Chapter: 19 Blazer

"Those who rule and lecture through fear are not mentors. They are not leaders, but tyrants in the making."

Jedi trials and training! Across the galaxy, countless Jedi knights seek to better themselves through experience in an ever-changing universe. As the war escalates, Jedi Master Mattias and his Padawan Anna Dellian venture towards the Rishi Maze to continue her training. On Coruscant, Elsa Dellian seeks to better understand her dream alongside her master Yelena while Padawan Tori Vica embraces a darker side of the Force...

Everything Tori Vica had ever learned was about to be put on trial against her beliefs. The dojo was dimly lit as her master, Pong Krell, slowly stepped around her. The Pantoran bit her lip and clasped the hilt of her lightsaber. "Master," she whispered. "I think-"

"Do not think," he bellowed. "Feel."

But Jedi aren't supposed to feel, Tori thought. They are supposed to liberate themselves of such distractions. She listened to her master's heavy footsteps as he trudged across the dojo.

"Every action you've taken," Krell said. "Each word you've spewed has led you to these moments. Such will be true for the Corellian Cup and you must focus on all of your emotions behind it. What are you feeling?"

Tori had to fight the instinctual urge to suppress her emotions. "I'm...angry," she responded.

"Why?" Krell intoned.

"I feel stagnant," Tori answered. "Other Padawans are advancing while I remain lost."

"Specifically Anna," Krell interrupted. He noticed Tori's rising sneer at the mention of her name. "The Dellian girl has been a venom in your veins from the very beginning...hasn't she?"

Tori started grinding her teeth and wished Anna was between them. "She's despicable," she said. "Yet so many praise her for good deeds. She made my life, and the life of so many other non-humans a living hell!"

Tori's outburst brought a smirk to Krell's lips. "Good, apprentice. Humans like her think themselves superior when they are all the more inferior. Just look at the clones. The genetic template for the Grand Army of the Republic's mass produced army was a human bounty hunter. The scum of the earth continues to serve in all its righteous impunity." Krell strutted behind Tori and spoke into her ear. "Don't let the Senate's polished ideals of progression fool you. Humans will never view other races over themselves, plus none are more arrogant and entitled than the Aren people. The human's influence is everywhere Tori," Krell explained. "There's a reason both of our homeworlds speak more Galactic Basic than they do our native tongues. Even now we utter their language."

Tori thought back to how Anna treated her and Surk when they were younglings. Her past traumas meshed with Krell's dark words to brandish a grim reality before her. "Anna was always insensitive to those who were different," Tori said as she caressed one of her facial tattoos. "Our clan's mentor never seemed to punish her too harshly. At least not enough to make it all stop."

"Because this privilege and cruelty is institutionalized," Krell replied. "And where does that leave you? To scrounge for the leftovers while Anna gets everything she needs."

"It's not fair!" Tori shouted.

"It isn't!" Krell barked back with greater intensity. He sensed Tori's fear as she shuddered away. "You hate Anna and fear me. Now combine your emotions and turn them into weapons." Tori's eyes widened as Krell unclipped one of his collapsible lightsabers. When she thought it couldn't get any worse, his other two arms reached for the second blade. She gasped as he clutched both double-bladed lightsabers and flourished them like vibrant pinwheels. While dipping the green blade towards Tori's head, Krell continued to spin his blue weapon for intimidation. "Attack me," he demanded. "Pain will be your ally."

"Is this not the way of the Sith?" Tori worried.

"This is the way of victory," Krell proclaimed. "If you're not willing to see it, you will be stuck where you always are. You will never see the light of anything and people like this pathetic Anna will forever walk all over you." He raised two fingers and locked the dojo's doors. "Defend yourself or attack. Either way, you're trapped here."

