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“Pincer maneuver! Come on, men, let’s go!” CC-2224, otherwise known as Cody, yelled at his men. The squad split in half, one moving to the left and one to the right. Cody led the group of clones on the left, paving the way for his men to follow. They maneuvered their way through the training course with practiced ease, all of them having done the course hundreds of times before.
But this was their first time doing it with Cody leading them. There were whispers that the war would begin soon. The first batches of clones were fully grown, fully trained, and ready for the battlefield. The command class clones were being assigned to their battalions, and Cody had gotten the 212th. He was doing the training course with each of the squads, both to meet the men and to assess their abilities. So far, his men were some of the best he had ever seen (he wasn’t biased at all.)
As they passed one of the barriers, a commando droid leapt out of hiding and began to attack. It caught Cody unawares, knocking his blaster out of his hands and his helmet off his head before he had a chance to react. He recovered quickly, falling into his fighting stance. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see his men frozen, waiting for him to lead them. None of them had a good shot to take the droid out without hitting him.
“Go! You can finish this without me!” he called. The clones started moving, heading towards the end of the training course, and Cody brought his attention back to the commando in front of him. It pulled its vibroblade out of its holster, and swung. Cody ducked, and shoved his elbow at the droid’s chin. It staggered back a few steps, but soon regained its balance and charged again.
The next 30 seconds were full of swings, dodges, and feints. Cody was able to keep pace with the droid for the most part, but he just couldn’t get another solid hit in. These commandos were so much worse than the average clanker, and Cody knew they’d be deadly on the battlefield.
Cody barely leaned out of the way in time to avoid a particularly nasty swing that would have hit him directly on the head, but in the process moved directly into the path of the droid’s vibroblade.
There was a terrible slicing sound, and Cody’s face erupted with pain. He let out a grunt, and fell to the ground. It was hard to see through the blood pouring into his eye, but he thought he saw the training simulator shut off.
Cody squeezed his left eye shut, and wiped away some of the blood on his face. But it did no good, as the blood was still coming out at an alarming rate. He sat up and leaned against one of the barriers as he saw a Kaminoan, Doru Sa, approaching.
“CC-2224, what happened here?” His smooth voice held no concern, only cruel curiosity.
“Commando droid,” he grunted out. “Caught me by surprise, sir.”
“Hmm,” was all he said in response. Then one of the clones in the squad, Helix, Cody thought his name was, came running over.
“Sir! We need to get you to medical!” he said, sounding flustered. Cody’s head was pounding and he could barely see, but he tried to respond anyway.
“I think I’m gonna-”
“You are a medic, are you not, CT-6476?” The kaminoan interrupted. Helix looked taken aback, but responded quickly.
“Yes, I am sir. But the Commander needs medical attention immediately-”
“Then provide him medical attention!” He snapped. Helix was getting visibly frustrated. Cody could tell he was on the verge of passing out from blood loss, but he made himself stay awake.
“I can’t! I don’t have the necessary supplies. Please, sir, let me take him to medical.” Doru Sa considered him for a moment.
“You will not always have the necessary supplies on the battlefield. Make do with what you have.” Helix didn’t move. “Now, you insolent clone!” Helix startled, but moved over to Cody without further hesitation.
“Sir, I’m sorry,” he said. Cody tried to give him a soft smile.
“It’s alright, Helix. Just get me patched up.” Cody knew this was the only option. Once the Kaminoans made up their mind about something, there was no changing it. And if a clone tried to stand up to them- it wouldn’t end well.
Helix pulled some thread and a needle out of his utility belt. “There aren’t anesthetics in these packs, or bacta. I’m gonna have to do this the old fashioned way.” Cody grit his teeth, but nodded. Helix inhaled, then hesitated. “It’s going to scar, sir.” Cody nodded as much as he was able.
“‘S alright,” he slurred. “It’ll … make me unique.” Cody didn’t know why it was suddenly so difficult to talk or keep his eyes open, but he didn’t think it was good. Helix moved closer and wiped the cut with a rag he had. It stung, and Cody unconsciously flinched away.
“Sorry, sir.” Helix leaned back on his haunches, and grabbed the needle and thread. “Alright, sir, are you ready?” Cody nodded and closed his eyes. Seconds later, he felt the cool needle touch the skin on his cheek. He felt the needle puncture skin, and he winced, tensing up without meaning to.
“Sir, I’m going to need you to relax as best you can. It’ll make this easier.” Cody inhaled and exhaled deeply. Think about something else. Don’t think about your skin being sewn together . The next 10 minutes were some of the worst of Cody’s short life. There was just pain, and pain, and more pain. Helix muttered apologies the whole time, and Cody wanted to reassure him, but couldn’t muster the energy to.
By the time Helix finally finished, Cody was ready to pass out. He kept his left eye closed, and his head lolled against his shoulder. Distantly, he heard the Kaminoan speaking.
“Hm. You did an adequate job, CT-6476. Take the Commander back to the barracks.” Moments later, Helix was hoisting Cody up, supporting almost all of his weight.
“I’m so sorry, Commander,” he said as soon as they were out of earshot. Cody could barely hear him over the ringing in his ears, but tried to look at him anyway.
“It’s… okay,” he said. When did the lights get so bright? He squinted.
“Sir?” Helix asked, concern lacing his tone.
“I’m just gonna- close my eyes,” Cody said, voice almost too quiet to hear. He let his eyes flutter shut, and let darkness embrace him.