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Adjusting to life after his batch had shipped out was odd. For the first week Fox had the squad’s whole bunk room to himself but the Kaminos must have needed the room for another squad so they informed Fox that he was being reassigned to a new squad. The young clone had expected it but he was still a little saddened to have to leave his familiar surroundings. He was excited to be surrounded vode again.
Fox packed up his few belongings and took the bag with him to his classes. He’d be meeting his new squad after all of his lessons for the day. The morning passed by normally but midmeal was a different story. All the cadets shared a meal time and many of the of the squads stuck together when they ate which left Fox on his own. He didn’t mind though he just grabbed some food and sat down with his datapad, ignoring everyone. As usual he paid little mind to the fellow cadets that sat at the table with him. Sure one of the four was very loud but it wasn’t too odd for the cadets on break. He didn’t recognize any of the cadets from his classes but assumed they were a few years separated from him. They looked like they were around the sixth or seventh growth cycle so physically they looked around fourteen standard years. Fox subtly shifted to listen to the conversation since he’d finished with his readings.
“I’m just say’n that I could easily take out a whole battalion on my own!” The loudest one shouted. A quick glance showed him to have a large frame to match his large voice and a close cut buzz.
“Maybe if it was a battalion of lothcats.” Snarked a thinner looking cadet with striking white hair.
“Kirff you Cross!” The large one bellowed back. “I could take a whole army of clankers with my bare hands!”
“Come on Wrecker,” chimed a brunette with a red bandana. “The reason we always pass mission training is because of our teamwork. Every brother has a part to play.”
“If we add up our battle statistics we could order everyone by their different scores.” Commented a thin cadet with goggles.
“Not my point, Tech.” Bandana shot back.
Fox fought to hide a smile at the silly argument. It reminded him a lot of how his batch would argue late at night. The cadets seemed a bit young to be running combat drills but so did Fox so he wasn’t one to talk. Fox was caught up in his reminiscing so he missed the next bit of the argument. When he turned his attention back to the group they had been approached by another squad. The new squad was rather plain but Fox recognized them from his classes. They all had the same regulation cut and no scars to their name. It made the oddities of the cadets sitting at the table more exaggerated.
“What makes you mistakes think you can take our table?” The apparent leader of the plain squad scoffed.
“I don’t see your names on it.” The silver haired cadet bit out.
“Yeah go find some other table cuz we got here first!” Wrecker challenged.
“Oh look at that,” a brunette from the generic cadets teased. “They taught a nerf how to speak.”
That got a round of laughter from the regulation cadets. Laughter that was quickly cut short as the large cadet jumped the table and punched the offender. There was a heavy silence that fell over the cafeteria while everyone took in the events that just happened. The pause was very brief and faster than Fox could blink there was a full on brawl happening right next to him.
Wrecker was quickly backed up by the white haired and bandana clad cadets from his group. The cadet with goggles hung back but still managed to hold his own against the punches and trays thrown his way. Fox was mostly unfazed by the fight as he was easily able to dodge the rogue food and trays that were accidentally thrown his way. Mostly he was surprised with the combat skills that the odd squad had. They all fought more like fully developed clones and made easy work of the other cadets.
Fox did take notice when a cadet started sneaking behind Wrecker. Normally Fox would assume that the larger cadet could handle himself even with the three other cadets he was facing but this cadet had armed himself. Well armed was a strong word since he just had a fork but it could still do some damage if placed correctly. Every cadet knew how to find a vital point though and clearly none of the other cadets would notice the threat among the chaos of the room.
Like any time before when the Force sent Fox a warning he listened. He was moving without really thinking to intercept the attacker.
The cadet didn’t have a chance to even notice before Fox tackled him to the ground. Unfortunately Fox underestimated his position and he didn’t have the control over the weapon he wanted. The cadet Fox had tackled was one of the older ones and they had the physical advantage on him.
Deprived of his original target the older cadet was quick to turn his attention to Fox instead. The strike was so unexpected that Fox didn’t have the chance to fully move his arm out of range and the utensil found its mark right below his wrist. Fox didn’t give the cadet the satisfaction of a reaction as he succinctly rolled out of his attacker’s range. The cadet held onto the fork though, causing it to drag painfully against Fox’s skin as it was removed.
When Fox stood he found his back pressing against another person. He sparred a quick glance over his shoulder and met the bandana cadet’s eyes. Bandana gave him a quick nod of appreciation before jumping back into the fray.