Tori's first instinct was to scream as Krell swung his blades at her. She attempted a mild Force-push which barely shook the hulking Besalisk. Krell's deep, demonic laugh was horrifying as he frontflipped towards Tori. She rolled away from his attack as he impaled the floor. While spinning his blades, Krell sent sparks flying to keep Tori in a state of shock. She shrieked and collapsed into a corner. "I was wrong to offer you a chance," Krell snarled. "You are nothing more than a timid child, unfit for knighthood." He merely stomped and she flinched to shield her face. "Unfit for the lowest, most miserably insignificant tier in the Jedi Order!"

As tears swelled in her eyes, time seemed to freeze for Tori. All of her painful memories led back to her being cornered by her aggressive excuse for a master. Perhaps he could teach her something...or he was out of his mind. Amidst her rising heart rate and profuse sweating, Tori felt a pressure in her back. It crept up through her shoulders and elevated her neck. The sensation was euphoric, yet seemed so wrong. It was like something was trying to pick her up not through her pain...but with it. She felt an eerie pull calling her to reach for her lightsaber as Anna's condescending voice prodded her mind. As if Krell's lethal appearance wasn't haunting enough, Tori visualized a mocking Anna standing before her. It was like a sinister mirror reflecting everything Tori despised about herself. Each insecurity battered against her as she furiously grasped her saber. She ignited the weapon and smashed through the ethereal mirror before her.

With a wild scream, Tori swung her blade towards Krell. "Yes!" her master's voice thundered. She called upon her rage to batter against his sturdy defenses, but he easily countered them. Unlike most masters, Krell showed no remorse to even his apprentice. "Come at me with all of your fury! All of your hate!" he goaded as Tori went on the attack. With a mighty swing of his weapons, he knocked Tori's lightsaber out of her hands. She called it back to her with the Force, but Krell went a step further to sever the hilt in midair.

Tori's heart sank as she watched the weapon she'd constructed as a youngling...the very part of her she'd spent hours perfecting...get destroyed before her eyes. "No!" she yelled as the intricate, scorched pieces of her hilt rolled across the floor. She slid to her knees and only managed to save her kyber crystal as Krell scoffed.

"Our fight isn't over," he taunted. "Don't tell me you give up this easily."

"You monster!" Tori growled and spun with raised fists. Krell easily caught her arm while she punched away with the other. She punched at his stocky torso until her knuckles went numb. Every single thrust of her fist took her back to the painstaking effort she put into crafting her lightsaber. She squeezed the kyber crystal in her palm as if it could grant her strength, but she soon tired.

Krell shoved her away and smiled faintly. "You did well, apprentice." Tori raised bewildered brows as he continued. "You felt the pull and accepted it. It is one the Jedi are often too naive to utilize. Perhaps you are useful after all."

Tori stared mournfully at the crystal in her hand. "I didn't even best you. I don't understand."

"How could you possibly best me when I am stronger?" Krell asked. "I'm never going to let you win anything, apprentice. The same way you shouldn't. Victory is always the goal and you take it when you see it, no matter the opponent. This is the mentality that will get you to surpass your enemies."

Tori glared at the shattered remnants of her weapon. "But my lightsaber," she whispered. "You-"

"I did what I needed to do to achieve victory," Krell asserted. "It is not my fault if you could not guard against my means. You have potential to be the best and I will train you to do be such. Call upon this pull and entitled weaklings like this Dellian girl will quiver beneath you." Krell scoffed at the broken lightsaber and kicked the pommel to her like it was trash. "As for your weapon, clearly it wasn't strong enough. If you want to stand a chance, you must start over with a new one."

"And how do I that?" Tori asked.

Krell rolled his eyes. "If you're even the slightest bit of competent, you'll figure it out."

The Besalisk departed and left Tori to stare intently at the exposed kyber crystal in her palm.

