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The ride back to their cruiser was silent and uncomfortable, but almost as soon as they were out of their gunship, Eila was running over to them, grinning widely. She wore a snow-white shirt with loose, three-quarter sleeves that had decorative gold along the cuffs of the sleeves, a pale, tan tunic over it, decorative, white designs on the bottom of the section of tunic hanging down in front of her legs to just below her knees, pure white pants, and green-brown boots that matched the armored sleeves peeking out from under her white shirt's sleeves. However, despite the excitement on her face, she noticed something was wrong instantly, slowing to a walk and stopping in front of Ace. She stared into his bloodshot eyes, then stepped forward, wrapping her arms around him. Immediately, he broke down into sobs, and the others all headed for the briefing room where Asha should be waiting for them.

"It's going to be okay," Eila murmured, holding him tightly. "It's going to be okay."

"It's...not," Ace choked out.

Eila guided him out of the hangar, away from the other clones, and to the dojo where they'd have privacy. "What happened?"

Ace held out Camren's lightsaber. "Camren...We...We were...ordered to..."

Eila covered her mouth, eyes wide. "Tell me everything."

Ace nodded, taking a deep breath before beginning the story. "We finally tracked down the last of those Trandoshan slavers. We wiped them out, but before we could tell Camren that they weren't going to hurt him again, Intelligence called. And...They told us that Commando Droids had killed the Clones guarding him and taken their place. So...we were ordered to rescue him again. But...they weren't...They were..."

Eila hugged him again, and he took several shuddering breaths, barely managing to keep from breaking down.

"They were...just Clones," Ace forced out in a broken voice. "We...murdered our brothers. But...But then...Skipper got a call and..."

Ace broke, beginning to sob, but Eila was able to figure out the rest. She held him tightly, comforting him. She knew he wouldn't have shot Camren. Never. Maybe Boomer would have, or Skipper if it was to protect Ace, who he seemed to view as a little brother, but never Ace.

"I'm so sorry, Ace," Eila said, pulling back and holding his face in her hands, making him look at her. "It's going to be okay, Ace. It wasn't you, and it wasn't your fault. You were lied to. No one will blame you."

"But I killed them!" Ace cried. "I promised him we'd protect him! That we were going to get him somewhere safe!"

Eila pressed her forehead to his. "It wasn't you, Ace!" Her eyes watered in sympathy. "It wasn't you! You didn't know."

Ace continued to sob, and Eila held him again, continuing to comfort him for nearly an hour before he finally calmed. Finally, he pulled back, looking down at her robes, frowning.

"New robes?" Ace asked, then eyed the lightsaber hanging from her belt, which was different than the one she'd had the entire time he'd known her. "And a new..." his eyes widened. "You did it?"

"Yes," Eila nodded, smiling as the excitement from before began to return a bit. "I'm a Jedi Knight!"

Ace grinned widely. "Congratulations!"

Eila laughed as he hugged her tightly, both of them ignoring the fact that Ace's pain and grief still lingered in his eyes. After a few moments, Eila pulled back, holding out her first lightsaber. It was very plane, with a smooth, silver body, the end was slightly tapered before being flat. The sleeve section held two small, inchalf-inch dials that sat flush with the hilt but that would pop out so that they could be turned once pressed. The switch of the lightsaber was a pair of smaller silver buttons half the size of the dials, and the end of the switch section toward the blade belled out slightly before being flat. Extending from the middle of the flat end of the switch section, and being slightly smaller in diameter than the rest of the hilt, was the emitter. It had a coppery gold metal wrapped around it, then went back to silver as it also belled out before giving way to the opening where the blade would extend from.

"We had a deal," Eila reminded him, Ace taking the lightsaber carefully. Eila pointed to the switches and dials one at a time, starting closest to the emitter. "This extends the blade, this retracts it, this adjusts the blade's length, and this adjusts the blade's power. Counter clockwise decreases power for training mode, clockwise increases power for normal functionality. It's set to training mode right now, in case you wanted to test it."

Ace smiled, but it faltered after a moment and he shook his head. "I have to talk to Asha."

Eila nodded and wrapped her arms around him again, holding him tightly. He tucked his face into her shoulder, holding her for a few moments as he calmed himself, then pulled away. Eila reached up, kissing him on the cheek, and Ace managed a small smile before turning and walking away, heading to the briefing room. Asha was waiting for him, but the rest of his squad had left.

"I've already had the briefing," Asha began. "According to Skipper, you responded to a Separatist attack, but you were too late, and Camren was killed. I won't ask what really happened."

Ace's throat closed for a few seconds before he began to breathe again. "Eila's going to be transferred to a different unit, isn't she?"

"She is," Asha nodded. "She'll be given her own command with her own Clone Troopers."

"I'd like to formally request a transfer to her unit," Ace said. "As a normal Clone Trooper, even if I have to be the new guy."

Asha smiled knowingly, sighing. "Have you kissed her yet?"

Ace's eyes widened, his throat sealing once again. "What?"

Asha's smile transformed into a smirk. "I said, have you kissed her yet?"

"I don't know..." Ace trailed off, knowing full well she could read him like a book, even without the Force. "We're not together."

"Why not?" Asha asked, tilting her head to the side slightly.

Ace frowned. "We...It's forbidden by the Jedi Order."

Asha snorted. "Yeah, now. A long time ago, there were entire Jedi families. That rule's relatively new, and it's stupid. Plus, no one actually follows it."

"What do you mean?" Ace frowned.

