Chapter One: Into the Valley
They were not ready.
"Due to recent losses, an order by the Ruling Council, signed off by the Prime Minister, orders the advancement of your training and subsequent deployment of this company onto a naval cruiser to act as supplement for ground troops aboard said cruiser."
That was the first thought that went through CT-7602's head when the orders came in. Well, maybe not the first thought. That cruel honor belonged to the stilted "what?" that was echoed verbally by many of his brothers. So it was the second thought. Not as impactful but nonetheless just as significant. Rightfully so, all things considered.
The barracks were tense. An unease clouded the once excited room. Brothers all around him stood dead still as they processed the orders. In any other barracks, the orders might have been expected. Welcome even.
With the war being in full swing for the last two galactic standard months, it seemed that everyday new troopers were being shipped out. Given placements in the GAR all across the Republic Territories. Fighting the Separatists for footholds in the vast galaxy.
The reason for their unease however, was fairly clear. All one had to do was search the face of every clone in the room and compare them to the ARC trooper giving the orders. For the faces that sat frozen in confusion and disbelief were more youthful than the man standing before them. More youthful by a few years.
CT-7602's batch of clones were not a part of the first generations of clones. Being born two years after the first clones, he didn't think he'd be seeing war for a while still.
"All troopers will report to the Central Armory for gear distribution exactly one hour from now at 1500 hours standard time. After which you will report to your platoon leaders for assessment. Dismissed."
"Sir, yes Sir!"
The ARC trooper stalked out of the barracks without glancing back as the brothers around him started to come out of their stupor.
"Why are we being deployed?" "Are we really taking so many losses that they'd sent us out?""What is the Republic-"
"Come on."
A rough hand grabbed him by the shoulder, pulling him away from the mass of troopers. The hand, whose knuckles were crossed with prominent scars, belonged to one of his squadmates. CT-8842, better known as Sapper, led him towards the hallway.
"The others are waiting for us out in the hallway."
CT-7602 nodded and followed. They slipped their way through the crowd. Bumping into others as they crossed the room. It took them a bit to get out, but eventually the door slid shut behind them and the thundering of the room dampened. Three others waited along the walls. Their identical faces set in various different emotions.
"Found him," Sapper greeted the others, "Adika was hiding in the corner again."
Zero-two rolled his eyes, dishing out a punch to his brothers' shoulder in response, causing the others to chuckle. The levity however, didn't last very long. They settled into an uncomfortable silence. None of them knew what to say at that moment.
Zero-two himself didn't know what to think. He was just kind of numb to the whole situation.
"What are we going to do?" his squadmate asked. The one to his direct right. CT-7622. His eyes are a little wider with an uncertainty they pretend is not fear.
Zero-two looked at each of them before settling his gaze on the brother leaning against the wall. Squad leader Kon sighed when their eyes met. He took a breath before stepping away from the wall to stand with the rest of them. Catching the attention of his squadmates.
"We do what we have to." Dark eyes stared into each of their own. Holding promise and strength for them to feed off. "We have to, in order to survive this war."
"But we've only just started live fire drills," came from his last teammate. "We are not ready for deployment!"
"I know, Sev." Kon rubbed at his brow. Eyes closed in resignation. "I know. But it doesn't change the fact that circumstance has dealt us a bad hand. All we can do is make the best with what we can."
"Circumstance?" scoffed Sapper. "Is that what we are calling it?"
"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Kon. His eyes narrowed towards their squadmate.
Twenty-two stepped forward, hands waving to try to cut the tension. "He means that this is all a bit confusing, that's all. Like Sev said, we're not ready for a deployment. It kinda feels like we're being tossed into the war with little regard for our survival."
Kon went to reply, but was stopped by the door behind them sliding open. Brothers began filing out, headed towards the armory. Zero-two and his squadmates stood off to the side of the walls as two squads passed by.
"It's almost time." sighed Kon. They stood in silence once again. Trapped, for a moment, in place by the enormity of what's to come. They were being sent off to war and no amount of training could fully prepare them for the horrors they were sure to face.
"You've been silent this entire time Zero-two,' Kon turned towards him. Eyes narrowed once again as they searched for his own. "Anything you want to add?"
Zero-two shook his head slowly. Not knowing what to say that would be different from anything they all were thinking.
"Alright. then let's head on down to the armory." Kon ordered.
The walk down was over in a matter of minutes but felt like an eternity. Every step he took made his legs feel like they were made of durasteel. For some reason, he couldn't help but think he was walking towards his doom. And each step closer sealed his fate.
They passed others on the way down. The hallways of the Military Complex were always filled with clones moving about. With there being so many of them, it was impossible not to. This time however, it seemed everyone in Tipoca City was there. And everytime they passed by, their eyes were locked onto his squadmates' figures. Dark eyes watched them pass by, but nobody stopped them on the way.
Almost as if they knew they'd never see them again.
Like all things, the walk did eventually come to an end. The Armory was packed full with troopers dressed in fatigues. Already, they were beginning to arrange themselves into formation and standing at parade rest.
"Look. Some of our brothers are over there," Pointed Kon. "Let's line up with them."
He followed his squad as they made their way over to where some of Dugar company, their company, were standing at rest. Falling into a resting stance as they waited was an easy enough task. All around him older brothers kept arriving. Their faces confused as they caught sight of Dugar standing amongst them.
It soon became apparent that Dugar was the youngest company that was being sent off to war.
Maybe Sapper and Twenty-two were right.
It wasn't long before some officer showed up and began ordering troops about. The next hour went by in a whirlwind as they were geared up for war. Zero-two felt like he had blinked and suddenly he was completely encased in his new clone battle armor. Helmet snug as he stood in line once more for his own standard issue rifle and ammunition cartridges. The rifle felt heavy in his arms. Like a weight was thrust upon his slumping shoulders.
He was standing in formation, DC-15 blaster rifle resting against his shoulder, when his helmet comms beeped. A small icon in his HUD telling him it was his squad leader. He turned his head to his right, where another trooper in identical armor had his visor pointed in his direction.
"You in there Zero-two?"
"Yeah," he replied. "Sorry. I spaced out."
"Figured," chuckled Kon. Zero-two could see the small shakes of his white plastoid covered shoulders. "You've been staring at Sev's back for the last ten minutes."
Another voice crackled over the comms, "I wondered why I felt my doom approaching, did I upset you Adika?"
Two more voices joined in on the chuckles that brought. Zero-two simply shook his head in exasperation. They sure loved to pick on him. Just because he'd come out of the tube after all of them, they made it their life's duty to remind him he was the youngest between them.
He was about to reply when they were called to attention by some officer at the front of their column. Backs straightened and feet clicked harshly against each other. Thousands of eyes turned up towards the podium at the other end of the room. Upon which stood several figures, but most intriguing was the robed togruta who stood at the forefront of the group. Her bright striped montrals and orange skin stood out amongst the dull and dreary Kaminoan background.