For an overthinker like Elsa Dellian, tinkering was the only way to get her mind off the mystery at hand. Her fingers were covered in oily splotches as she clutched one of several tools. "Okay," she grunted. "Nothing is popping off this time." Elsa delicately fastened a panel into place and locked two bulbous photoreceptors onto a dome. "Alrighty, little fella. Welcome back!" Upon flipping a switch, her metal porg flapped its repaired wings. Cogs twisted within as its head as it examined the room. "Long time no see, right?" Elsa giggled as the porg droid waddled up to her. She couldn't resist hugging it as her creation was all the more confused. Suddenly, the droid began to panic in her arms and forced her to let go. "Okay...okay...you're safe." Elsa insisted. The porg wandered about until a cord tugged it back. The wire connected into Elsa's datapad as she examined her creation's schematics. "Well all of your levels are stable," she rejoiced. "Let's test your audio receptors." She snapped her fingers upwards and the droid followed the sound. She repeated the motion by the floor and the droid chased her hand. "Good work!" Elsa complimented.

The droid's peculiar bleating made Elsa snicker. She gasped as the the droid dove under her bed and retrieved a case of clothing. "Oh woah!" Elsa warned and pushed it back. "Bad droid! You can't be taking these...sir." A vibrant, purple sash fell from the case and Elsa reminisced about it. Ezzie, she thought. I hope she's okay out there. The droid waddled over to Elsa and tilted its curious head. "Oh Ezzie was just a really good friend of mine," Elsa told her creation. "I wish I could talk with her about the symbol from my vision. It could mean so many things. Perhaps the crest is a key to my family, or it foreshadows a cataclysmic event. Would you believe not a single holobook detailed that crest in the archives?" The droid chirped in response. "I know, right?" Elsa huffed. "Gosh, little guy. You're a really good listener." She pat the droid's head and shut him off for the moment. "Until next time...Sir...Porgen." The name she chose brought smile to her face, and was far more meaningful than some designated serial number.

There was a knock at Elsa's door and she was happy to hear from Yelena. "Master," she greeted. "It looks like the second time is they charm. My droid's diagnostics prove it's fully operational."

"That's wonderful," Yelena complimented without shared enthusiasm. "Elsa, our investigation into your dream will have to be put on hold."

Elsa's smile faded. "Why?" she asked. "What's going on?"

"We've been invited to attend a hearing in the Galactic Senate," Yelena explained. She extended a comforting hand as Elsa began to stress. "Don't worry. No seceding planets or raucous Avinarians this time. Master Chaki sent the invite. You see, he's trying to sway his Padawan to become a Consular like himself. He also sees a group get-together as an opportunity for you to learn more about the role as well. I agree with him that you'd make a brilliant Consular once you reach knighthood."

"But what about my dream?" Elsa asked. "We were so adamant about uncovering the mystery behind-"

"And that mystery will be there," Yelena reassured her. "But you can't leave your future behind for it."

What if this mystery is part of my future? Elsa thought.

Yelena still battled to keep Master Yoda's words out of her head, yet still he sowed doubts in her. If I can get her deeper into politics, Yelena told herself. Perhaps she'll forget about Aren when she's a knight. She has enough talent to be occupied with countless worlds right here in the Republic. Things just have to go smoothly.

"Okay," Elsa relented. "Let me just pack my things."

Thank the Force, Yelena thought behind her faint smile. Deep down, she despised herself for having such selfish thoughts. She loathed the anger she sometimes felt when simply looking at Elsa, but was able to perfectly conceal it. While she didn't want to admit it, Yelena was still shrouding her own pain and Elsa was suffering for it. She felt the guilty weight of Yoda's righteous conscience pressing down upon her.

"Padawan," Yelena spoke to free herself of her thoughts.

"Yes, master?" Elsa asked while prepping.

"Let's try and observe at this senate hearing more than anything else, okay? There's no need to cause any stir."

Elsa sighed deeply and asked, "Am I still her to you?" Yelena raised a confused brow until Elsa elaborated. "The Padawan who lost the Republic Avinaria?"

Yelena hesitated to answer but ultimately uttered, "Of course not."

Elsa pursed her lips as her gaze listed across the floor. "Alright," she answered glumly. As they departed down the hall, Yelena put her arm around Elsa. Despite this gesture, the Padawan felt even more alone.

Mattias found it awfully hard to concentrate with Anna's boots incessantly tapping away. He clenched the ship's controls to release tension, yet she still persisted. "How's that going for you?" he asked to break the silence.

