Buckets: A Star Wars Story [THE ANNIVERSARY EDITION]

2. Shiny

One day, I had decided to hang back after the lessons. We had our leisure time to do with what we wanted. Most cadets headed to the cantina or back to their rooms for that coveted extra nap in the afternoon. My performance on the Walkers had been less than ideal, so I stayed around to work on the simulations again. It was either I passed this portion with exemplary marks or I was stuck doing grunt work for the rest of my career and frankly, I wasn't in the mood to be glorified cannon fodder. It wasn't anything out of the ordinary, except that Captain Kando had been watching me flounder about in the simulation time and time again. I had to have been on my fourth go around when he finally spoke, "You're never going to pass by doing the same thing over and over again, Shiny."

I hadn't even realized he was there, and him speaking up out of the blue nearly launched me out of my skin. He gave a barking laugh at the fact I did literally jump up a foot off the ground as he came towards me, arms crossed across his chest and a knowing smirk on his face.

"I've watched you for the last half hour. Ever thought about changing your tactics up a smidge?"

"I've tried literally everything," was my protest, but it only served to make Kando give another chuckle as he shook his head.

"No..." He gave an incline of his head to the simulation booth looking more than a little amused, "You've tried two tactics interchangeably over the past fifteen tries and neither of them has worked. You've tried to brute force your way through it and then tried to avoid those rockets entirely. How's that working for ya, Shiny?"

Admittedly, not well. I just gave a little shake of my head in reply and suddenly found the texture on my boots to be the most interesting thing in the room.

"Ever considered being defensive for a change? Just because you're a big metal monstrosity doesn't mean you have to go to them."

It was stupidly obvious. It was so stupidly obvious that I am sure looking back on it that every ounce of blood went to my face in sheer mortified embarrassment. Kando thought it was hilarious. He was laughing so hard I swore he was going to pass out before he clapped a hand affectionately on my shoulder and shook his head.

"Shiny, don't overthink it. You're a good cadet, but you think too much. Now, get back in there and pass the sim."

And I did with Kando watching. When I stepped out, still feeling a little stupid, he was standing there with a smile on his face. He threw his arms out with a knowing grin as I passed a hand over my neck, "Thank you, sir."

"Ah, it's why I think you should do these tests as a group. The first time you'll work with anyone is when they actually let you in one for the actual training," Kando gave his eyes a sardonic roll as his arms fell back down to is sides. "Some of you don't need to be anywhere near a Walker, I understand, but how the kriff are you supposed to learn to coordinate altogether in one?" He cut himself off before a tangent and just gave a sigh as he shook his head. He turned to me after a time and smiled as he clapped a hand on my shoulder, "Eh, you're ready, Shiny. Just stick close to your seniors and listen to your commander. Trust the men to your left and right and be sure they can trust you."

"Sir, why do you call me 'Shiny'?" It had been an honest enough question. Kando glanced at me with a grin forming on his face, but he didn't say anything for a long while as the two of us made our way out of the simulation room.

"Your armor's still got that off-the-rack shine to it. It's what we used to call new troopers before..." Kando trailed off for a beat, and I saw something in his face change. His smile faltered a bit and I saw his brow twitch. "Well, doesn't really matter now, does it?" We halted at the stark metal crossways that led to the cadet lodgings and the instructor ones, and Kando turned to me again with a smile that was smaller than the one he had worn earlier. "Get some rest, cadet. You've got a test tomorrow that I expect you to pass."