Battles Leave Scars

Chapter 12: Generals

     "Alright, kid, an Idiot's Array is the best possible hand you can have in Sabacc," CT explained, holding up a selection of cards. He pointed to each as he continued, "You need a two, a three, and 'The Idiot'. It's the beat-all...and basically cheating."

      "Though that is a little-known fact, since most assume that Sabacc is the best—since the games called 'Sabacc'," Mixx added. He was trying, and failing, to single handedly shuffle the deck with one hand and fuse the iron brackets for Caleb's lightsaber with the other.

     "I don't get it. What's the point? It's all luck," Caleb confessed as he stared at his cards, numbers, colors, and symbols blurring together.

     "Woah, kid! No. No. No. No! You have it all wrong! You must know what to play," Mixx announced, finally giving up on his futile workmanship.

     This was only partially true. Sabacc was, in essence, a tragically simple game. To win, one needed to get as close to twenty-three or negative twenty-three as possible. The clones, knowing the rules, were shocked at how long it was taking Caleb to catch on. Had he never played a game before? The answer was pitifully obvious.

     Caleb laid his cards on the table, "That's just memorization, besides I can already tell that Big-Mouth is cheating."

     "Oh, well, you caught me," Big-Mouth sighed and flung the hand he had been playing, as well as the cards he had stuffed up his sleeve, onto the table with far more bravado than it required.

     "I can't believe you! I am trying to give the kid a nice reprieve with an honest game of Sabacc!" CT shouted.

     "Honest? Since when was Sabacc honest?"

     Caleb gripped the bridge of his nose as the two clones devolved into a shouting match that helpfully disguised Grey's outburst.

     Caleb faintly heard Grey holler 'blazing Council' and cringed; that probably wasn't good.

     The other clones paid no mind however and continued right on with their bickering.

     "Sorry, shiny. No offense, but I don't think the tiny commander is enjoying this." Big-Mouth began cackling at Mixx and CT's shared look of stupefied shock, before motioning to Caleb, "If you want to play strategy, beat me at Dedjarik."

     A shadow crossed over CT's face. He gripped Caleb's shoulder and, despite knowing that Caleb had never played Dedjarik before either, whispered, "Take him down, Commander."

                                   ***

     Depa and Grey, feeling no better than they had ten minutes before and beyond furious at the galaxy and its inhabitants, mainly the ones in the council room on Coruscant, dragged themselves out of Grey's barrack and toward the hanger's holo-briefing room.

     Grey's features were caught in a scowl so deep, his worry lines even harsher than usual, that his face appeared to have been modeled by a primary schooler with far too much love for ink and scissors. Depa didn't dare meet Grey's eyes and instead kept her face the picture of normalcy; the last thing they needed was Styles to learn about the mission ahead of time. Neither Grey nor Depa wished to have the captain pacing around the hanger till his legs fell off, much less convince him to stop.

    Upon nearing the door, Depa and Grey were stopped by a mass of clones all huddled together on the edge of their proverbial seats.

     "Grey, what are they doing?" Depa questioned as they approached.