was surprised by the sudden outburst of emotion from the rather simple trooper, "Very well said Jek."

Thire looked proud, "Well said corporal."

"All clones are born the same way and some might wish for a better life." Rys explained as he looked out the window, "But us guardsmen we love the work we do."

Rahn nodded as he hadn't expected gathering so much information. While these clones were loyal to the Republic without a fault, they showed the ability to learn and grow. It was interesting how similar to front line clones they were, but how different they were at the same time. Exhaling loudly he realized how much time had passed, "Unfortunately we're out of time."

"It's a real shame." Thire exhaled as he got up, "I'm sure we'll see you again though."

Rahn nodded happily, "You men spend a lot of time around here after all."

Rys chuckled, "While not of escort duty we'll make sure to stop by."

"It was interesting." Jek simply stated, as the three clones left the officer leaving a rather surprised Zabrak who needed some time to look over his notes.