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Trial by Fire	By : Jade_Max Category: +S through Z > Star Wars: The Clone Wars Views: 15246 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: Star Wars is George's sandbox, which now belongs to Disney; I'm simply destroying the sandcastles and playing with the action figures. I make no money off of this.

Chapter List
- 6
- 7
- 8
Author's Note: My apologies for this taking so long to get up - Major life changes required I put a good deal of my writing on hold. While I'm still not completely back just yet, I'm attempting to post at least once a month on all my stories... and it's this one's turn :)

Chapter 7
"Traxis."
Looking up from downloading the manuals for the newest anti-personnel audio frequencies, Traxis cocked his head at the Quartermaster. "What I can do for you, Ret?"
"Sarge wants to see you," Analret jerked his thumb over his shoulder towards the front of the storage area. "Your comm. off?"
"Shouldn't be." Glancing down, Traxis frowned upon seeing that it was; Blaze had used it to comm. him earlier, it should have been on. Biting back a satisfied smile as he realized it must have been accidentally shut off when he and Blaze had been in the workroom, he managed a short nod to the Quartermaster. "Must have knocked it; thanks."
"Sure," was the short reply as Analret went back to what he was doing. "Keep it on next time; I ain't your errand boy."
Traxis finished the download and placed the datarods back where they belonged before pocketing his datapad. He'd acquired a lot of reading material he had yet to go through and, after seeing the equipment, was eager to get started. Walking quickly to the front where Coric was waiting for him, he was surprised to find the normally good natured medic frowning, his arms crossed as he watched Traxis step from the side door.
"Busy, trooper?"
"There's lots to do, sir," he replied with a faint smile. "Ret's keeping me busy."
"Busy enough to miss your appointment in medical?"
Traxis paused in the process of closing the door, frowning as he cast his thoughts back, trying to remember what appointment - and winced. He'd completely forgotten he was due for his physical this morning and hadn't double checked his duty roster, as was his normal routine, upon waking since he'd known he was to report to Analret. "Sorry, Sarge," he offered by way of apology but didn't give an explanation.
“You’ve been missing them a lot since the transfers arrived, Traxis; it’s not like you.” Coric's frown deepened. "Care to explain?"
It wasn't exactly an order but Traxis answered him anyway. "I knew I would be back here and I didn't check my duty roster. I'm sorry, sir; I..." he paused and exhaled with a shrug, "forgot."
"You forgot." Coric's posture eased somewhat as he pinned Traxis with a look of consideration, disappointment clear in his gaze. "Something else you're not going to tell me about?"
"There's nothing to tell, sir," Traxis corrected with a grimace. He disliked the idea of disappointing the Sergeant but couldn't bring himself to explain. Blaze had made it plain he didn't appreciate people prying into his personal affairs any more than Traxis did. "It's the truth. My apologies."
"Don't let it happen again, Traxis."
"Yes sir."
"I've rescheduled your appointment for tomorrow morning after morning meal; don't be late."
"No sir." Traxis examined the Sergeant for a moment. "Was there something else, sir?"
"How's the shebs?"
"Fine." His answer was far more curt than intended. "I'm ready to return to duty anytime."
"Ret's asked if he can keep you for the rest of the week, barring any combat action." Coric's smile was faint. "Seems you've made quite an impression."
"The rest of the week?" It would mean another three days in the cavernous supply area with access to the instruction manuals and specs on the equipment he didn't get a chance to use on a regular basis. If ever. The idea was appealing, especially since Analret mostly left him alone to work. "What about the integration drills?"
"We can compromise," Coric assured him only to be cut off as Analret's voice coming from somewhere behind Traxis.
"Done with him yet, Sarge?"
"Just about, Ret," Coric lifted his voice to assure the Quartermaster before lowering it again to speak with Traxis. "See me when your rotation is done here and we'll discuss."
"Yes sir."
"Good," turning to leave, Coric moved swiftly out of the small area and down the corridor, leaving Traxis looking after him with a faint frown on his face. Part of him enjoyed working for Analret but the larger part was already itching to get back into the sims to work with his brothers. He wasn't the most sociable of clones, but he enjoyed the dynamics of teamwork none-the-less. It made him feel needed; useful, in ways inventory never could.