"What can I say? I'm antsy," she answered. "You still won't tell me where we're headed. What if it's into a giant spaceworm's mouth?"

Mattias huffed. "It's not."

"Are we..." Anna thought for a moment as she reclined in her seat. She gazed into the indigo vortex of hyperspace and wondered what could await them. "-gonna fight Count Dooku?"

Her master cackled. "You wish!"

Anna laughed along with him and noticed he was still clasping the controls. "You know you're not steering while we're in hyperspace, right?"

Mattias sighed and gently released his grip. He rubbed his hands and leaned against the Jedi corvette's dashboard. "I know," he relented. "It just helps to still feel like I have control over something in my life."

"What do you mean?" Anna inquired.

Mattias reached for Anna's hand and she took his. "You are young and destined for so much," he said. "Despite the wonders of technology, age will still have an impact on any injuries you sustain. My back might never be the same, Anna. But that's not going to stop me from wanting better for you."

"For what it's worth," Anna said. "I think you're doing great so far, master." Mattias grinned as she continued. "Well since you won't tell me where we're going, how about we get some training done here in the ship?"

An alert chimed overhead to signal their emergence from lightspeed. "You're about to get plenty," Mattias said as their ship thundered out of the vortex. A dark world came into view as Anna gulped.

"You've got to be kriffing kidding me," she uttered. "Please tell me that's not all water I'm seeing."

"This is a water world." Mattias' brows raised as he braced for her response. "But I promise you won't be doing any swimming."

"I'd better not be!" Anna snapped. "After everything I told you about, master, I can't believe you thought it'd be a brilliant idea to take me to an oceanic world. If I so much as see a single shark I'll-"

"Padawan," Mattias intoned. "I promise you're not going for a swim."

Anna slowed her breathing and asked, "What planet is this anyway?"

"Kamino," Mattias replied as they descended through its atmosphere.

"Wait," Anna realized. "As in the home of the Republic's cloning facilities?"

Mattias relished in her eagerness and nodded. "Now you've got it," he said. "I'm setting us down in its capital, Tipoca City." Anna pressed her face against the viewport as their ship sliced through thick clouds. She observed the black sea below and glimpsed a series of platforms in the distance. As her nose flattened against the glass, a streak of lightning flashed dangerously close to the cockpit. Anna shrieked and fell back into her seat while Mattias laughed. "You'll find that Kamino's storms don't let up much," he said. "Climate change has had drastic effects on this planet. If you ever see an island on Kamino, odds are it's actually a submerged mountain peak."

Anna recognized the Republic's torrent starfighters as the same models used in the battle of Manaan. A pair of the fighters flanked their corvette to help guide it to a landing platform. "Shouldn't you call for clearance?" Anna asked.

"Nah, we're expected." Mattias replied. "Consider this a warm, Kaminoan welcome." He landed the ship amidst the downpour and extended the ramp towards a metal awning.

Anna collected her bag and slid into a bulky Jedi cloak for heat. As soon as the ramp lowered, both she and Mattias were met with a ferocious gust of wind. Chilled, sideways rain blasted across their faces and Anna shivered. "You call this a warm welcome?" she grumbled and looked ahead. A proud silhouette stood in the doorway awaiting their arrival. "Also, I'm pretty sure that's not a Kaminoan. Isn't that a Twi'lek because of the horns?"

Mattias rolled his eyes and halted their descent to correct her. "She is a Togruta and those are montrals...not horns." Anna trailed behind Mattias as they approached the calm and collected Togruta. As they came closer to the indoors, Anna noticed the ceremonial Jedi robes resting on the Togruta's shoulders. The Jedi's stoic, grey gaze narrowed on her guests. "Master Shaak Ti," Mattias greeted and bowed. "I am honored to see you again."

"Master Mattias," Ti replied and returned his bow. "I trust you had a pleasant journey." Her voice was silvery to the ears as she smiled. "This must be your Padawan."