General Ti was the only Jedi he had ever seen. With how young they were, they'd never actually been a part of one of her training sessions. Though, stories from older clones spoke highly of her character. He'd heard stories of several brothers wanting to be assigned to Kamino Security to keep working with her.
All was silent as the woman stepped forward. He couldn't see her eyes from his location so far from the podium, but for some reason it felt like she was looking at each and every one of them.
"You are no longer cadets." she began. "Today you become troopers. Soldiers of the Galactic Republic. And on your backs you carry the future, our future. This is a heavy burden to have forced upon you but I know you will be able to handle it. For it is my belief that you all will succeed where others cannot and will not. May the force be with you all."
She stepped from the podium and out of sight. A stilted silence swept over the standing soldiers. All waiting in anticipation for what came next.
"Was that it?" asked Twenty Two when the silence reigned for a minute longer. All around him, he could tell other brothers shared his confusion.
"That was kinda anticlimactic." Sapper deadpanned.
Someone snorted out a chuckle before their comms cut off abruptly. No doubt laughing at the not-so elegance of the Jedi. Zero-two sighed. Sometimes his brothers really were so immature.
"Don't be rude." Kon admonished. Trying to instill some respect in the heathens he was surrounded by. "She probably makes these speeches all the time. I'm sure it's just an off day."
"Like a protocol droid that lost its voice modulator and caused an incident maybe." quipped Sev.
"Insulted a Zabrak by asking her to polish her horns maybe." came Sapper.
"Slipping in some Hutt slime and being unable to stand maybe." fired Twenty-two.
"That's enough." Kon reprimanded. Zero-two got the feeling he was stifling his laughter. "You boys are better than that."
Silence fell over the comms. Zero-two stared up at the podium as several ARC commanders stalked off the platform and started walking amongst the various companies all around them. They were giving out orders to each company's platoon leaders. Giving out the duty posts of every brother there.
"At Least Zero-two has some manners." sighed Kon.
Zero-two blinked as three white figures around him turned their heads towards him. Their dark visors gazing into the depths of his very being. He felt an unknown sensation overtake him. An artillery barrage of emotion being rained now upon his poorly defensible position.
"Hey! Stop that." ordered Kon. "Zero-two no, don't give in. Stand fast brother. Don't stoop to their level."
"Come on Zero-two." Sev crooned. "You feel it inside."
"Yesss, partake in our frivolity." slithered Twenty-two. "Free yourself from the chains of oppression."
When silence overtook them for a few moments too long, all four of them looked over at their last teammate. The one who usually joins in on the mischief. Sapper's black visor stared through them. His back straighter than they'd ever seen it be before.
The reason for why became obvious by the figure in red painted ARC trooper armor walking through their ranks. The trooper's steps seemed to echo as he stalked down the line. His shoulders squared and head turning to inspect all of them. Zero-two didn't know how the man had gotten down to them so fast.
"I guess we're about to get our duty post." Kon commented softly. The words sank in quickly. They were about to go off to war. The fooling around had been a distraction.
"We're not ready." Zero-two whispered. Feeling the need to voice his opinion. Knowing they all partially felt the same.
"We'll be fine." Sapper tried to reassure them. Though his words sounded weak even to him. "We have all the same training as everyone here."
Sev scoffed harshly, "Not to the same degree. They took us out halfway through."
"It's still enough to help us fight." Sapper protested. "Blast it all, it's better than what the rest of the galaxy was given."
When said like that it was hard to protest against it. At the end of the day, they had more training than most. Their entire lives had been preparing them for this war. Even incomplete training was better than none at all.
"As long as we stick together, we'll be fine."
Zero-two heard a sigh come from Kon over comms. "Sap's right. We're going to be fine. Hopefully we'll get a posting with a good battalion and they'll look out for us. "
"Dugar company. You'll be supplementing the 212th and the 501st in their bid to liberate Christophsis alongside Galaar and Condor companies. Report to docking bay seven for transport. Good luck and fight well."
The ARC commander stalked away, leaving them in a momentary stupor. He hadn't even heard the commander show up. He didn't even announce his presence. Simply strolled up and gave them orders before disappearing with giving them a chance to protest. If they wanted to anyway. Not that the company would. Both those battalions were legends already, even though the war hadn't been in effect for very long.
"You just had to open your mouth Kon." groaned Twenty-two.
They also had fairly high casualty rates. Which wasn't great. At all. And, they were in battle all the blasted time.
"I was trying to boost the morale of you di'kute." Kon gritted out. "Don't know why I even tried."
Zero-two snorted. Chuckled really. It was a little humorous. Just a little. In a 'I'm in danger' kind of way.
"You heard him, men. March!" the platoon leader shouted.
From then on, time seemed to blur.
The march to the docking bay and the hour-long wait for the ship to arrive passed without much talking. Nobody knew what to say. How could you? They were being shipped off to war with incomplete training and expected to join a well known and elite fighting corps when they arrived.
Zero-two didn't have any illusions that they deserved such a posting. Dugar company would undoubtedly become a simple infantry troop. Meant to support the elite units when they needed more blasters and that was about it.
When the ship arrived, they were told to wait until supplies were loaded before they could board. Zero-two watched the supplies be loaded aptly. Keen on how much they needed for a resupply. Though, watching dull gray crates he couldn't see the insides of being loaded into a starship got rather boring after the first five minutes.
Eventually, they finished and allowed the men to go aboard. Of which consisted another march up the ramp and then standing at attention in the cargo bay once they were situated.
A handful of troopers stood before the three companies of new soldiers. All had burnt oranges markings painted on their armor. But only one of them was equipped with a command visor.
Zero-two nearly jumped when the floor beneath him began vibrating. Followed by a loud thunk as the bay doors started to close. Blue atmospheric shields sprung to life behind them.
Once the doors closed and the blue shields hummed softly, the clone in the visor stepped forward. "Welcome to the Negotiator. I'm Commander Cody and for the foreseeable future, I will be your commanding officer. I'm going to keep this brief, seeing as it's only your first day. And I'm sure you're all tired of standing around all day. So I'll give you your standing orders and then you will be dismissed to settle in for the trip."
Commander Cody raised a datapad before him and began reading from it.
"Condor, you will be ground support for the 212th. Waxer here will show you the barracks of which you'll be staying in."
The trooper to the Commander's left waved his arm at them.
"Galaar, Oddball here will show you to the pilots barracks and give you a debrief of the upcoming battle." He pointed to the clone on his other side. Who, like the last one, simply waved his hand for identification. There was a pause as Cody read from the datapad. Zero-two could feel his stomach roll with uncertainty. Both the other companies with them had gone to the 212th without trouble. So why was the Commander taking his time with Dugar?
