Chapter 52 Interlude
"You can't stay in your corner of the forest waiting for others to come to you. You have to go to them sometimes."
A. A. Milne
"I'm here to see if my roommate is alright," Cody said to the medical droid manning the front station in the medical bay. "CT-7567. He was in the last scenario."
"The rocketeer?" This came, not from the droid, but from a passing clone medic. "He's this way. Follow me, Commander."
Cody followed him through a short corridor into a large multi-bay room. He recognized it from his own earlier visit. At least a dozen of the bays were presently occupied, though there did not appear to be any serious injuries or sense of urgency on the part of the medical crew.
Coming to the second-to-last bay on the left, the medic nodded and left the commander to go in on his own. Inside, Cody discovered CT-7567 being looked after by an actual doctor as well as a clone medic.
"Looks like you have a visitor," the medic stated.
CT-7567 raised his head, and seeing Cody, a smile brightened his expression. "You're okay."
Cody returned the grin with a bit of indulgence. "I was going to say the same thing to you." He looked to the doctor. "Is it alright for me to be in here?"
"Yes, Commander. I'm just finishing up," came the reply.
"And . . . he's going to be okay?"
"He'll be fine," said the doctor. "A minor concussion. Some bruises. All things considered, he came through it better than I would have expected. We were watching on the monitors down here."
"Pretty impressive, huh?" CT-7567 said, sounding like a batch-kit fresh off his first training mission.
The doctor sighed with mirth and shook his head. "Hard-headed son-of-a-bitch." He turned to his assistant and motioned their departure. "Someone will be back in ten minutes after we get the results from the last battery of tests. Once they've cleared you, you're free to go. And not before." He looked to Cody. "Make sure he doesn't cut out. I don't think he's very good at following orders."
No sooner had they left than CT-7567 asserted, "I'm very good at following orders."
"I'm sure," Cody said drolly.
CT-7567 pushed up onto his elbows. "You know, I tried to get onto the platform after you blew up your scenario, but they wouldn't let me. My scenario was up next, and . . . well, they said they were taking care of you, so I wasn't able to—"
"I didn't blow up my scenario—"
"You did. Oh, you definitely did," CT-7567 disagreed. "Don't get me wrong. It was beautiful, but the goal was to win, not to bring the whole place down."
"This from the man who almost really blew the whole place down . . . not just the scenario but the platform, the crew, and the rest of us as well," Cody countered. "By the Force, what were you thinking with those jetpack tricks? We felt those explosions even out on the observation ring."
"My squad won, didn't it? That's what I was thinking," came the flip response.
"Killing yourself and everyone else is hardly worth victory in a training scenario," Cody stated.
"No one died," CT-7567 said dismissively. "Don't be so over-dramatic. And by the way . . . why did you hesitate? In your own scenario, why did you dither around so much?"
"Dither around?" Cody wasn't sure whether to laugh or feel insulted.
"You kept hesitating, changing your mind, second-guessing yourself," CT-7567 explained. "It cost you the victory."
Cody crossed his arms over his chest. "Is that so?"
"I'm just telling you as your roommate." A challenge curled his lip and he used the commander's own words against him. "I don't want to be the roommate of the guy who washes out. If you're going to see-saw on every decision—"
Cody shook his head and chuckled. "This is a training environment. I'm not willing to risk my life or the lives of my squad mates to win a training competition."
"Hm. I guess that's the difference between us," 7567 replied. "I always want to win."
"We haven't even known each other a full day," Cody said. "I don't think you're in a position to start enumerating the differences between us."
CT-7567 inclined his head in concession. "You're probably right."
Cody drew in a deep breath. "Now that I've seen you're okay, I can go watch the next scenario." He turned and began to leave.
"Commander?"
Cody stopped and looked back over his shoulder. "Yeah?"
"Did you come down here because you were worried about me?"
It struck Cody as an odd question, but he was not averse to answering it.
"Of course, I was worried. I saw what happened. I knew you'd taken a hard impact."
CT-7567 smiled and with an authenticity that Cody was already coming to recognize as one of his roommate's most poignant characteristics, he said, "Thanks. I'm glad you did."
Cody nodded. "I'll see you up on the observation ring."