"Anna Dellian," Anna and Mattias answered simultaneously and looked to each other awkwardly.

Shaak Ti wasn't the type to laugh aloud, and instead humored the duo with a subtle smirk. "Your heroism to find corruption at the Coruscant detainment facility was admirable. Come," she beckoned. "I'll give you a tour of the facility."

As she turned to open the sliding glass doors, lightning flashed across the platform. "Cause that's not ominous at all," Anna quipped.

"Just get inside," Mattias mumbled. He took a step and felt the soreness in his back tighten up. He winced and Anna rushed to his aid. "No no," he insisted. "I got it. Just have to let the cybernetic-" His back straightened as he sighed. "-work its wonders."

Anna hoped that the facility's pale, polished interior would at least have a heater equipped. Instead, the air conditioning seemed to be on full blast as she removed her dampened cloak. "I can take those for you," a toneless, yet soft voice uttered above Anna. She traced a looming, lanky shadow behind her as she looked up and gasped. A frail arm stretched towards her face and Anna instinctually used the cloak to protect it. "Thank you," the slender alien said as she snatched Anna and Mattias' cloaks.

"What the?" Anna gasped at her empty hands.

"She's a Kaminoan," Mattias whispered to his apprentice.

Her oblong head rested atop a thin, elongated neck. A pair of rotund black eyes glanced down at Anna, who was entranced by the alien's white pupils. "Welcome to Tipoca City, Master Jedi." the Kaminoan said. "I am Taun We, aide to Prime Minister Lama Su. I hope you enjoy your stay." Still fixated on the Kaminoan's luminous eyes, Anna watched as Taun We departed gracefully.

Anna snickered, "She called me Master Jedi."

"It's a customary greeting, Padawan." Mattias intoned. "Don't look too much into it."

"This way please," Shaak Ti called. "How are things back at the temple, Mattias? It's been far too long since I've been home."

"Oh you know," Mattias chuckled. "The next generation of knights is rising. Even more so now that the competition has been announced."

"Ah yes," Ti recalled. "The Corellian Cup. It will be a splendid opportunity for our galaxy to better understand the ways of the Jedi. You must be ecstatic, Anna." Ti and Mattias glanced over when the Padawan didn't answer.

Anna was too busy observing the different clone troopers passing by. Their identically stern faces gave off a sense of noble duty to the Republic. It took Anna a moment to realize that a squad of young children was also comprised of clones. One of the youths looked up at her with the same amount of curiosity as they passed each other by. She noticed a helmeted clone trooper guarding one of the doors and nearly squealed when he nodded to her. "This is so freaking cool," she said. Suddenly, a vibrant set of lights caught her attention and she rushed to one of the windows. She stared into a colossal chamber with rows of genetic tubes. "Are those...babies?" she asked.

"Hundreds of thousands of clones," Shaak Ti answered. "Through accelerated growth, they age at twice the rate of normal humans."

Mattias gingerly shut Anna's dropped jaw. "Master Shaak Ti oversees the production and training of clone troopers here," he said.

"The perks of being a master on the council, am I right?" Anna inquired.

Ti shook her head. "Rank doesn't always distinguish what one is deserving of," she said. "The council appointed me for this role because it was simply where I needed to be."

Anna considered her words and glowered. "Then where am I needed?" she asked.

"Right now?" Ti asked as her vambrace chimed. "We are all needed at the military complex."

Anna and Mattias followed Shaak Ti to a designated elevator. The lift navigated them across the city platforms until they reached a titanic compound. Blasterfire echoed across the complex's expansive, spacious interior as the Jedi ascended to an observation deck. "This is where clones hone all of their skills necessary for combat," Ti explained and pointed further across the room. "Down there we have our Citadel Challenge for infantry units, typically used in their graduations." The Togruta stood over the nearest balcony and observed a unique setup below. "It looks like we're just in time," she said.

"What've we got here?" Mattias asked as Anna anxiously leaned over his shoulder.