"Traxis!"
Giving himself a mental shake, he turned back to the door which led into the storage. For all he liked the novel feel of being on his own with the massive storehouse of weapons, he had no desire to spend the rest of the week doing what was normally punishment for shinies.
Unless of course, he was able to sneak Blaze back in a couple more times. Then, he thought with a grin as he keyed in the code for the thermal detonator storage bins and pulled up the inventory manifest, it might just be worth it.

++++++++
Blaze checked the connectors on his bitch one more time before adjusting the regulators and setting the ratio on the fuel injectors. The last made him smirk, an expression hidden by his helmet. The hum of the gunship as it slid through space, heading for the planet and the small factory that was their target, rumbled through his boots. Other than he and the other bitch carriers, Captain Rex, a medic named Kix, the demolitions troopers Silver, a scout named Deadeye and Jedi Commander Ahsoka filled out the compliment for the mission.
Never having really worked with a Jedi, Blaze wasn't putting a lot of hope into the fact they were stuck with a half pint, though she and the Captain seemed to be on well enough terms. He observed them covertly even as he mulled over the fact that only half of his squad had been permitted to carry their equipment of choice.
The good Captain, it seemed, wanted to see what else the bitch carriers could do and, as a result, himself, Bishop and Rukas were the only ones with their bitches. Rook, Heli and Coil carried extra tanks, just in case, and the harnesses to strap on the bitches should one of them fall, but were otherwise limited to standard deeces, a handful of grenades and, in Rook's case, a sack full of demolitions.
He'd been the last man to the hangar, his time with Traxis in the Quartermaster's supplies having taken longer than anticipated and it was only now he was getting a chance to connect the regulator Traxis and he had finally settled on to his kit. As a result, he was just waiting for one of his brothers to say something.
A soft ping and Coil's name appeared in his HUD. Activating the channel, not a private channel but the flametrooper's squad one, he kept his gaze on his mixture readings. "What is it, Coil?'
"It's not like you to be late," the other man noted dryly. "Too busy playing with your deece again?"
"Fuel injectors this time," Blaze replied, not bothering to keep the smirk out of his voice. Someone made a choking-coughing noise - Heli from the HUD info - but Blaze ignored it. "I had to mount it properly."
A smattering of amused chuckles greeted his statement and it was Rukas who spoke next. "Sure that was all you were mounting?"
"Jealous?" Confident his mixture was as right as he could make it with the new equipment on his bitch, Blaze lifted his gaze and secured the wand before reaching to the safety straps, just in time to avoid being thrown into Coil as they hit the upper edge of the atmosphere. "At least I don't need to work on my technique; getting someone killed doesn't count as flirtation."
"It does if you're Rukas," Heli came back with a laugh. "Some of the shinies positively get off on it."
"And some of them are going to get you demoted," Blaze came back, his tone matching Heli's gleeful statement before becoming serious. "These boys aren't all shiny like the ones back on Kamino in the training sims; some of them even think for themselves."
Rukas snorted. "Sure, man; whatever you say."
Turning, Blaze met Rukas' visored gaze with his own, imagining he could see his brother's eyes behind it. "I'm saying that your antics have already drawn attention we don't need."
"Blaze isn't the only one who's had it mentioned," Bishop added, though Rook remained silent. "It's being noticed, Rukas, and it's reflecting on all of us."
"Then why'd the Captain include us in this mission?"
"Probably to see if you'll use him and the other as fodder."
Coil's observation drew another round of short laughter before Rook spoke up. "We're not on Kamino anymore, vod; we're in Torrent Company and you need to act like it."
There was silence for a long moment before they were forced to end their communication as Rex opened a comm. line to everyone while using his exterior mic; a show of courtesy, Blaze realized, as the young Togrutan Jedi cocked her head to watch the Captain. Rex began without preamble; they'd all been briefed before entering the ship.
"As you know, we're not expecting resistance of the tinny genre, so if you packed droid poppers, chances are you won't need 'em. It's rumored that the package is guarded by unfriendly locals. Our objective: get in, extract the target, eliminate the facility and its contents before reinforcements arrive, and get out. Any questions?"