The Commander looked up from his datapad and gave a look to the trooper next to him. They stared at each other in silence for a moment and Zero-two knew they had to be on a closed channel. Finally, after a few seconds the other man nodded and stepped forward.
"Alright Condor, you lot follow me."
As the men from Condor began to file out, following the orange trimmed trooper, Zero-two could see some of them giving Dugar subtle looks as they walked past. Though they were all wearing helmets, he couldn't help but feel that they weren't exactly encouraging looks.
After Condor had trickled out, next went Galarr. They too gave some looks towards them, but Zero-two did not spare them a second thought. He had too much to think about when the hangar emptied and they were the only company remaining and they hadn't even been spoken to yet.
"Take off your helmets." the order wasn't shouted. In fact it was barely even given in a regular speaking voice. Yet, they obeyed as if they'd been screamed at. Helmets were taken off in such a haste, he was sure some had scrapped off the hair on their heads.
Zero-two wondered what the Commander was thinking. The helmet the man wore concealed his emotions from them. He could only assume it was a disappointment. Disappointment at the sea of a hundred youthful faces that stared wide eyed up at him.
"I see," murmured Cody. His body held taut, Stiff as a corpse. The man didn't even seem to be breathing.
Zero-two fiddled with the edge of his helmet. Fingers tapping a rhythm against the armor. He glanced towards the brother next to him, Sev, who only shrugged in response. All they could do was stand there and wait.
"Two days from now we will regroup with the 501st over Christophsis. From there you will be put under the command of Captain Rex, who is the senior officer for the battalion. Until then, you are under my command and if you have any needs or concerns feel free to bring them up to any 212th officer and they will sort it out. Boil here, will show you to our guest barracks. Get some rest. It might be the last you get for a while."
And just like that they were dismissed. Another man in orange trimmed around stepped forward and waved them over. They followed him through the ship. Endless hallways packed full of working clones who didn't stop to give them a second glance.
Squad by squad they were grouped up and given separate rooms. Two squads to a room. Twenty bunks lined up along the walls.
After being shown their room, his squad were given the parting comment to 'look for Slick if you have a problem, he's just down the hall from you.' before the man was gone with the next group.
Cody stood stiffly, watching as the young troopers were led away by one of his men. His fists tightly clenched at his side. Brow furrowed as the hanger slowly emptied.
They were young. Almost too young. Many of them would stay that way.
What were the Kaminoans thinking? Sending out a bunch of unprepared soldiers to fight in the worst of the war? Did they really care so little about them that they'd send those young men to their deaths?
Yes.
Of course they would.
Even though the war had only been going strong for a few months, every day made it seem longer. Every battle added years onto the timer and he was starting to get tired. You could only watch your brothers show up bright eyed only to die in their first fire-fight so many times before the grief became stifling.
He turned to the last man standing next to him, an order to get some rest sliding out even as he walked away. His path set towards his quarters. He was not needed for the next few hours and he was going to get any rest he could. Before he could rest though, he needed to make a call. Hopefully his brother was still awake at this time of day.
Who was he kidding, of course he was.
"You were right."
"I figured as much." the holoprojection of Captain Rex replied. His features come through in various shades of blue. It doesn't diminish the impressive scowl that holds his face hostage. "I wish I wasn't."
Cody sighed, "Me too. What are you going to do with them?"
"Only thing I can do," Rex rubbed a hand against his brow. "Give them a place in the battalion."
"They aren't ready for that Rex and you know it." he protested. "If you take them in, most of them will die."
Cody knew he said the wrong thing the instant it came out. Judging by the look on Rex's face, he agreed.
"I didn't mean it like that," Cody rubbed his eyes. "I'm sorry vod."
"I know, you're right," Rex sighed, exhaustion seeping out of his bones. "They will die with me. But at least they'll have a chance. The Kaminoans must want them gone if they'd send them out here."
Cody sighed again. It seemed like that's all he'd been doing lately. He glanced around the darkened room. Taking in how spare and empty his room was. As a commanding officer, he was given his own private accommodations. But growing up on Kamino, he'd shared a space with dozens of brothers. There was rarely a moment of privacy. Now, he enjoyed almost endless silence.
He never thought he'd miss the noise.
"How long till you're out of hyperspace?"
"Half a day to the staging area." Rex grunted.
Cody knew that the man disliked space travel. Didn't like not having his feet on the ground and his fate left in his own hands. "Try not to win the war until we get there Rex."
Rex chuckled. The sound echoing throughout his spartan chambers. "I'll try but the vode are getting twitchy."
Cody joined in on the levity. Allowing himself a moment of respite from the burdens of command.
"I'll see you when we get there." Cody grinned. "Farewell, alor'ad."
"Ret'urcye mhi, Cody."
The room was cast into darkness when the holoprojector turned off. Spots of blue haze clouded his vision. He closed his eyes and sat back. Resting against the backrest of his chair.
He only had a few hours before he needed to get back to work. But for the moment he simply rested. Turning off his brain to the best of his ability.
He knew he wouldn't get the chance for quite a while.
When Zero-two woke the next morning, it was to the sound of a brother above him falling off his bunk. He blinked at the body of his brother pushing himself up onto his knees.
"Osik!" Twenty-two groaned from his spot on the floor.
Zero-two snorted. "You alright?"
"Yeah," Twenty-two crawled to his feet rubbing his side. "Forgot there weren't any side rails."
Zero-two swung his legs over the side of the bunk. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "Do you want to switch?"
Twenty-two smiled but shook his head. "Nah, it's fine. I'll get used to it."
He nodded and glanced around the room. Eyes taking in the mostly empty bunks. It seemed he was the last to wake.
They were bunked with another squad in their barracks. A group of clones from a different platoon that he didn't remember ever speaking with any of them. Only two of them were still in the room.
The only other trooper in the room was Sapper, who sat at the end of his bunk, his back to them. Laid out on his bunk were pieces of his blaster, and in his hands he was cleaning a long black cylinder.
After a quick stretch, he stood from his bunk and made his way toward the refresher. Passing Sapper, who only tilted his head in acknowledgment, and entering the small fresher at the far end of the room. He took his time going about his morning routine. Taking a moment to collect himself.
His life had just been turned on its head and tossed into the reactor. He felt too many emotions about his situation and needed some time to get them into order. It was only yesterday afternoon that he was going about his daily life as a cadet. Not expecting to see combat for quite a while. And now he's been thrust into the war with very little warning.
Resting his hands on the counter, he could feel the steady thrum of the ship under his fingertips. They were not ready. He knew that like he knew his blaster.
For some reason, they were purposely being sent out unprepared. And he didn't like any of the reasons he could come up with as to why.