"This is where we test the Republic's future leaders," Ti said. "Officers, captains, commanders, and sergeants demonstrate powerful leadership in the heat of battle in order to achieve victory."

"Master Shaak Ti," a gruff alien called. He trudged over with arms crossed and scoffed. "You ready to watch a real mess?"

The only mess Anna could see was the man's bizarre features. As if his yellow eyes weren't daunting enough, his oversized head looked like an exposed brain. The thin, anvil-headed alien behind him seemed much calmer as he said, "We'll let the clone's actions speak for themselves, Bric."

"Typical El-Les," the brain-headed man grumbled. "So oblivious to a bad batcher."

"Need I remind you of the success of Domino Squad?" El-Les intoned and Bric glowered at the mention. "Echo and Fives are now ARC troopers in the 501st legion. If we had lost faith in their squad, we would've never-"

"I get it," Bric groaned.

"Mattias...Anna," Shaak Ti began. "These bounty hunters have been contracted to train clone cadets on multiple levels. They help me oversee the training programs here in Kamino."

Anna snickered. "I never would've imagined bounty hunters of all people would be training our respected boys in white."

Bric glared at her and sneered. "Kid," he snarled. "Do you even know who all those boys in white are replicated after?"

Anna proudly stepped forward while Mattias facepalmed behind her. "Obviously!" she retorted. "The Republic's finest warriors are cloned from..." Anna bit her lip. "Well...from-...Let's see, there's-" She tugged at her Padawan braid to think for a moment. "Okay, well it's not a Jedi. It isn't someone that-"

"Jango Fett," Shaak Ti answered. "One of the galaxy's most notorious bounty hunters." Whatever mildly welcoming demeanor the Togruta possessed had simmered. She stared Anna down as if her foolish bravado was an embarrassment to the Jedi. Anna's shoulders climbed as all of her muscles tightened. She soon felt like she'd dishonored herself, Mattias, and Ti.

Anna gulped. "I see," she said. "Well that's cool to have bounty hunters training bounty hunter clone...people...things." When no one answered, she immediately tried to change the conversation by throwing herself against the railing. "So! How about this training?"

Ti ignored the Padawan's comment and questioned one of the bounty hunters. "El-les," she asked. "Which clone is leading this exercise?"

"That would be prospective sergeant CT-2219. His comrades call him Blazer."

"I've often heard of clones earning nicknames," Mattias mentioned. "I wonder how he got that one."

Bric cackled much to Shaak Ti's dismay. "More like how didn't he?" the bounty hunter jeered. "The guy's a walking thermal detonator. He doesn't belong in a leadership role if he can't keep a squad in line. He wants to blaze right through, but that ain't war works. So when the rest of the situation ticks him off, he sets the rest of it ablaze. If you ask me, and this is me trying to be caring like El-les over here...I say we throw him into an infantry division with other meatheads."

"The session is about to begin," Ti announced and it was enough to stop Bric's rant. The group observed from the balcony as a gridded field illuminated before them. Unique, blocky obstacles dispensed from multiple surfaces while mindless battle droids marched into position. Contrary to the grim counterparts Anna had witnessed on Manaan, these droids were painted as grey as the grid. They tested their yellow training lasers before prepping for the incoming clones.

"Here we go," Mattias said.

"I should've brought snacks for this chaos," Bric murmured.

Anna watched as a group of clones clad in padded, training armor emerged from a gateway. The squad rushed for cover as heavy laserfire battered their position. From the very start, its leader was easily recognizable. It didn't take the scraped up number 1 on his chest to pinpoint him as he was the first to rise from cover. "Come on, boys!" he shouted. "We've gotta rush'em."

"There's no way, Blazer!" one the clones under him exclaimed. "The clankers have a heavy turret set up on our right!"

Blazer knelt beside his trooper and angrily shook him by the shoulder. "I'm well aware and will take care of that!" he growled. "All of you give me covering fire. I'll deal with this."

"But sarge," another clones suggested.