"Is that your way of saying the landing will be the easy part, sir?"
Bishop's dry remark made everyone chuckle despite the turbulence tossing them around and, while the comment was directed at Rex, it was the Jedi, to Blaze's surprise, who answered.
"No; that's his way of saying the fun part of the mission doesn't start until later." Her eyes sparkled with obvious mischief and anticipation as she flashed them a grin. "Don't worry, Bishop; you didn't come armed for nothing."
Blaze arched his eyebrows within his bucket in surprise when she not only got Bishop's name right but said it with confidence. He said nothing even as he noted Rukas and Heli exchange obvious looks despite their helmets.
There was no time for further chatter as Hawks' voice cut into the channel. "Thirty seconds to LZ."
Blaze could see Rex check his weapons, even as her was making sure the Commander grasped the safety straps, before turning to the rest of them. "Check your gear; lock and load."
Rukas let out an anticipatory, excited yell which was promptly echoed by Heli, Coil, Silver and Deadeye, drawing a grin from the Commander.
The ship banked hard.
"LZ is green; have fun out there!"
With a blast of air, the doors slid open and Blaze felt the gunship pull up sharply, just inches from the ground. Rex was out first, the Commander at his side, weapons in hand. Kix, Silver, Coil and Deadeye were next, Blaze on their heels with the wand of his bitch in hand ready in the event it was needed, followed by the rest of his squad.
A quick sweep of the landing zone showed no unfriendlies and he flipped the safety back on, angling the nozzle down and away as a precaution that was second nature.
The walls of the canyon where they’d landed were steep, jutting up beyond them hundred of feet with no vegetation at the darkened bottom where they stood. It was just like the debrief images; barren and desolate and the perfect way to approach the factory they needed to infiltrate. A factory that had a buried service entrance somewhere at the end of a series of nearby switchbacks.
What they hadn’t been able to determine was if there were unfriendlies in the area before they hit the building.
"We're five mikes from the target zone; thanks for the lift, Hawk."
"Anytime sir," was the pilot's immediate reply to the Captain. "Just call when you need a ride home; we'll be watching."
Rex waved to the gunship and Hawk saluted the Captain with two fingers before it veered upwards and away. Rex took a quick visual inventory before he nodded once, sharply, and turned to move out, the Jedi falling into step beside him, both at the column's head.
Blaze frowned behind his helmet; he'd never worked with Commanders who led from the front before. Despite having been told during the briefing that the Captain and Commander would be leading the way for this mission, he'd doubted the validity of that arrangement. Jedi and Captains weren't so plentiful they normally risked their necks like that.
Activating an internal comm. he voiced his concern on a private channel when the Captain cued up the connection. "Captain Rex."
"Yes, Corporal?"
"Respectfully sir, but I think someone else should take point."
"Any particular reason?"
"For starters, there is a better chance of getting shot at first there, sir."
"We get shot at no matter where we go, Blaze; I'd rather get it over with then wait for it."
"Sir... you and the Jedi are our commanding officers. Should our only casualties be the two of you, what would the General think?"
"I always take point; as do Commander Tano and the General; you'll get used to it," the Captain came back with an obvious grin in his voice. "Good try though."
It was a good way to get oneself killed, Blaze privately reflected, but he wasn't about to say it; Captain Rex was his Commanding Officer no matter how much he disagreed with his policies. Of course, if General Skywalker led like Rex said, it would explain a lot; Clones were known to mimic the styles of the Jedi they served with the most. He'd simply have to accept this as the norm for now. "My apologies, sir."
"None needed, Corporal," Rex switched the comm. transmission to external mic. "Look lively, lads; we're entering the edge of hostile territory. Deadeye; Silver."
"Yes sir?"
"Sir?"
Rex motioned them forward and on opposite directions of the line they were following. "Give me eyes, boys; I want no unwelcome surprises."
Both saluted and disappeared, tracking opposite but near identical, angles away. It was quiet as Rex continued to lead them forward, the Commander at his side. Minutes ticked by on his HUD as they passed into a slight incline area, the sort-of pathway they’d been following suddenly splitting.