"Who's that in command of Gander Squad?" CT-3636 asked, leaning on his forearms over the rail as the final contest between Gander and Falcon Squad began.
"Em . . . I think his number is 1993. I sat at the same table with him last night," CT-5869 replied. "He's a captain with the 62d Rangers. Really seems to know his stuff."
CT-3636 was not impressed. After all, praise from a member of the Coruscant Guard was hardly meaningful. "We'll see."
A moment later, Cody rejoined them.
"How's CT-7567?" 5869 inquired.
"Exactly how I expected him to be," Cody replied. "A few bumps and bruises . . . and pleased as a womp rat on a rubbish heap."
His listeners chuckled – even CT-3636, who found the imagery to be quite fitting.
Only CT-5052 was humorless. He maintained a neutral expression, but Cody noticed a barely perceptible scowl draw his mouth into a thin, straight line.
Cody left him to his own sourness and turned his attention to the training platform. "That's Tatooine, the Jundland Wastes. Interesting location for a scenario."
"I suppose they'll throw in some Tuscan Raiders for good measure," remarked CT-7667, the medic from Cody's squad. "Nasty brutes."
"We mightaswell add in the Hutt crime organization while we're at it." This from CT-5869.
"Tatooine is a cesspool. Nothing good has ever come from that sand pile," 3636 said.
At this, Cody felt it necessary to counter what seemed to be CT-3636's penchant for negativity.
"You're wrong about that, Commander," he disagreed. "General Skywalker is from Tatooine. He, uh, he may not have many nice things to say about it, but it is his home planet. And there's no denying that he is one of the greatest Jedi generals of the war."
"No argument there," 3636 conceded. "But that doesn't change my mind about the place. I sure as hell wouldn't want to be stationed there."
"We can agree on that," Cody said with a tilt of his head. He watched the scenario unfold below him.
But his thoughts were still down in the med bay – a fact that puzzled him more than he could account for; for Cody was not one to dwell on anything but the present moment. And his roommate had certainly been well on the mend down in the med bay. There was no reason to be concerned.
Was there? Was CT-7567's performance in the scenario of harbinger of what to expect from him in the future? Cody feared that was precisely the case. And perhaps that was what worried him.
CT-7567 had gotten lucky in that he'd not been more seriously injured; and Cody was not going to deny the inexplicable chill that had gripped him in the immediate aftermath of the explosive scenario. He had not imagined that he could lose his roommate on the very first day; and when the possibility had reared its head, he'd been truly perplexed at the feelings that had tightened his gut and tensed his muscles.
There was nothing—nothing!—about CT-7567 that appealed enough to Cody to overcome the distasteful aspects of his character. But Cody could be extremely tolerant, and he just might be able to buff a few of 7567's rough edges into something less grating, less pompous . . . less irritating. Yet, that could not explain the fear . . . yes, it was fear . . . that Cody had felt when he'd thought CT-7567 might have been seriously injured.
"General Kenobi is rubbing off on me," he said internally, only vaguely aware of the action on the training platform where Gander Squad was in as much turmoil as Falcon Squad. "I guess that's not a bad thing."
It was a paltry affirmation, but he still was unable to account for why he should even care about getting along with this man, his roommate, whom he would probably never see again after graduating from training.
But care he did.
How much—and why—remained to be seen.
One hour later, Colonel Claw stood with his two training officers reviewing the results of all the scenarios.
"Bravo and Crimson were both disqualified. Gander and Falcon also both failed. That puts Echo up against Alpha," Commander Steed summarized. "Are they recovered enough to compete?"
"If this were a real-life battlefield, we wouldn't ask if they're recovered enough," Claw pointed out. "We've never asked that of previous classes."
"That is true, Sir, but we've never had teams go at it quite like this before," Steed replied.
"What's different about this group?" Claw asked.
Steed and Tides looked at each other before the major answered, "This is the first class that's had considerable real-world combat experience. They've been out in the field for four-to-six months. A lot of previous classes had either no experience or barely two months. These men have been on the front lines, they've run a lot of missions. They're far enough removed from basic training that they've learned how to bend the rules to make do. And I can guarantee you, the Shinies are going to pick up their methods in record time."