"That's an order!" Blazer snapped and vaulted from the bulkhead. "Gold Squad!" he commanded. "Fire!" While his troops blasted away, Blazer ran straight into the field of battle. Armed with nothing more than a blaster pistol, he furiously fired away at incoming droids to make his way to the turret.

"See what I'm saying?" Bric mentioned.

Shaak Ti shook her head. "This clone thinks he can accomplish victory singlehandedly," she said. "He betrays himself by thinking he's benefitting the group."

Anna was awestruck by the clone's valiant prowess. "Holy kriff," she whispered. "This guy's a beast."

"But unfortunately beasts don't win battles," Mattias lectured. "Leaders do."

Blazer scaled obstacles to reach the turret's position. He was nearly to it when one of his clones called, "Sir! We're getting overwhelmed over here!"

"Hold position," Blazer ordered. "I'll have this turret down momentarily."

"We can't take them all!" another clone panicked while blasting at super battle droids.

Blazer rolled his eyes and peered over at the situation. The droids had his squad surrounded and were bombarding their cover with laser barrages. "Must I do everything myself?" Blazer growled. He ascended to the tower, blasted the droid gunner down, and manned the turret. He directed the gun towards his squad's position and sprayed lasers over the surrounding droids. "Gold Squad," he sighed. "You're clear. Now get your sorry behinds out from cover and catch up."

"One of our men is down," a clone warned.

Blazer pointed to the other troops. "You two, carry our downed friend. I'll do all the shooting for you since the lot of you can't seem to hit anything anyway."

Anna chuckled at the sergeant's comment and was met with ill gazes. "Bric," Shaak Ti ordered. "Run simulation FP-13. This clone must learn that he is not the galaxy's salvation and that leadership is about unity."

Bric typed away at a computer as Anna grimaced. "Did they even finish this scenario?" the Padawan asked.

"The battlefield is often unpredictable," Ti defended. "And our enemy will rarely offer a fair fight."

The clones below were bewildered as their environment suddenly shifted. Out emerged a wave of acrobatic, more athletically built battle droids. "What the heck are those things?" Anna blurted.

"BX-series commando droids," El-les defined. "Highly intelligent and incredibly dangerous."

Anna bit her lip and pressed her chin against the railing. "Come on, beast." she willed. "You got this, man."

Blazer didn't waste a moment to fire upon the commando droids. His lasers struck against their chests while others frontflipped over his squad. While in mid-air, the droids fired stun-blasts into his men, leaving only one other clone. "Sir!" this clone advised. "We're outmatched from this position. We need to fall back with our wounded and formulate a plan from cover!"

"We retreat and all of our efforts to advance will have been in vain," Blazer answered sternly. "Stand your ground and fight!"

The clone merely shook his head as disgust filled his eyes. "You're insane, sir." he said.

Before the clone could abandon his sergeant, Blazer stunned him and caused Mattias to gasp. Blazer then picked up his downed comrade's rifle and fired it simultaneously with his pistol. He was hardly aiming while belligerently screaming at the encroaching commando droids. "Come on, you clankers!" he taunted. "None of you scare me! This is for the Republic! This is for-"

The simulation ended as the overhead lights came on and the droids deactivated. Cleaning droids emerged from lower hatches to begin sweeping the training course while medical droids were seeing to the incapacitated clones. Blazer stood amidst it all, hyperventilating as Shaak Ti and the others took an elevator down to his level.

"Just when I think you can't fail us anymore," Bric announced as they emerged from the lift. "You find another way to do it."

"I couldn't have failed you if you ended the simulation," Blazer retorted.

Bric had to be restrained by El-les as Shaak Ti stepped in. "Blazer," the Togruta said. "In your final moments, you claimed your actions were for the Republic. In reality, they were for yourself."

Blazer removed his helmet and sneered. The common face of a clone had been poisoned with a loathing scowl as he stepped towards her. "With all due respect, master Jedi, what's the difference between my heroic actions and yours?"

Ti tilted her head and squinted. "You tell me," she insisted.