Fox too turned back to the older cadet who now had a vendetta against him. He braced himself for a second round before the doors to the cafeteria opened and some of the garrison troopers rushed in to break up the cadets. Fox was quick to slip out of the group to avoid the disciplinary write up for being involved in a fight. His adept reflexes helped him ease back to where his datapad and bag were left at the table. He also knew to mask his involvement with his expressions when giving a report. The garrison troopers easily accepted his story and let him head to his afternoon lessons.
Once he was out of the crowds he subtly checked the injury to his forearm. The gash was bleeding a fair bit but Fox had a few bacta patches in his pack and he ducked into an empty hallway to treat the wound. Satisfied with his handiwork he went about the rest of his lessons normally.
A few hours later Fox found himself standing outside his new bunk room accompanied by Taun We. The young cadet would probably be less nervous if the long neck wasn’t with him. The Kaminoian would only serve to make Fox’s moving in even more of an imposition. Clones rarely liked having their personal space invaded by the long necks and Taun We was about to tell a squad that their shared space was going to be more crowded.
Taun We had chimed the door almost a full minute ago and there had been no answer. Fox would assume that the squad was out but it was after curfew and there were definitely voices coming from the other side of the door. Just as the Kaminoian raised her hand to press the chime again the door swished open.
“Ah, Taun We. To what do we owe the pleasure?” The cadet that answered the door wore a familiar red bandana. The cadet met Fox’s eyes and the two shared a look of shock and recognition that was quickly hidden.
“As I informed you four this morning I have found a cadet to fill the fifth bunk in your room.” The long neck responded calmly, not noticing the shared look.
“Right.” The cadet shot a quick glance over his shoulder. He seemed satisfied by something before he stepped to the side and invited the two in.
Fox tried not to notice the three sets of eyes that fell on him as he entered the room. The cadet by the door was more focused on Taun We and the other cadets. The white haired and goggled cadets were sitting at a table in the middle of the room each messing with something in front of them. The white haired one was watching the new arrival with skepticism while the brunette to his left looked more curious. The only one who actually looked excited was the largest cadet who sat over on his bed.
“Force 99 this is CC-1010.” Tuan We introduced and pushed Fox slightly in front of her with a hand on his shoulder. “I think he will fit in well with you all since he also has a modification to his genetics.”
Fox was slightly confused by the Kaminoian’s statement but decided he’d learn more about that later. Instead he focused on introducing himself so he could make a good first impression on his new batch.
“Thank you all for sharing your bunk with me.” Fox smiled softly, trying to play up his younger physical appearance.
“Well I shall leave you five to get acquainted.” Taun We nodded and left the room.
“Thank Mandalor I thought she’d never leave.” The cadet with the bandana sighed and then clapped Fox on the back. “My name’s Hunter by the way. The big guy over there is Wrecker. The one with the goggles that looks like he’s cataloging your every move is Tech. And the one giving you the death glare is Crosshair.”
Wrecker and Tech both gave Fox a wave in greeting while Crosshair just tilted his head slightly.
“You got a name yet tubie or should we make one up for ya?” Wrecker asked as he crossed the room to stand next to Hunter.
“You can call me Fox.” Fox said, crossing his arms. “And I’m not a tubie. I’m first generation.”
“Fascinating.” Tech hummed as he also moved next to Hunter to examine the new cadet. “Yet your physical appearance matches a clone on their third growth cycle. Is it possible that your mutation has to do with your development? I do not see why the Kaminoians would want a clone that ages at a normal speed other than Alpha.”
“Or he’s a liar.” Crosshair sniped as he came to stand behind the rest of his batch. “The kid probably doesn't want us to know how young he is.”
“Come on Cross, cut the kid a break.” Hunter elbowed his brother. “He’s the only reg who’s ever taken our side in a scuffle.”
Both Wrecker and Crosshair had varying degrees of shock on their faces as they looked between Fox and their fellow batchers.
“Yes he did have Wrecker’s blindside during our afternoon altercation.” Tech agreed with Hunter.
That statement caused a minor argument among the batch. Namely Wrecker defending that he didn’t have a blindside and the others strongly disagreeing. Fox ignored the bickering and walked past the group to start putting his stuff away at his new bunk. Despite the batch having been told to expect a new member the fifth bunk in the room was still covered in things. It seemed that the batch had been using the space as extra storage and there was hardly any free space left. Rather than waiting for the argument to die down Fox just started taking things off of the bunk and stacking them back into corresponding piles on the floor.