Shaking his head, he cleaned up and exited the fresher. In the few minutes he was gone, the rest of his squadmates had shown back up. All of them sat around Sapper's bunk and were quietly conversing. The troopers from the other squad were nowhere to be seen.
"Join us Zero-two," Kon waved him over, He and the others dressed in their black bodysuits. "We got some stuff to talk about."
Zero-two nodded and made his way over, sitting on the other side of Kon and leaning back against him when he didn't see an open space next to him. Also, co-incidentally, allowing him to see the door that led into the hallway. As a result though, he couldn't actually see the faces of his brothers as they began to converse.
"Platoon leader Cordin gave us a quick brief when we crossed paths earlier." began Kon. Zero-two could feel his chest vibrate with every word. "Looks like we're going to be stuck in our barracks for the next day until we come out of hyperspace."
"Why?" came from Sapper. Zero-two could almost imagine the scowl he had on his face.
It was Sev who answered him with a shrug, "Said 212th command didn't want us to get in the way of their work."
That made sense. He guessed. Who would want another battalion's troopers disrupting their work flow. Zero-two knew he probably wouldn't.
"Good news is we can leave the barracks occasionally," Kon tried to reassure. "But only for trips to the mess hall and the flat range."
So in other words, they didn't want them around and didn't think two days of half isolation would make them stir crazy.
"At least we can get some shots in." Twenty-two piped up. Optimistic for the simple fact that he loved shooting.
"We don't all obsess over our range scores like you do, adika." Sapper groaned. The product of too many nights having to physically pull Twenty-two off the range.
"Speak for yourself," Sev growled playfully. "I'll beat his scores one of these days. Mark my words."
"You couldn't hit the broadside of a bantha." teased Twenty-two. "I know Zero-two shot some of your targets for you last time."
Zero-two smirked at the sound of a scandalized gasp that came from behind. He almost turned, just to see the dramatic face Sev was sure to be making. The shaking of Kon's shoulders was good enough.
"You accuse me of such treachery," Sev wailed. "I protest such baseless accusations."
"You handed him your blaster and hid behind him."
Laughter erupted between them. Zero-two himself let out a few chuckles too. He remembered what Twenty-two was talking about. Though it wasn't as simple as him taking a few shots for his teammate to get a better score. From his brother's perspective it was fairly humorous.
Not that he would enlighten them though.
"Anything to say for yourself Zero-two?" asked Kon, nudging his arm against his back.
He just shook his head. Using his position pointing away from them to hide the smirk that threatened to split into a wide grin.
"You ain't gonna get anything out of him Kon," crowed Sev. "The quiet don't spill blood sealed secrets."
Even across the little space between bunks, he still heard the whispered 'blood sealed?' that came from Sapper. Zero-two rolled his eyes. Leave it to Sev to say something stupid.
"The quiet huh?" Kon chuckled. He could feel the eyes of his squadmates staring into the back of his head. "Your Basic could use some work there Sev."
"I meant what I said." Sev protested.
"Of course you did Sev," teased Twenty-two. "But all your secrets will be revealed in due time."
Sev scoffed, "The second you pry those secrets out, you can claim your superiority. But, seeing as Zero-two holds information in tighter security than a Kaminoans' chastity, I doubt you'll get the chance."
He snorted, choking on his tongue. That was enough to break the sudden silence that had overcome the squad. Behind him, his brothers burst into riotous laughter. The bunk shook as they cackled. Kon leaned all the way back into his back.
He turned his head to gaze at his brothers. Taking in their joyous features, so he could commit them to memory. He didn't want to forget the moment. Committing to memory their free spirituous laughter. He never wanted to leave their bubble.
As they began to settle down, he turned away once again. Staring at the door when a light on the door panel changed color right before it slid open. In walked the members of the other squad sharing their barracks room. All of them were wearing armor. Helmets held in the crook of their arms so he could see their slightly youthful faces. The same as his.
The one at the front of their squad scanned the room before his eyes landed on them. Then he made his way over to Zero-two and his squadmates. The clone's own squad followed close behind. Boots clacked as they walked over to stand between the end of his brother's bunks. He had to turn his head just to see the men standing before them.
"Sorry for disappearing on you, we never got a chance to speak with you guys last night." the man said. The other four nodded behind him. "We're Squad Three of Third Platoon."
"Well," one of them chimed in, "half of it anyway."
The leader nodded in confirmation, "Anyway, just wanted to introduce ourselves seeing as we'll be sharing the space for the next day."
He fell backwards when Kon stood from the bunk. "Oof."
"I'm Kon, those two are Sapper and Sev." Kon waved towards the other bunk.
"Olarom." Sapper nodded.
Sev waved a finger in salute. "Yo."
Kon shook his head. "This is CT-7622, though we just call him Twenty-two for now. He's still looking for a name."
"Hello." Twenty-two greeted.
"And last but also certainly the least," Kon grunted from the punch to his side. He grimaced, rubbing the area. "Zero-two here, who is being violent today."
He just waved up at them, but didn't greet them verbally.
"Don't mind him," Sapper smirked. "He's just shy."
Zero-two rolled his eyes when the others chuckled at him. Sure, make fun of him for being so quiet. If he had a reason to speak up, he would. Until that time, however, he preferred to listen.
"I'm Mor." the leader stepped forward. Raising a hand for Kon to shake. "Well met."
Kon accepted the hand. Mor motioned to his left. A trooper with a small scar on his eyebrow waved at them. "This is Lister. He's our demo guy. Got something to explode and he'll take of it."
He then pointed to his other side where a trooper with short dark hair grinned at them. "Deecer. Anything and everything weapon related is stored in his head."
Finally, he pointed to the final two behind them, "These two are Tripper and Seer. They are our heavy gunner and splicer, respectively."
"Hey" "Nice to meet you." The two men were only differentiated by the cadence of their voices. Both wearing the standard cropped hair and dark eyes they all had.
Zero-two nodded to them all before sitting up. Allowing Kon to sit back down in his previous spot. His head tilted to the side in thought.
"You guys a specialized squad then?" Kon asked.
Mor nodded, "We just received our designations about a month before we deployed. How about you guys?"
It was Sapper who answered. "They sent us through an assessment two days ago. We were supposed to find out if we were going to start our flash training a week from now."
Kon sighed, "So I guess we're just a line squad for the foreseeable future."
"I don't envy you." Mor sighed. He waved at his team and they spread out. Two of the team went to a table in the middle of the room while the others sat on the bunks with Zero-two's squad. Sev jumping into the top bunk and Sapper scooting over to give Mor some space to sit. Which he did with a smile. One of the clones sat next to Zero-two, nodding his head in a greeting. Lister, if he remembered correctly. Which he did.
"We didn't know if we'd even get selected for specialized training." Mor admitted.
"Us either." said Kon. "None of our platoon were selected."