Ahsoka said something that Blaze didn't catch; something that made the Captain chuckle and his eyebrows rose inside his helmet.
He had no time to dwell on that for Rex stiffened and lifted one hand in the universal 'halt' motion before flexing his wrist and directing them off the barely marked trail. Blaze slipped into the rocky landscape, knowing flametrooper armor wasn't exactly camouflaged, with its brilliant reds, any better than those with fresh, shiny armor.
Surprisingly, they seemed to blend in relatively well and Rex appeared first as Silver and Deadeye returned. Silver indicated a bust but Deadeye motioned for silence and beckoned them to follow. Rex keyed his internal comm. "Heli, Rukas, Coil, Bishop set up a perimeter here; this is our extract point. Get me clear lines of fire for the bitches with maximum spread and I want those AP mines in the ground and primed by the time we hit the doors. Once you’ve got a defensible perimeter, set up camp and get me eyes up top; evac isn’t until morning and I want no surprises. Blaze, Rook, Deadeye, Kix and Silver; you're with the Commander and I."
Blaze shot a look at Rook as the other man stepped up beside him, smug beyond belief that he wasn't the one who had to carry the deece and the explosives. Rook might be good with them but Silver was the obvious demolitions specialist. He grinned gleefully under his bucket. Rook was going to have to take his orders for this mission from the lesser ranked trooper; something his proud brother wasn't going to like one bit.
That alone made this trip worth it.
Deadeye took point, leading the way to what he'd found with Rex and Ahsoka close on his heels, Silver and Rook behind them and Blaze taking up the rear. It wasn't long before they rounded a corner to find the hatchway they'd marked as their point of entry and exit.
Turning his back on the group as Deadeye bent to the security console, Silver moving in to help him, Blaze scanned the area around the shielded door, liking the set up. It was a blind corner that led directly to the area where they'd left the others with only one point of entry and few places, except up a wickedly steep mountain wall, to hide an ambush party
Fingering the wand to his bitch, he silently reflected that there was a possibility he might not get to test the new additions to it this time around. A shame; Traxis, after their informative adventure in the workroom, had proven to be a fountain of knowledge regarding the components. He idly scanned the area while Silver and Deadeye worked with careful deliberation on the security system to the door and his mind wandered back to the Resolute.
Traxis' reaction when he'd hit the lights had been unexpectedly delightful.
A surprise though it had been to discover the other man's weakness for dark spaces, Blaze wasn't about to let the information simply slide by and slip into obscurity. The time wasn't yet right to use it to his advantage but it would be eventually and, once it was, he had every intention of wielding that knowledge like a finely tuned laser scalpel.
By that time the younger clone would be so enamored with him... he grinned. He was looking forward to Traxis' promise of obedience when the time came not to mention his eagerness to please, no matter the personal cost. That stage was always the most gratifying; the one he looked forward to most - the point when he could feign, or not, a waning interest and the other man would do everything and anything to rekindle it.
It would be interesting to see how long it took him to reach that point with Traxis; to see how far Blaze could build him up before breaking him the way Blaze wanted him broken. Already being fixated upon by Traxis, Blaze was getting a delighted, perverse sort of pleasure in watching as Traxis - already very much apart by choice thanks to his injuries at Teth when Blaze had arrived - began withdrawing from the men who'd reached out to him after the battle. The sooner he could separate Traxis from anyone with influence, anyone who’d shown concern that the Sergant Coric, the sooner Traxis would be completely his. Then he could break him again, the most fun was always in the breaking, and Traxis would do anything he asked. Anything.
"Got it."
The words interrupted his musings, his HUD thankfully still clear. Deadeye and Silver eased the hatchway back and checked the surrounding interior for pressure sensors and traps.
Nothing; Blaze could already feel how ill-used the entrance was.
"Good job Deadeye," Rex told the scout with a nod, once again on external mic. "Kix, guard the entrance. If we're longer than thirty, get back to the checkpoint, collect the others and get back to the Resolute."
"Yes sir." The medic replied, taking up a guard stance, his weapon in both hands.
Rex turned to the rest. "We know there are traps beyond this point. Deadeye, you're up front. I want nothing to slip by you."
