Joy

She. Was. Beautiful.

Made up of sleek lines, polished durasteel and the newest battletech, the Republic Star Destroyer Stalwart was a testament to the ingenuity of the GAR and Kuat Drive Yards.

And she was Gaff's and F Company's new home.

No, we're not F Company anymore, Gaff reminded himself as he walked through Stalwart's many corridors, familiarizing himself with this ship's particularities. While all Venator-class cruisers were built upon the same blueprints, each ship - like every clone - had its little markers of individuality and Gaff was determined to learn them all by the end of the day.

Gaff ran a gloved hand over a section of bulkhead with a distinctive scratch pattern in the paint - evidence of some careless trooper scraping a shoulder bell or pauldron against the bulkhead.

He was attempting to mold his features into the appropriately disapproving scowl - and he did make a mental note to alert maintenance to the bulkhead's marring - but a smile kept edging its way onto his lips.

Artificial gravity tugged at his body. His boots rang against solid durasteel deck plates. The almost inaudible sub-sonic hum of Stalwart's powerful engines made his inner ear slightly vibrate.

His latest meeting with Clone Marshal Commander O'sic only capped the joy that suffused him at being able to walk through a Republic battle cruiser, knowing that this cruiser, would be his and his company's new base of operations; their place in the war.

"Heard about that little stunt you pulled with the larty, back dirtside, Commander." Commander O'sic gazed at him steadily, his face professionally blank, but there was an undeniable glint of humor in his brown eyes. This was Gaff's third one-on-one meeting with the commander and he was beginning to suspect that O'sic had acquired a rather caustic sense of humor during the 18 months of his active service. "Swooping in on the civvies like that? Very clever. And effective it seems." He glanced down at the datapad in his hand, but Gaff had the feeling that the commander already knew its contents by heart. O'sic struck him as that kind of a leader.

"Thank you, sir. F Company did what it could to alleviate the crisis."

"Hmmm, yes, about that." Commander O'sic rapped his knuckles thoughtfully against the 'pad. "I can't really allow an entire company of clones running around with a moniker like that, while under my command. 'F Company' just has that….Kaminoan ring to it. And you're not on Kamino anymore, Commander." A tick started up in O'sic's scarred cheek, almost impercetible.

"I've noticed that, sir."

O'sic shot a sharp look at Gaff and for a moment, he wondered if his reply had been too glib. Then a wry smile touched O'sic's lips and Gaff relaxed.

"Good to hear, Commander. Now, I'm going to rename your company as…" The tick jumped again, more noticeably this time and Gaff wondered where the commander had picked up such a peculiar tell. "Elix Company. Yes, I think that will do quite nicely. Consider it tacit approval on my part for you and your men to come swooping down any time and do what's necessary to," the lips twisted into something caught between amusement and bitterness "'alleviate' whatever situation Blazer Corps happens to find itself in. I approve of 'alleviation', as does General Arhen."

Commander O'sic made the relevant notes on his datapad, then handed it over to Gaff. "Welcome to the 49th Blazer Corps, Commander. And see to it that Elix Company covers up some of that unseemly white on their armor before we ship out again. All that shiny white hurts my eyes."

Elix Company. Gaff rolled the name around in his mind. It was a good name and more importantly, one the company had earned, rather than been assigned by Kaminoan overseers. Names were meant to be earned; only then did they have any meaning.

"We're not shinies anymore," he murmured to himself, the smile turning into a grin as he realized he had a scratch on his gauntlet that matched the one on the bulkhead he'd been inspecting. Then, self-consciously, Gaff quickly looked about, inspecting the corridor to see if someone had observed Blazer Corps' newest company commander talking to himself and grinning like a fool at a scratch.

He was in the clear.

Gaff let out a relieved breath and before he was quite aware that it was happening, the smile was back in place.

He'd requisitioned paint in Blazer Corps' maroon color from Supplies and no doubt the paint had already been delivered to his quarters. Rank did, after all, have some privileges and Gaff had wanted to avoid the stampede. No doubt his men had already raided Supplies for every drop of maroon available. F - Elix Company, had been waiting a long time for the opportunity to deck out their armor in proper company colors.

Gaff glanced down the corridor, back in the direction of officer territory and his new quarters, a thought niggling at him. Absently, he ran a thumb over the edge of his bucket, clipped to his belt. His bare bucket.

Go back to his quarters and finally paint his armor or continue his inspection of the ship? He could study Stalwart's blueprints on his quarter's terminal and paint his armor as he did so, killing two gnatflies with one stone, so to speak. It would be more efficient and Commander O'sic had ordered all of Elix Company to paint their armor, whereas this inspection tour of his was more of a whim on Gaff's part.

To be able to cover up some of the white of his armor was a privilege a trooper waited for...But there was just something about seeing the entirety of his new home with his own eyes...

For what was probably the first time in his life, Gaff found himself not torn between two duties, but between two pleasures.

"Sir." Three troopers from engineering passed him by, saluting respectfully.

Gaff replied to their greeting with a nod, quickly schooling his face into a properly dignified expression.

"...so then the sergeant starts complaining about the waste disposal chutes on Deck C4..."

The conversation picked back up once the troopers thought themselves out of earshot.

"...can't believe the speed we're getting out of that new hyperdrive..."

Gaff tilted his head, his interest piqued. New hyperdrive?

He looked back in the direction the engineers had gone.

I should finish my inspection of the ship, he thought. Get the complete picture while the details are fresh in my mind.

And he could use the rest of the inspection to decide where to place Blazer Corps' flaming star motif on his armor.

He lightly tapped the back of his scratched gauntlet against the equally scratched bulkhead - feeling pleased and oddly whimsical - before retracing the engineers' steps back to the engine rooms.

A new hyperdrive had been installed in his equally new home and he wanted a good, long look at it.

The smile was working its way back onto his face.