"Really?" asked Seer, half his body hanging off the top bunk next to Sev. "Our entire platoon was upped for training months before we were. Thought we'd never be selected."
Kon made a contemplating noise. Zero-two turned back to the door as Lister and Twenty-two entered in a quiet conversation. Feeling hungry all of a sudden. It was only morning. Still before noon and he hadn't eaten in over half a day.
Only half listening as the two squads spoke, he decided he needed to eat. Tapping Kon on the shoulder, he mouthed, 'food'.
The man nodded, before going back to his conversation.
He made his way over to his locker and opened it. His armor stashed inside. He began putting it on. Starting with the bodysuit and working his way up from his feet. It took him a good five minutes to get it all sorted. Unfamiliar with the armor he now wore. Though not too much, there were not many differences between the armor and the training gear they wore back on Kamino. But the noticeable ones were enough to give him a slight pause.
It was only his second time putting it on. The first time doing so unassisted.
After fiddling with one of his greaves, he reached inside his locker and grabbed out his helmet. Catching a glimpse of his reflection on the shiny surface.
That will give away his position one day, he just knew it.
Shaking his head, he flipped the helmet around before slipping it on. Once he heard the hiss of the pressured seal of his bodysuit, he knew he was ready. He closed his locker and made for the door. Nodding at Kon when he caught the man's eyes. He stepped out into the hallway and let the door slide close behind him.
Now alone, he began his journey to the mess hall to get some food. Hoping he wasn't too late for breakfast.
The endless halls of the Negotiator were filled with clones of all kinds moving around. It seemed everyone on the ship had a job to do. And none of them cared if you were in their way. Several times he'd slipped into nearby alcoves to protect himself from the stampede. Energy levels amongst the crew were higher than he'd ever seen before.
Nobody stopped him on his journey, and he soon found himself stepping into the mess. The tables were mostly empty. Only a few brothers scattered around the room. Getting his food was a quick affair.
One of the line cooks gave him a weird look when he grabbed a few extra ration bars, but otherwise didn't say anything. He picked an open table in one of the corners that let him see the door, and sat down to eat. Slipping the extra bars into his blaster cartridge pouch.
The food he had chosen was not all that appetizing looking, but he didn't care. He took off his helmet and dug in. Eating slowly to savor what limited taste he could. He glanced up when a side entrance slid open, but went back to his food when it was just a brother in naval fatigues that stepped through.
He was interrupted from his meal when a brother in orange-trimmed armor cleared his throat. Zero-two glanced up to see the man smiling down at him with a cup of caf resting in his hands. "Mind if I sit?"
He waved a hand towards the table. Inviting the clone to take a seat across from him.
"Thanks." the man sent him a grin. "Sitting alone is for the droids."
He just nodded. Accepting the clones' words at face value. In a way, he could understand the sentiment.
They sat in silence while they consumed their calories of choice. He didn't feel the need to make conversation and the other clone seemed fine with that.
It gave him some time to think. With how hectic the night before had been, he'd been able to ignore the feeling of unease that sat in the pit of his stomach. But now, sitting in silence as he ate. The worry returned.
Dugar company was not ready for war. Not as ready as the others they were shipped out with anyway. And with the snippets of conversation he heard earlier, it seemed that his company had the attention of someone with power. Why else would the training of his squad and that of Third squads' be so different? Whichever Kaminoan that they had caught the interest of was clearly using them as test subjects. And had been doing so for a long time now.
The clone across from him set his empty cup down with a sigh. He looked down at his own plate to see all the food gone. He didn't realize he'd eaten it all and was pushing around his cutlery. He glanced up when the clone, with a patch of hair under his bottom lip, stood from the table.
"Names Waxer," he grinned. "See you around Shiny."
Zero-two watched him leave. Racking his brain for why he would be called Shiny? The glint of his greave as he tidied up his tray sent realization through him.
His armor shines because it's new.
"Oh," he murmured. That was why. He shook his head and stood. Collecting his tray and carrying it over to a disposal unit. He dumped it before starting the walk back to the barracks.
The walk back was uneventful and within a few minutes he stepped into their barracks. Taking a moment to glance around the room. Everyone was there. His squad and all the guys from Third squad. Half of them sat around a table in the center of the room and were playing a game of some kind. Someone from Mor's squad was laying in their bunk. Kon, Mor and Sapper were still sitting in the same place as he left them in.
He walked over to his bunk and sat down. Only then noticing it wasn't a mess. Seeing as he'd completely forgotten about making it, someone must have done it for him while he was gone. He caught Sapper looking his way, eyes stern.
He nodded apologetically and reached into one of his pouches. Grabbing out a ration bar he knew the clone liked, he stood up and handed it to him. Then he walked over to where the others sat playing a game.
He stood behind Twenty-two and tapped the man on the shoulder. Handing him the rest of the ration bars from his pouch when he turned around.
"Thanks Zero-two." the clone grinned. "You're the best."
He rolled his eyes. Twenty-two woke up right before he did and didn't think to grab something to eat before the mess shut down until lunch. He was just looking out for his scatterbrained squadmates' health. It wouldn't do for the clone to operate any less efficiently as he already did.
He walked back over to his bunk and sat once again. Resting against the wall so he could see the entire room. He sat in silence. Simply listening to his brothers as they laughed and jeered each other.
Maybe he would check out the range later.
He never did get around to checking out the range.
Not for lack of trying, granted. The two times they'd tried to get in, they had been turned away due to an overflow of troopers from the 212th infantry having reserved the time periods for battle preparation.
Zero-two couldn't fault them for wanting to be ready for the upcoming battle. And no doubt the influx of new faces caused some issues for the veterans on board. He could only imagine what it would be like to be given responsibility for the flux of green troops with only a day and a half to get them integrated into pre-existing companies.
So no, he never got into the range. But that didn't bother him as much as he knew it did some of his brothers.
Sure, it would have been nice to get some shots down range. To get a feel for this new rifle he'd been assigned and learn the subtle intricacies that every rifle differs in. With the rapidly approaching deadline of his deployment, he had wanted to atleast get a chance to fire his rifle before being sent into battle.
Unable to get into the range, or do anything else onboard. The trip to Christophsis was spent mostly inside the barracks. Given downtime to do as they pleased and only having to report to their platoon leader every few hours to make sure nobody died.
Most of the clones in the barracks spent their time playing card games of various kinds. The cards were given to them by a deadpan naval officer who told them to 'try not to destroy anything while you wait, I know it's hard for grunts like yourselves.' before he left them to their own devices.
Zero-two himself didn't join in on the games. Not in the mood to lose to brothers who knew his every tell. He spent most of his time resting in his bunk or reading from a datapad Kon had acquired that had some data on the planet they were about to land on.