The process was pretty smooth going until he reached the stack of weights he’d been saving for last. He’d gotten most of the smaller ones with no problems but now he was on the ones he’d definitely struggle with. As he started grabbing what he thought was the top of the pile a loud clatter proved him wrong as the pile fell towards him. His instincts took over and as Fox fell backwards he caught the plates that were falling towards him with the force. He held it just long enough to get himself out of harm's way and then let the weights drop.
“Well that’s not something you see everyday.” Wrecker’s voice drew Fox’s attention back to the group. All four were staring at him with looks that ranged from amazement to confusion.
“That would explain what Taun We meant by him having a mutation.” Tech chimed his excitement evident on his face as he adjusted his goggles.
“Sorry,” Fox apologized as he got to his feet. He started dragging the heavier weights into the pile he started. “I was trying to keep the piles organized.”
“It’s okay Fox they weren’t really organized to begin with.” Hunter reassured as he walked over and helped him move the weights. Fox tried not to get upset at how much easier the task was for the bigger clone. “Besides, how can we focus on that when you’ve got magic?”
“It’s not magic.” Fox argued.
“Then what do you call floating weight plates twice your size?!” Wrecker asked excitedly as he joined the two in stacking what were clearly his weights.
“I believe that would be what is widely known as the force.” Tech commented as he crossed the room and sat down at the center table. He pulled out a datapad and typed something into it. “It is an innate ability to control the living energy around one’s self. It is not something that I would think of as an inheritable trait but it must be if the Kaminoians created you. Mayhapps the ability was dormant in Prime’s genes like how our mutations were.”
“Your mutations?” Fox questioned, curiosity finally overtaking him.
“The purpose of our batch was for the Kaminoians to modify the base genes from Prime to see what enhancements they could pursue.” Tech explained, eyes staying on the datapad in his hand. “While experimental in nature, us four are the most successful cases. All the other experiments were minorly changed or suffered great side effects that caused them to be deemed failures. The process was also quite costly so the initiative was scrapped leaving Clone Force 99 to be the only remainders.”
“Nala Se explained something similar to me when I was younger.” Fox nodded. “They picked a couple of clones to try to enhance their innate force ability but I was the only successful outcome they had.”
“For us they were modding for combat abilities.” Hunter said. “I got enhanced senses to help in tracking. Wrecker’s got enhanced strength and size. Crosshair has great eye sight and reaction time making him great for sniping. And Tech has advanced intellect and an eidetic memory that makes him excellent at strategy.”
“Well those are certainly more useful than mine.” Fox sighed as he flopped onto his new bunk. “I don’t know how to use my abilities on command and on top of that it inhibits my growth modifications. I’ve been lucky so far that I haven’t been deemed too costly to keep around.”
“If they’ve kept Wrecker this long I doubt they’ll discard you.” Crosshair smirked as he settled into his own bunk and started polishing a rifle.
“Hey I’m good at what they made me for!” Wrecker shouted.
“And what do you think that is?” Hunter questioned as he settled into his bunk and took out his datapad.
“Breaking things!” Wrecker smiled and punched the punching bag in the room as if to prove his point.
“I believe the Kaminoian’s had hoped that skill would be used against enemies and not their own property.” Tech commented as the punching bag flew past him and into the wall, denting it.
Fox couldn’t help the laugh he had in response to the banter. This squad was definitely different from his old one in a lot of ways. But in the ways that mattered they were shockingly similar. Maybe they were even better since they seemed to understand him on a level that regular clones didn’t. He wasn’t the type to rush into any decision though so he’d need more evidence before he’d give them the title of batch.
It was a few rotations later and Fox and his new squad were in Clone Force 99’s private sparring room. Hunter had explained that it was necessary for the safety of the regs and the property damage bill. In the short time Fox had quickly learned that regular clones and squad 99 didn’t mix well, especially not if combat was involved.
Hunter and Wrecker were facing off on the mat. Tech showed no interest in fighting that day and was researching something on his datapad. Crosshair had gone a few rounds with Hunter before getting bored and switching to the shooting gallery in the room. Fox had been sparring with a training bot but he was getting bored of that and eager to switch to actual people.
“Are you two almost done yet?” Fox sighed as he pinned the droid for the twelfth time. “I can only beat this thing so many times before it loses any fun.”
As a response Wrecker excitedly pinned Hunter for a three count before turning to Fox.
“Yeah I could use a switch up too!”
“Okay, you tag in with the bot. I’ll go a few rounds with the kid.” Hunter said as he stood and walked over to the bench and grabbed a water bottle. “Just give me a sec and then I’ll be good to go, Kit.”