"Jedi Master and Jedi Council member Ki-Adi-Mundi has five wives and more than numerous daughters," Asha informed Ace. "There are several Zeltron Jedi who have a different bed warmer cuddled up against them every night. Master Obi-Wan Kenobi is in love with the Duchess of Mandalore, though he thinks it's a secret. And of course, I've got a husband waiting for me at the end of this damn war."

Ace blinked in surprise. "You're married?"

"I am," Asha smiled, nodding. "So if I forbade you and Eila from exploring your feelings, or tried to intervene to stop you, it'd be hypocritical of me. Love and attachment aren't the things that pull Jedi to the Dark Side. It's the fear of loss and the desperation to avoid it, and then the pain and anger when you can't. There's nothing wrong with being in love, or having someone to take comfort in and spend your life with. You just need to be able to let them go when it's their time."

Ace stared at the ground. "I don't want to let her go."

"No," Asha shook her head. "That's because you love her. But when it's time, there's nothing you can do to stop it, so you will need to be able to let her go. And she will have to do the same."

Ace's frown deepened, but finally, he sighed. "You never answered about my transfer."

"I'm approving it," Asha said. "But not as a basic Clone Trooper. You'll be an ARC trooper. No more assassinations, no cloak-and-dagger, just more dangerous missions than normal Clones could handle."

Ace sighed, nodding. "I got ARC training as part of my commando training, so that should be okay."

Asha nodded. "Now get lost. You have much better things to do than to talk to me."

Ace nodded and left, heading to his bunk first to get tools, then to the observation deck where he began to disassemble Camren's lightsabers and his DC-17m. Within a few minutes, he'd used the lightsaber's internal components to use the kyber crystal, which was barely the size of the end segment of his pinky, to power his blaster, no matter which configuration it was in. Then, he reassembled what was left of Camren's lightsaber. Then, he set to work adding an extendable shoulder stock in the back of the rifle, finishing just as Eila walked over and sat beside him.

"Asha just told me you're coming with me," Eila said, smiling over at him. "Thank you."

"Of course," Ace smiled. "I'm not ready to say goodbye yet."

"Good," Eila smiled. "Neither am I."

She set her hand on top of his, and for a moment, he hesitated. Then, he leaned in, capturing her lips, only for her to sigh in relief, returning the kiss in kind. They remained there for a long while, trading tender kisses below the stars. Eventually, however, Eila pulled away, leaning on his shoulder and staring out at the stars in silence for several minutes.

"No one can ever know," Eila finally spoke.

"I know," Ace acknowledged. "They won't."

Eila nodded. "We should rest. It's late, and we could both use some sleep."

Ace nodded but made no move to stand. Eila sighed, resting her head on his shoulder again. For a long time, they remained there, sitting in silence under the stars, periodically trading kisses. Finally, Eila stood, pulling Ace to his feet, kissing him one final time before tugging him out of the observation deck by the hand. Once he was out, he sighed, nodding and stealing another kiss before finally returning to his barracks and heading to bed.

"Thank you for coming," Eila spoke to the assembled ARC Troopers. "I know that none of you had the choice of whether or not to be transferred to my command, but I appreciate your willingness to cooperate."

"That's what we're here for, General," one of the troops said. "We follow orders."

"I know," Eila nodded. "And I appreciate that." She took a moment to organize what she wanted to say. "I called you all here for two reasons. The first reason is to welcome the newest ARC Trooper, Ace."

She gestured to Ace, who stood at attention. He still wore a brand new suit of Katarn-class commando armor, which had duraplast plating instead of the weaker plastoid, and bore personal energy shields. It was painted the same bright white as normal clone armor, except for a stripe of dark blue up the outside of each arm and leg, and the plates making up the right side of his new double-sided pauldron, the left side being a dark, steel-grey, as was the kama skirt hanging around the outsides of his legs and behind him. The kama had a thin, dark blue border, but otherwise was a solid grey.

"A shiny boy?" one of the ARC Troopers asked.

"I didn't think you could quit as a Republic Commando," another mused. "How'd you manage?"

Ace was silent for a few moments before answering. "Something happened on my last mission as a Republic Commando, and I formally requested a transfer, as did three of my other squad mates. It was accepted, and now I'm here."

The other ARC Troopers all looked around at each other for a moment.

"And the other thing you wanted to tell us?" one of the troopers asked.

"As of now, the ARC Troopers will be running exclusively combat-oriented missions," Eila stated firmly.

The Arc Troopers all glanced at Ace as his head fell slightly. Understanding filled their faces, most of them shifting uncomfortably or shifting their grips on their helmets. Eila went around the room, introducing everyone, then dismissed them. Ace followed the other ARC Troopers to where they bunked separately from the other clones, each ARC Trooper having their own room on the cruiser. As he stepped into his room, he stared around at it in silence for a few moments before pulling off his helmet and tossing it aside carelessly, as he had his last one. He stripped out of his armor, leaving the undersuit, and sat heavily on the bed. After a moment, a knock sounded, and he walked over, opening the door, finding the hallway cramped with the other ARC Troopers.

"Just so we're clear, you may have been told you're an ARC Trooper, and you may have a pauldron and kama, but you're not an ARC Trooper," the clone closest to him said. "You're not one of us. You're not even fully grown."

"I don't care if you accept me or not," Ace said wearily. "I couldn't be a Republic Commando anymore, so I was transferred to General Temra's command. You don't have to like me to follow orders."

The lead ARC Trooper nodded. "We'll show you in training tomorrow why ARC Troopers are better than Republic Commandos."

Ace nodded tiredly. "Goodnight."

He closed the door and returned to his bed, sighing heavily and resting his face in his hands. After another thirty minutes, he climbed into bed, struggling to sleep.

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