He took his time going through the data. Learning everything he could so as to not be caught completely unaware when something eventually went wrong. After a few hours of research, he came to the conclusion that any fighting would be done in the cities. It would be an uneven battlefield, with whoever held the best defensible position would have the advantage.
It wasn't until the next morning that their platoon leader, Lieutenant Cordin, finally showed up to brief them about their orders.
"At ease." the lieutenant dismissed when they all snapped to attention. "I'm just here to give you your orders for when we come out of hyperspace."
"Yes sir."
Zero-two leaned against his bunk as the lieutenant walked to the center of the room where he stopped and turned to a clone from Third Squad. "Sergeant Mor, have you been briefed by your platoon leader yet?"
The trooper shook his head, "No sir."
Lieutenant Cordin sighed as if he'd been expecting such an answer. "Last I saw, Lieutenant Hilt was stuck in the mess hall settling a dispute. Why don't your squad head down there and corner him for your brief. I'm sure your action plan will have differences from that of Second Platoon."
"Yes sir!" Mor snapped off a salute before turning to his squad. "You heard him boys, off we get."
Zero-two rolled his eyes at Third squad's enthusiastic replies as they exited the room. His eyes swiveled back to the officer in the center of the room. Taking in the clone's armored appearance. Armor as white as Kaminoan decor glinted under the harsh light above him. Cordin had bags under his eyes that spoke of a sleepless night.
The man set his helmet down on the table and raised the datapad in his other hand, that had gone unnoticed until then, up to read from. Tired eyes seemed to stare blankly at the screen in front of them.
"You alright there LT?" Kon hesitantly asked when the man didn't speak after a few moments of silence.
"Fine, Corporal." Cordin sighed. "Nothing to worry about."
"Yes sir."
"Alright," The Lieutenant looked back up at them. "I'll give you an overview and then we can get more into detail if we have to after that. Good?"
"Yes sir!" they chorused.
"The ship will exit hyperspace at 1200 hours standard time. Upon which, command will meet up with Jedi General Skywalker and a relief operation will commence roughly an hour afterwards. During which we will muster in barracks until phase two of the operation occurs, a space battle is to be initiated."
He felt a thump in his chest at the thought. He wondered what it must feel like to have all weapon systems be in use while aboard the ship. Then he decided he wouldn't like it at all. Not only would he feel every shot taken under his feet, but every hit they took as well. And they'd be trapped inside the Starship unable to do anything to protect themselves should the ship go down. Not a pleasant thought to have.
"After the last fighter leaves the hangar bay, we are to march down to the bay and board transports. From there we wait until the go ahead before we infil in Crystal City."
Urban fighting, just like he thought. Great.
"We will be attached to the 212th until Captain Rex can fold us into the 501st. Any questions?"
Kon raised his hand.
"Corporal?"
"Sir. What is our objective upon landing?"
He watched the Lieutenant's eyelid twitch slightly. As if he was annoyed at something Kon said.
"My apologies," the trooper glared down at his datapad once again. "Orders from command say we are to help reinforce the perimeter of the forward operating base once the 212th has the boundary set up. We are to bolster the landing zone so supplies can be brought down from the Negotiator. Speaking of supplies, each gunship will be half full with supply crates in order to cut down on the time of deployment. Your squad will be responsible for the unloading of your gunship's cargo once you touch down."
Kon nodded and stepped back, content with his answer. Only for Sapper to step forward to take his place. "Are we expecting hostile contact on landing?"
He felt the muscles in his back tense when the lieutenant froze. The trooper's eyes took on a jaded glint.
"At the moment we are unsure if the Separatists will confront us immediately upon landing," Cordin glanced around at all five of them. "However, Intelligence cautions vigilance at all times. Precedent says a firefight will occur within thirty minutes of the first landing."
"So, expect to be shot at when we land then?" Sev deadpanned.
He sighed through his nose and briefly closed his eyes. Trying to force his body to relax. His body felt tenser than a grapple cable in use.
"The chances are high, yes." Cordin agreed. Great. "But with luck, the droids will be too preoccupied with the perimeter defense to take any potshots at men exiting the gunships. So you should be able to unload your cargo relatively safely."
It was twenty-two who spoke up next, a stilted thrum in his voice. "Who do we report to after we unload?"
"Me, if you can find me." Cordin set down his datapad near his helmet. "If you can't, just report to any 212th Sergeant nearby and they'll tell you what to do. We are an extra force in the picture and Command hasn't really had time to give us our own objective. All we are, are extra blasters until Captain Rex folds us into his battalion."
Zero-two nodded alongside his brothers. Taking a moment to gather his thoughts.
"Any other questions?" Cordin asked.
Zero-two glanced around the room and noted the shaking heads. He took a breath before raising his hand.
"Trooper?"
"Sir," he began. "The datapad Kon received yesterday spoke of dwindling Republic presence already on the planet, are they to regroup with us when we land?"
He watched the officer's expression raise in surprise. Before understanding passed through as he nodded. "They will regroup, yes, but it won't be us that handles that. Our orders only cover the construction and defense of the FOB."
Zero-two nodded in acceptance. Stepping back and ignoring the looks his brothers were giving him.
"Alright, further orders will come about once we are settled on the planet. Stick close to any cover you can and stay vigilant. We didn't anticipate being deployed so early, but that doesn't mean we're incapable of holding our own. I expect you to do your best."
"Yes sir!"
Cordin grinned at their answering cry. "You've got four hours until we exit hyperspace. I apologize for the late briefing, but it's been a hectic two days. I recommend taking the time to triple-check your equipment. Now is your last chance to get anything extra you might need. Good luck, and fight well."
Zero-two watched the lieutenant grab his helmet and exit the barracks. It was silent for several moments after the clone left. It wasn't long however, until the silence was broken by a loud exhale from one of his brothers. He didn't know which one, and at the moment he couldn't care. A knot had formed in his chest. It felt like all his muscles were wound tight.
They were about to go to war. They weren't ready.
"Well that wasn't reassuring." Sapper grumbled from his bunk. The clone had slumped down onto his sheets when Cordin exited the room.
Zero-two took two quick steps towards his bunk and sat down heavily. Trying to ignore the shock of energy running through his shaking limbs. He lifted his hand in confusion, watching the small tremors that shook his fingers.
"It's not like we weren't expecting this." Kon tried to keep his tone confident but only seemed to come off as unsure. He couldn't blame him. Their entire lives have been upended and now they were being shipped off to war with less training than everyone else.
Not for the first time, He wondered if the Kaminoans had made a mistake.
He shook his head. Hands balled into fists to stop the tremors. Thoughts like that were treasonous. And frankly, not a line of thinking he wanted to delve into.
"Why are you so chipper?" He looked up to see Sev grumbling at Twenty-two, whose lips were twisted into a wide grin.