Fox hated that new nickname. It was bad enough they insisted on calling him kid when he was five growth cycles older than them but now this. Fox blamed Tech for telling Wrecker facts about foxes when he’d been curious about their new brother’s namesake. Now the whole squad, minus Tech, had started calling him Kit instead of Fox.
“Aw man, I hate fighting the droid!” Wrecker moaned. “I have to be so careful!”
“And you think you wouldn’t have to do that with Kit?” Hunter asked.
“You don’t have to go easy on me.” Fox griped as he walked over to the pair. “I’m used to going against full grown clones. I can handle Wrecker.”
“No offense Kit but Wrecker’s a bit different than taking a reg.” Hunter explained, rustling the smaller clone’s hair. “Even if they are full grown our batch is a bit less formal for sparring. You’ll have fun with me though.”
“No I won’t.” Fox grumbled as he pushed Hunter’s hand away. “I can pin you in ten seconds.”
“I’d like to see that!” Wrecker perked up at Fox’s comment.
“Someone’s a little cocky.” Hunter smirked. “Don’t underestimate me, Kit.”
“I think you’re underestimating me, Hunter. But if you’re not worried about it we can make a bet.”
“What did you have in mind?”
“If I can pin you in under ten seconds then I get to spar with Wrecker for the rest of training.”
“So we’re gambling now?” Crosshair questioned as he wandered toward the group. “What are the stakes?”
“Fox wants to spar with Wrecker but Hunter feels that would be unsafe.” Tech chimed up from his spot on the bench, eyes remaining on his pad. “Fox then proposed that if he could pin Hunter in under ten seconds he should be allowed to pair with Wrecker for the rest of the training time.”
“Now this will be interesting to watch.” Crosshair smirked as he sat next to Tech.
“Hang on, I haven't even agreed yet.” Hunter groaned.
“You said you wanted to spar with me anyway.” Fox shrugged. “What’s the harm in putting some challenge to it?”
“Yeah c’mon Hunter. Have a little fun." Wrecker grinned.
“Ugh, fine.” The leader finally relented. “But don’t think I’m gonna go easy on you, Kit.”
“I would never ask it.” Fox replied as he readied himself on the mat.
Hunter also took a position on the mat opposite Fox. He turned to Tech and asked the other to time the match for them since he was an unbiased party and had a datapad. When Tech gave an affirmative that was the signal for the match to begin. Normally Fox was very cautious when it came to sparring. He preferred to hang back and get a feel for an opponent then when he felt he understood their moves then he’d counter to win. However, since he was on a short time frame he had to be more aggressive than normal. Fortunately Fox had been studying Hunter’s movements when he’d been sparring with Wrecker earlier. Fox had surmised him to be a dodger who was quick to spot weaknesses and seize on them. Fox knew how to work with that.
When the signal from Tech came Fox made the first move. He made a quick feint towards Hunter’s right before dodging left to avoid the larger clone’s grapple attempt. Fox then forced his body weight behind a knee to the back of Hunter’s own. Hunter let out a surprised grunt as his knee hit the mat. Fox didn’t give the other a chance to recover and quickly lunged into a tackle that dragged Hunter fully onto the ground. Using his body weight Fox settled onto the small of Hunter’s back and a foot to the back of his neck. Hunter struggled for the whole three count but let out a defeated sigh when it proved useless.
“What was that time, Tech?” Fox asked as he rolled off Hunter and stood up.
“Eight point six-two seconds.” Tech replied, fixing his goggles. “Around average according to your records.”
“Average?!” Hunter balked.
“Records?!” Wrecker questioned excitedly.
“Well yes.” Tech replied nonchalantly. “Fox has been in training for longer than us and was even evaluated for command placement at the same time as his old batch.”
“And you didn’t think to tell me about these records before I took a bet?” Hunter groaned as he flopped down on the bench.
“That would’ve spoiled the fun.” Crosshair snarked. Tech nodded in agreement.
“I tried to tell you about it but you didn’t believe me.” Fox said, crossing his arms.
“Alright now it’s my turn!” Wrecker jumped up and cracked his knuckles in anticipation.
“Knock yourselves out.” Hunter gave a shrug.
For the next ten minutes of training Wrecker and Fox went back and forth trading pins and tips between rounds. Fox could tell that the larger clone was going easy on him but he didn’t care too much since anything was better than fighting the sparring droid. By the end of the session Fox could tell that he’d earned a bit more credit with the batch. In turn the batch had earned a bit more of Fox’s respect.