Commander Steed nodded his agreement. "These men are serious, but they know this is a training environment. We can warn them about the dangers, but they've been face-to-face with live fire and an enemy determined to kill them. They see this as a chance to try out their tricks without fear of the same deadly repercussions. They don't realize they can be killed or injured here just as easily as in the field." He paused. "We need to keep a close eye on them. They're ready to open the flood gates on all sorts of crazy ideas."
"They're proving to be quite ingenious so far," Claw noted. "I'm actually enjoying watching them." A pause. "And if our two remaining teams are ready to go, fire up the next scenario." He approached his two senior controllers and put a hand on each man's shoulder. "Get ready. These two squads may end up trying anything to win."
"Colonel, might I suggest, given that it's CT-7567, that we prohibit the use of jetpacks?" the first senior controller asked.
"I concur," the other added.
"Normally, I would disagree. I don't like to tie the trainees' hands," the colonel replied. "But we've seen what Echo can do with jetpacks. Let see what they can do without them." A pause. "In this scenario, I want the two squads to come head-to-head. Funnel them towards each other. I want them both at or near full-strength when they encounter each other. It's one thing to fight plasma recreations; it's something else completely to fight another living, thinking being."
"Which scenario do you want to use, Sir?"
"The Geonosis droid foundry."
Steed laughed despite himself. "You sure you want to trust these guys in that scenario, Colonel?"
"I trust our controllers to make sure they don't get too carried away," Claw smiled.
"Tall order, Sir," the first senior controller quipped, "But we'll do our best."
CT-7567 was back in the ready room, a little more worn for wear. But the most serious of his injuries, the concussion, had been treated with a sonic wave apparatus; and he'd been cleared to participate in the scenario. Although he was disappointed not to be competing against Cody, the fighting spirit in him was more than satisfied with the upcoming challenge.
Echo Squad had been briefed on the scenario, and now they had ten minutes to develop a strategy. Their squad advisors had made it abundantly clear that the contest in this case would involve the two squads combatting each other; they would be each other's enemy.
Needless to say, Echo Squad's request for jetpacks was denied.
As they gathered and lowered their heads into a tight circle, intent on keeping their secrecy just as they had in their previous scenario, CT-2025 asked, "What do we know about Alpha Squad?"
"We know that CT-5869 is their squad leader, and they defeated CT-3636's squad. That had to take some doing," CT-390 replied. "He's a good strategist, if Alpha's first scenario is any indication."
"I agree," CT-7567 concurred, then with a wisp of conspiratorial swag in his voice, he asked, "But isn't the objective still to plant the flag? Why do we have to go up against them in battle if we can just avoid them?"
"I think the cadre wants to see how well we can fight against an equal force," CT-1550 put forth. "They want to see how we do against other clones."
"Okay, that's fine. We can give them that," CT-7567 said, "But we can do it as a diversion while one or two men go to plant the flag."
"That's what some of the other teams tried, but—"
"But only Alpha and Havoc Squad ever came face-to-face," CT-5869 pointed out. "And that didn't last long. Maybe this time, if the controllers are expecting us to play along and go willingly towards the firefight, they might not notice or care if one or two stray."
CT-390 shook his head. "Oh, they'll notice alright. They've got eyes on every one of us. We won't be able to sneak past them."
"So . . . maybe we take our chances in the firefight," CT-5576 said with a sidelong grin. "We've all got good aim, right?"
CT-7567 chuckled. "Most of the time. I'm all in for whatever plan we decide on. We can make anything work."
CT-5869 nodded. "Firefight then."
It was agreed.
As they moved towards the chute, Shinie CT-8448 turned to fellow Shinie CT-9218. "Why do I get the feeling they're going to throw some wrench into the works? This reminds me way too much of the Felix-5 scenario from Basic."
"I know what you mean," CT-9218 replied. "We know cadres always like to play games."
"Well, if we win this one, we get to go up against a team of real ARC troopers," 8448 said with enthusiasm. "So, we'll just have to anticipate the games and be one step ahead."
*So, they're warming up to each other a little bit. I have to admit one of my favorite scenes to imagine as an animated shot is Rex insisting to Cody that, "Yes, you did blow up your scenario." I can almost picture Cody's animated smirk.