"I'm excited." Twenty-two admitted. "Nervous sure, but this is the moment we have all been waiting for is it not? All our lives leading up to this moment. We were born for this after all."
He sighed. Listening with only half an ear as the others groaned. He rose from his bunk and walked over to the locker filled with his gear. Deciding he'd take the Lieutenants advice and check his equipment. Make sure he had everything he needed.
He didn't know how long he sat there sorting through his stuff. Checking and re-checking his gear. It could have been minutes or an hour, but when he glanced back at his teammates they were in the middle of a heated argument.
"-m just saying that you guys are all depressing. Always worried about everything. You need to relax a little."
"How are we supposed to do that, Twenty-two?" Sapper growled. "We are about to go to war and you're all smiles as if we're headed to a training trip."
"Well someone has to be the chipper one!" Twenty-two rebuffed. "You guys are all doom and gloom. It gets on my nerves sometimes."
"Sorry, Ole'Chipper One. We can't all share your enthusiasm about being sent off to die."
It got quiet after that. Nobody was willing to speak up lest they add to the raging fire Sapper just dumped fuel on. It was only with the sound of Kon slamming his locker shut that broke the tension that was building.
"That's enough, both of you."
"He started it-" "Your the one who-"
"I said enough!" Kon barked. His Squad Leader Voice coming to the surface. "Now is not the time for this! Sapper you know better. Leave Twenty-two alone."
Kon turned to Twenty-two, who looked determined. "Twenty-two, read the room a little bit, yeah? We just need some time to get used to the new situation. And-"
"It's Chipper."
Kon paused mid-sentence. Eyebrows raising in confusion. Zero-two felt his own doing the same as he scanned Twenty-two's face for answers.
"What?" Kon asked.
"It's Chipper now." Twenty-two glared at Sapper. "My new name."
Zero-two shared a glance with Sev, who looked just as bewildered as he was sure to. He could only wonder how the rare argument between his brothers had somehow led to one of them gaining a name.
"Chipper." the clone nodded. "Okay."
"Okay."
Sev piped up, "Now that we're done arguing, can I get some help with my backpack? Chipper? I want someone to double check my list for me."
The newly-named Chipper, smiled widely as he bounced over to Sev. The two fell into quiet conversation. He glanced at the faces of his other brothers and nearly snorted. They both looked so dumbfounded. Jaws hanging open and eyes wide.
He shook his head and turned back to his own gear. Deeming them intact and ready, he grabbed his rifle and went back to his bunk to clean it one more time before they deployed.
The time seemed to pass far too quickly. As it had ever since that ARC Captain had stood before them and given them their orders. They sat around the barracks, twitchy, as they waited for the moment everything changed.
Zero-two opened his eyes at the sound of boots thudding on the floor to see Kon had taken to pacing to calm his nerves. He couldn't blame him. He too, felt a surge of energy in his limbs that threatened to phase through his bunk with how much they wanted to jitter.
He took a few deep breaths. Trying to calm his racing heart.
Sapper sat on his bunk, helmet on so they couldn't see his face. Dark visor followed Kon back and forth as the clone paced. He watched Kon for a few seconds before he reached for his own helmet. Fighting the grimace that he felt approaching. Deciding to follow Sapper's lead, he put on his helmet.
Only then did his face twitch. Taking on some of the worry he felt in his bones. Maybe his brother had the right idea. Hiding away inside his bucket. Covering his weakness.
Sure, he knew they wouldn't fault him for being afraid. He was sure they all were. To a certain degree anyway. It was only natural that he would be afraid of going into battle. Fear was the response to the dangerous unknown.
He closed his eyes once again. The problem was that he did not want to be afraid. Didn't want to shake like a youngling. He wanted-no, needed to be strong. For his squad. For the people of Christophsis. Even for the Republic. But mostly, he needed to be strong for himself.
If he couldn't be strong for himself, then he couldn't be strong for anyone else.
He opened his eyes and scanned the room. Kon was still pacing, but no one else seemed to have moved. Sev and Chipper sat at the table with some of Third Squad, engaged in soft conversation. The others sat near the door, going over last minute gear checks.
He didn't know why Cordin had sent them away earlier. Though he had made it sound like the other squad would have its own objective upon landing. It made sense that they would, being an actual specialized squad. He guessed that would make them qualified for more than glorified guard duty.
It was almost peaceful as they waited. Of course, their silence was contributed by the nerves and uncertainty. But He could not remember the last time their lives had been almost quiet.
Like all silence however, something always shatters it.
Alarm claxons wailed. Jolting him to his feet. He saw the others doing the same. That was their que.
"Time to go, boys!" Mor ordered.
Helmets were shoved on and gear was picked up. They got into an orderly line near the door. The Sergeant made his way down the line, checking their gear and patting shoulders as he passed. Doing a headcount.
"Alright," Mor started. "We march down to the hangar bay and join our platoons. This might be the last time we see each other for a bit."
"Yes sir!"
From there, they followed Mor down to the hangar bay. The troop of men joined others from their company on the way down. It was all rather orderly in its chaos.
Before Zero-two knew, they entered the bay. Third squad broke off to join their platoon, and the rest of his team followed Kon into the sea of white bodies. They found Cordin near the wall on the edge of the bay. He nodded at them when they joined his formation.
Zero-two didn't really know anyone else from his platoon to distinguish them from one another. He wasn't exactly the social type and nobody else seemed to take exception to it.
Nobody said anything as they waited to be loaded on a gunship. Watching silently as troopers from the 212th went ahead of them. Though, it didn't take long for the company to dwindle. They loaded a full squad of men, ten, into each gunship. Not having to worry about cargo taking up space.
Zero-two guessed they didn't want to leave themselves vulnerable when they landed.
He didn't get much time to ponder it, as suddenly Lieutenant Cordin raised his fist. Signals flashing through gloved fingers, and then.
They were moving.
A stampede of boots thudding against the durasteel floor. He felt his breath quicken. This was it. He was going off to battle.
They halted in front of several gunships. Cordin pointed different groups of men towards different gunships. Most of second platoon was boarded on a ship when finally, Cordin pointed Kon towards a ship to their right.
Seconds later they were crammed in next to several large crates of cargo, and the blast doors slid shut. Plunging the cabin into darkness. Before anyone could speak, a dull red light turned on above their heads. Bathing them in a harsh red slow.
The LAAT/i gunship had a distinct hum to its engines, he mused when he felt the ship take off. Passing through the ray shields made his skin tingle, but he had no time to contemplate the feeling as his comm beeped.
"Ugh, whose dumb idea was it to fly with unsecured cargo?" He turned to see Sev pushing a crate away with his off hand.
"The Jedi General's." Kon deadpanned.
"Skywalker?" Chipper questioned. A curious tilt to his helmet.