Blazer huffed and paced about. "You Jedi and your cryptic sayings. You're out on the frontlines being generals and we shinies hear all about it. It's something we're supposed to get inspired about. You take all the credit swinging your lightsaber while we're the ones getting blown up all around you. So is this what happens when someone like me tries to be like you? We get decommissioned? We get told we're a failure?"

"You shot your own soldier when he refused to comply with you," El-les explained.

"I'm asking the Jedi," Blazer intoned.

Shaak Ti stared him down, but never once appeared fazed. Instead she calmly nodded and said, "You are a clone and I am a Jedi. On these levels, we are not equals. But as living beings, we are exactly the same. It is this value of life that I seek when I oversee future clone leaders. You are a brave warrior, but so are your men. You do not trust them and when they fail to achieve all you throw at them, you give up."

"I didn't give up on them," Blazer snapped. "I literally saved them. It's not my fault they can't keep up. Perhaps if I was given more capable, bolder troops-"

"They'd find new ways to disappoint you," Shaak Ti answered. "Until the change starts within you, there will be no progress. A leader grows with his unit instead of forcing them into his ways."

"My ways are why I was bred specifically to be a leader, are they not?" Blazer questioned.

"That's up for you to decide," Ti said and further flustered him.

"This clone's failed enough times," Bric said. "Not even our worst bad-batchers got this many attempts. We're wasting time with this grunt."

"Not just yet, Bric." Ti replied. "I have decided to give the sergeant one more try."

Bric was so fed up that he had to walk away. "I hope you'll give me competent clones for this retry you're planning," Blazer jeered.

"Your clones have always been exactly what you needed," Ti countered. "But it was you who failed them as a leader. This is why you will not be leading them alone this time."

Blazer's eyes widened as he grit his teeth. "I know the Jedi like to talk in riddles, but you'd better start making sense." he said.

"You must understand that you do not hold the answers to everything," Ti said. "Even after graduating, you will likely serve on the battlefield alongside multiple generals...Jedi generals. This being said, you will be co-leading your final test alongside this Padawan." She gestured to Anna, who nearly choked.

"What?" Both Anna and Blazer snapped.

"The Force brings unlikely beings together," Shaak Ti said.

"But now it's you who's done it," Blazer scoffed.

"Through the Force," Ti corrected. Anna looked to Mattias in bewilderment but he seemed to agree with Master Ti. "Both of you will report to the barracks as if you were part of the same unit. Orders will be relayed to you and a plan must be coordinated to undertake them. That will be all."

Blazer stormed off as Shaak Ti headed in the opposite direction. Anna reached for Mattias' sleeve and worriedly asked, "Was this part of the surprise you had for me?"

"It wasn't," her master answered. "At least, I didn't think it was."

"Master!" Anna intoned.

"I'll get this sorted out," he assured. "In the meantime, just show this guy what you're made of. Okay?"

Anna scoffed. "As if you have to tell me to do that."

As his Padawan departed, Mattias hobbled to catch up with Shaak Ti. He was still adjusting to the cybernetic nestled in his spine as it occasionally pulsed. "Master Ti," he called. "Was this your angle all along?"

The Togruta glanced over her shoulder. "When we spoke via holocom, you expressed concern over your recent surgery." she said. "You told me that you feared being unable to train Anna for the Corellian Cup and that it would lead to her resentment of you."

Mattias bit his lip and sighed. "Well...yes."

"Fear is an emotion we Jedi cannot give into," Ti advised. "I merely saw an opportunity for you to remain with your student while I alleviated you of your burden. This clone's stubbornness must be calmed by a rising Jedi. In turn, Anna will be trained beside him." Ti's eyes narrowed as Mattias chuckled. "Is there something comical about this plan?" she asked coldly.

"I appreciate the gesture," Mattias admitted. "Really I do. Only...you missed a crucial detail."

"And what is that, Master Mattias?" Ti inquired.

"Anna is just as stubborn if not worse than this Blazer fellow," Mattias explained. "Perhaps if you had assigned her sister, things would be different but..." He gulped. "You just paired an unstoppable force with an immovable object."