"Sir, yes sir."
“Rook and Silver, you’re the demo team; split off and lay charges. I want this complex coming down the moment we’re back out this door.”
"Sir, yes sir."
"Blaze, you've rear guard. Ahsoka-"
"I know," she rolled her eyes. "Sense where she is." With a wave of her hand, she impishly indicated the door. "She's somewhere that way."
The Captain tilted his head at the less than respectful reply and Blaze imagined he was frowning at the Commander's flippancy behind his helmet. Blaze certainly was, but there was no trace of it in Rex’s words when he spoke again. “Go with Deadeye.”
Ahsoka nodded and followed Deadeye as he headed off. Rex turned to Blaze, Rook and Silver, nodded to Kix and then ducked inside the complex. Blaze shot a look at Rook before his brother and Silver entered, breaking away from the group and going the opposite direction from Captain Rex and the rest.
“Good luck.”
Blaze paused as he was turning on his head lamps, looking back to Kix and nodded once before ducking inside. Several step in showed that the interior was as dark and dingy and neglected as the outside and Blaze silently thanked the long necks for having the decency to give them helmets with filters. He could only imagine the stench coming off the rotted insulation. His HUD gave him a general layout of where things were in the dark and he followed the outline of Captain Rex’s form up ahead at the predetermined distance as per the field manuals.
He didn’t want to be in too close quarters in the event of a firefight. Bitches were better with a wide field or a narrow passageway; a narrow passage meant more distance and Blaze suspected that this was the reason Captain Rex had placed him as rear guard.
The quiet was uncanny, unsettling and disturbing, the echo of trooper boots the only sound to penetrate the audio sensors in his bucket. Even when he strained to hear her, Blaze found he couldn’t even catch a whisper of sound from the silent Jedi.
Without rhyme or reason, they seemed to turn right, left, another left, right again and then through three intersections before Blaze was left to wonder if they knew where they were going. Up ahead he could see the young Jedi Commander indicating the way they were to be turning - left again - and Blaze frowned.
There had been no sign of activity, no sign of life, yet, he could see that she had her lightsabre in hand and was moving cautiously. Not really understanding the mystical nature of the Jedi, Blaze had heard stories and been raised to follow their orders, but that didn’t mean he put his trust in the hocus pocus of their ‘feelings’.
Crossing another intersection and down a blind hallway, it was Deadeye who called the halt, the order trickling back in hand movements to Blaze from the front of the group. He pulled up short, checking the regulator on the flow valve to ensure stability in the mixture, even as he cast another look back the way they’d come.
Nothing.
Looking back to the front, he caught a hand motion that meant ‘trap’ – the first evidence that they weren’t alone down there and were, perhaps on the right track. Around the group in front of him, he say Deadeye disappear as the scout crouched. Planting himself with his back to the trio in front of him, Blaze did as was his job and kept an eye out behind.
Silence, dust motes and, no doubt an awful smell from the way the Commander occasionally wrinkled her nose, were the only company. Yet Blaze felt on edge; this was too easy.
Rex’s hand touched his shoulder a moment later, indicating Deadeye was finished, and the small squad moved out again. Stepping close, he made a hand signal to the Captain to report what he was feeling; something was off. To his surprise, the jaig-eyed helmet nodded in agreement but was followed up with a hand signal indicating that had to continue anyway.
Giving his Captain a sharp nod, Blaze fell back into his previous position. A chill skated up his spine a half second before they turned the next corner, his thumb automatically switching off the safety on his bitch as he turned…
And all hell broke loose.
++++++++
Traxis stood in his fatigues at the threshold of the medbay, reluctant to enter but knowing he’d been ordered to show, snapped to attention as Coric looked his way from where he was checking a read out for an injured trooper. “Traxis reporting as ordered, sir.”
Coric arched his eyebrows and shook his head, “At ease, Traxis. I’ll be with you in a minute; I’m almost done here.”
“Yes, sir.” Stepping out of the medbay as Coric hadn’t indicated he needed to stay within, Traxis took up a tense, parade rest posture just outside the door. He’d been dreading this encounter since Coric had come to see him earlier, something telling him that the Medic wasn’t going to keep this strictly professional if he gave him any cause to.