Kon shook his head, "No, General Kenobi."
"Oh. I se-"
Chipper was cut off when an explosion rocked the ship, causing them to grab for the handles above. Zero-two clenched his teeth. Gripping his rifle in a fist.
"Space battle must still be taking place." Sapper mused.
"Hey Pilot, how long till we land?" Kon was near a panel near the wall connected to the cockpit. A light blinked when he took his finger off a button.
"ETA, One minute out." came the monotone reply.
"Thanks." Kon turned back to them. "Okay. Sev, Sapper, holster your weapons to their mag-locks on your packs. You two will help me with the first bit of cargo."
"Copy." Their movements were quick, but awkward due to the tight space.
"Chipper, Zero-two, you guys will be first out. Provide cover while we unload."
"Yes sir!" came Chipper's reply. Zero-two only nodded his head when Kon turned to look at him.
He and Chipper stepped up to the blast doors. Taking a moment to check their rifles before standing to wait.
"Ten seconds out."
His breath caught in his throat. This was it then. There was no going back now.
The light turned green and the doors flew open. His feet hit the dirt. Everything was blue, so very blue. Weapon raised to his shoulder. Safety flicked off. Eyes scanning his surroundings. White bodies greeted him.
A gloved hand formed in the shape of a knife pointed at him, and then the area nearby.
He nodded, taking a deep breath. He turned back towards the ship, Chipper doing the same. Slipping his rifle to his back, where the mag-locks took hold with a dull thrum. They were safe. For now. They could help unload the cargo.
All around them brothers moved about. Ships coming and going, dropping off troops and gear. He didn't hear any blaster-fire at the moment.
"LZ is clear for now Kon." he informed his squad leader. Getting only a nod in return.
He stepped up beside Sev and grabbed a hold of a crate the clone was struggling with. Taking half the burden.
"Thought you were going to shoot that brother for a moment there Zero-two." Sev teased after they set down the crate nearby.
He rolled his eyes, allowing the moment of levity to loosen his nerves.
"Did you roll your eyes at me?" Sev growled playfully. Bouncing a fist off Zero-two's shoulder plate. He smirked, shaking his head. "You did! You can't be quiet all the time Zero-two, they're bound to think you're deficient."
Zero-two sighed, moving out of Sapper's way. His brother didn't want any help with his crate. He stopped near the gunship, forcing his eyes to take in all the buildings around them. It looked like they had landed inside an old military depot on the edge of the town. The buildings seemed worn down but not unsalvageable.
He turned to his squad leader, "I thought we were landing inside the city?"
"So did I." Kon admitted. His shoulders shrugged a little. "Guess they thought better of landing in a hot zone."
It only took a few minutes to get the rest of the cargo off the gunship. Zero-two didn't stop to watch it leave. Eyes busy scanning the horizon.
"Come on," Kon beckoned. "Let's find the Lieutenant and report in."
He nodded and followed. Falling into the rear position of a diamond formation. They made their way through the camp.
"Any of you have an idea as to where Cordin would be?" Kon asked. "If he's not with command?"
"The perimeter maybe?" Chipper wondered. "He did say we were just extra blasters for now. Maybe they'd put us on defense until the Captain retrieves us?"
"Good thinking Chipper." praised Kon. "We can check there if we can't find him elsewhere."
"Thank you, sir."
"None of that now." Kon waved him off. "I'm not an Officer, Chip. You know that."
"Sorry." Zero-two shook his head. Chipper was more nervous than he let on apparently. "Chip?"
"Yeah, it's shorthand." Kon turned his head to the side. "Don't like it?"
"No, no. It's fine. I kinda like it."
"Me too." piped up Sev. "Chip, Chip. Chipper."
Chipper gave Sev a shove, hissing at his chuckling teammate. "Don't wear it out, I just got it."
"You guys Dugar?"
A clone in orange trimmed armor stood before them. Having cut them off on their trek to find Cordin. They pulled up short, lest they run into him.
"Yes sir. We're looking for Lieutenant Cordin. He's our platoon leader." Kon offered, switching back to external comms. "He told us to find him when we landed."
The trooper nodded, motioning for them to follow him. "He's on the perimeter. Asked me to look out for his guys. Said they would look like lost loth-pups."
"Rude." Sapper grumbled.
"Thanks sir." The clone just waved it away.
"Is it true that they upped you guys early?"
Kon nodded, "Yeah, we're not sure why though."
"Oh?"
"We're third-gen." Sev said quietly.
The clone stopped in his tracks, twisting around to stare wide-eyed at them, "What?"
Kon sighed, shoulders slumped. He took off his helmet. Letting the clone get a look at his face. Zero-two had a good spot to watch the clone's face contort into a horrified snarl.
"That doesn't make any sense, why would they-"
Sapper cut it, "We don't know. They didn't tell us."
"Of all the nerf-headed things to-"
"Incoming!"
An explosion rocked the landing zone. Debris bounced off his armor. He hunched his shoulders. Ears ringing. Hand reaching for his rifle.
"Mortars!"
Another explosion sounded off. Only this time, the screams followed. He watched in horror as a group of troopers nearby were sent flying. White bodies flew in a ragdoll. One of them landed close to one of his brothers.
Splotches of red sprinkled the white.
"Grab him and let's go!" a voice ordered. Two more explosions went off. He saw the 212th trooper push Sev towards the downed trooper. His own body moving forward to help. "We need to get to cover!"
He grabbed the downed trooper by the arm. Ignoring how limp the limb was, he pulled the trooper up so they could get their arms under the clones.
"You got him?" he asked Sev. The other trooper nodded harshly.
"Yeah!"
"Come on!" the 212th man shouted. "They have us bracketed in!"
They made after him as fast as they could. Trying not to notice how the limp troopers blood was getting on their own armor.
"Come on, Zero-two!" Sev sounded breathless. "We're almost there."
He could barely hear him over the thudding of his chest. "I know Sev. I-" He tripped. The dead weight of the trooper forcing him down His helmet bounced off the hexagonal cement as he crashed to the ground.
Scrambling to his feet, he felt a sharp pain lance up his right leg. Nearly making him fall again. Shaking his head to clear the stars, he didn't see the teammate falling back to help.
Someone shouted over the explosions. "You alright?"
He grunted in pain, "Just my ankle, I'll be fine."
He stood shakily, not putting all his weight on his right leg. A different brother grabbed the injured clone. Sapper, from what he could tell from the clone's form.
"Come on! We gotta g-"
Everything went white.
Then he heard the boom.
This is my oc clone trooper fic. It's going to follow canon for a bit before it branches off into madness.
Follow Quiet, valued trooper of the 501st, from Christophsis to Order 66, as he survives the challenges thrown his way while making sure his jedi doesn't die on him.
As always, feedback is appreciated.
-PanzyBears