New Power

Ch 26

"You.. called me here, Chancellor?" Cain asked carefully as he tentatively walked into Palpatine's office.

The Chancellor grinned. "Yes, Cain. I have new instructions for you." He motioned for Cain to sit across from him and slid a datapad over to Cain. "I would like you to work with this team. They need proper training as they are still relatively new to the war. Clone Force 99," the Chancellor said and their picture came up on it.

Chancellor Palpatine continued, "They've each got enhancements, so don't underestimate them. I'm sure they'd be valuable to work with." He drew the datapad back toward himself. "They should be arriving tomorrow morning, if they are indeed punctual enough."

"Am I to do any bounties or other things while I'm with them?" Cain asked. "And how long am I with them for?"

"As long as it takes for them to get proper fighting strategies. They don't come to Coruscant, or even Kamino, often so you will be separated from the girl I believe is Ulari." Palpatine gave him a sympathetic smile. "I will send you any missions you may need to do, but other than that, you should go get packed and ready."

Cain nodded and got up out of the chair, making his way to his quarters with dread settling over him.

~~~~<+>~~~~

Cain reluctantly packed a bag with eveything he may need. He'd asked Padmé if she was able to keep Ulari in her quarters and watch over her. Padmé was delighted and said it would be a pleasure, but Cain couldn't help but feel he was using her a bit.

He looked over at his helmet on the counter, it sitting still shiny silver. Fives told Cain that he was coming back to Coruscant later that night. Cain hoped it'd be enough time to paint his armour a bit, partially fulfilling what he and Fives wanted to do.

He heard footsteps outside his quarters and quickly pulled the hood of his jacket up. When the door opened, he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Ulari," Cain said with a warm smile. Ulari smiled back and gave him a quick hug. "Would you like to help me paint my armour tonight if Fives makes it back in time?"

Ulari nodded. "Now I have to think about what to put on your armour. Hmm," Ulari pondered and walked to her room. Cain heard her rummaging around, flicking through the pages of a book every now and again.

~~~~<+>~~~~

Fives came into Cain's quarters later than anticipated, it the early hours of the morning. Ulari was peacefully asleep and they didn't want to disturb her.

"Even if you aren't part of the 501st right now, the blue says you'll always be a part of us," Fives stated as he carefully painted blue lines on Cain's left shoulder piece. Cain painted his helmet, a cloth covered in blue paint, along with his fingers.

He looked up and frowned slightly. "You make it sound like I'm dead," Cain said, but laughed afterwards at Fives' slightly shocked expression. "I'm kidding. It's really sweet."

"Yeah. And I'm sure Rex would've loved to help, but he's still with Skywalker and Tano." Fives gently placed the shoulder piece on a plastic sheet and picked up the other one. He dipped the paintbrush in the blue paint and matched it to the other one, it looking like a continuous drawing. It looked like an infinity symbol, but more straight. Unlike them.

Cain had painted an F in Aurebesh in a way where it didn't quite look like an F, but lines over his helmet. In a certain position, one would be able to see it. He also painted a U on the other side in the same style, along with a small A on the right below his visor.

Fives placed the other shoulder pad on the plastic sheet and shook a can. "It's a clear layer. It'll help it stay on, even though this paint is made for armour." He sprayed both shoulder pieces.

Cain placed down his helmet and Fives sprayed it. "Looking good," Fives praised. Cain moved closer to Fives and leaned his head against Fives' shoulder.

"I'm going to miss you," Cain whispered.

Fives chuckled. "I know. I will too."

~~~~<+>~~~~

Cain hung his bag off his shoulder, his helmet sitting uncomfortably against his ears as he watched a black ship touch down on the main platform of the Jedi Temple. He had been informed that this ship was a modified cargo ship fit for battle, and was called the Havoc Marauder. He was also told that their armour colour scheme was vastly different from Cain's, making him stand out against them.

The ramp opened and out came a clone with black and red armour, like the rest of the squad. He took his helmet off, and what Cain saw shocked him. He'd been told about the restrictions for clones, but this one was definitely going against them. He had a large facial tattoo. The one directly behind him also did, but it was the crosshair of a sniper. The other two didn't have their helmets off.

"Sergeant Hunter," the one with the large facial tattoo said and held out his hand for Cain to shake.

"General Cain, but you can just call me Cain," Cain introduced himself, shaking Hunter's hand.

"I suppose I'd better get you acquainted with the team." Hunter motioned to the one with the crosshair tattoo. "That's Crosshair." Hunter then pointed to the one with yellowish goggles. "That's Tech." He motioned to the one that was huge and taller than Cain had ever seen. "And that's Wrecker." Wrecker cracked his knuckles and most likely smirked under his helmet.

"You're a Jedi, are you?" Crosshair asked with a slight sneer. It didn't seem like he trusted Cain with even a milimetre of his being.

"No," Cain said and put his hand on his lightsaber. "Unlike the Jedi, I'm not properly trained with it. And I can survive without it."

Hunter nodded and lead them aboard the Marauder. They sat in their seats and Cain picked one that was empty, near the computer on a wall.

"Hey, you won't dob me in or anything, will you?" Cain asked to the team. They all looked at him confused, but the expression was skilfully masked into neutral.

"Like what?" Hunter asked calmly.

"This." Cain took his helmet off, his ears springing up and he massaged them with a slight wince.

Tech, who had taken his helmet off when they sat down, walked over to Cain. "Fascinating," he said quietly. He kept a respectful distance as Cain fished around in his bag for tools he had packed.

"I have to make some adjustments because the padding doesn't.. well, suit me anymore. I don't think the Chancellor knows what I am, so please, don't tell anyone." Cain started carefully removing the padding out of his helmet.

"Shouldn't the Chancellor already know?" Hunter asked. "You work for him, don't you?"

Cain gave him a slightly deadpanned look. "I didn't know myself until a couple nights ago."

"Is that why you're telling us now?" Hunter lent against the wall of the ship.

"Yes. So no one freaks out. Especially when I walk through fire unharmed. Or use fire. My family magic attribute is fire." Cain readjusted the padding and stuck it back into his helmet and put it on. "Much better."

"I'm sure we'll keep that in mind." Hunter walked backt o the cockpit as Tech returned to it and eased the ship into the atmosphere.

"Where's our first destination?" Cain asked as he took his helmet off and held it at his hip while walking to the cockpit.

"Delta Squad of all people have requested backup. We're going to help them," Hunter said with a slight smile.

All Cain could think of for the whole trip was Alyssa.