The thought of sharing the newness he had with Blaze was almost an affront; it was his, not a topic to be shared. What Blaze made him feel, what Blaze did with him… Traxis shook his head. The relationship they were building wasn’t for public consumption on any level, despite Blaze’s brash assertions he had no shame. What they did at night in the gym was between them and Traxis had every intention of keeping it that way despite Coric’s continual inquires as to his physical health.
On the heels of that determined thought, Coric stepped through and Traxis came to attention, making the Medic frown. “At ease.” He motioned for Traxis to follow, stepping into a small office off the medbay. A look Traxis’ way and Coric settled himself on the edge of his desk, watching the younger clone shrewdly.
Traxis managed not to squirm under that look, keeping his at ease posture as the door closed behind him.
“How’s Ret treating you down in supply?”
“Good, sir.”
“Not the typical reaction I hear after troopers have been under his iron fist.”
“He leaves me to my own devices mostly, sir,” Traxis offered. “Once he’s given me my duties, I rarely see him.”
“Well, you’ve made an impression, Traxis,” Coric offered with a smile. “A good one. According to his report on your progress, you’ve a head for the hardware and a talent for ensuring all the toys are with the right base.”
“It’s not difficult, sir,” unable to help himself, Traxis shrugged. “All of the information is in the manuals if one cares to look.”
“And most don’t,” amusement laced Coric’s tone. “I can see why Ret’s asked to keep you. In two days you’ve caught him up on the heavy equipment inventory that’s been backlogged for the last three weeks.”
Taken aback, Traxis had no answer. Working for Ret was easy; so easy in fact, he didn’t see what the issue was or why shinies got assigned the task as punishment. Ret wasn’t hard to get along with as long as you did your job; it was only if he had issues that the gruff Quartermaster stepped in. And Traxis, after the first time, had applied his detail oriented mind to ensuring it hadn’t been needed.
As if sensing his unease at being praised, Coric continued. “That inventory is going to increase deployment speeds for heavies by almost half, Traxis. That’s the reason Ret’s asked to keep you.”
“While I’m flattered, sir, I don’t think-”
Coric held up one hand and laughed softly. “I know, Traxis; I told him he couldn’t keep you. Didn’t win me any points with him, that’s for sure.”
“Then why… I don’t understand, Sarge.”
“You need to be out there with us; training and socializing. Your looks weren’t the only casualty on Teth.”
Flushing, for Coric was never mean, but the blunt statement was almost cruel, Traxis snapped to attention and turned his face away to his scars weren’t facing the medic. It was the first time Coric had ever referenced them in a non-medical fashion and, knowing how ugly they were, even to Coric, hurt.
“Traxis.”
“Will that be all, Sir?”
Coric pushed to his feet. “Look at me, Trooper.”
There was a snap of command in that order and Traxis reluctantly did so, the band around his chest tightening as he forced himself to meet Coric’s eyes and braced himself for the disgust he would see. Yet... there wasn’t any. Despite Coric’s order, his eyes were compassionate.
“It’s a fact, Traxis; you look different from your brothers now and you need to get used to it.”
“You can call them what they are, sir; I’ve looked in a mirror.”
“And what are they?”
“Ugly,” Traxis forced the word out. “Proof I wasn’t-”
There was silence for a moment as Traxis cut himself off, even though Coric already knew how he viewed his deformity.
“They’re a part of you now,” Coric finally insisted, “but no matter how many of the rest of us accept it, you are the one who needs to decide if they’re a badge of shame for what you couldn’t do, or a badge of honor for surviving one of the worst battles this Company has ever fought.”
Waiting for a moment for it to sink in, for Traxis felt the words like physical blows, Coric finally motioned he was dismissed. Turning to go, he was stopped by Coric’s last words.
“And Traxis?”
“Sir?”
“If nothing else, maybe this situation with... a certain flametrooper will return to you some of the confidence the scars, which you traded for your life, took.”
Not knowing how to respond, Traxis nodded once and stepped into the corridor, heading for the mess, his mind still whirling with the Medic’s words. Coric had given him a lot to think about.
- 6
- 7
- 8
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Trial by Fire