SWRC: Tales of the Clone Wars (Book 2.5)

Chapter 2 An Outer Rim War.

"Captain," said a clone trooper coming up beside Tye.
"What's wrong Radar?" replied Tye, not bothering to correct him at that point as Radar only seriously talked to him when something was wrong.
"Incoming."

"I do not hear anything," said their commander Neeran, having heard the corporals report.
"Commander, this is Radar and he's never wrong about these things," hurriedly explained Tye as he primed his blaster and yelled, "Incoming!"

Blaster fire began to erupt around them, Tye's mind and thoughts went to a different place away from all the noise around him.

'This is Inahe.
It's hot, dry and the droids have already mostly left.

I don't think that there was much of a reason for us to come out here honestly. Most of the droids had already been moved to their next grounds of attack. The few left we dispatched quickly with minimal effort.

It was actually kinda disappointing.

At least the natives are a bonus.
They're all nice people and greeted us pretty welcomingly, for people who have practically nothing.

We'll be on the move again shortly, following this war one fight after another.

But it would be great if my two missing trooper would get here sooner rather than later. Wash is still really confused because there is only 142 of us here, instead of usual 144 troopers. The sooner our two replacements get here the sooner he'll be at ease and come to terms with his friends deaths.

And maybe I'll come to terms with their deaths as well.

We'll just see how that goes though...'

Tye looked over his unit as they rested in the aftermath of their disappointing battle. Most were in their small groups of friends and/or former training team mates but off to one side, Tye noted a lonely Corporal Washington staring off into the water filled distance.

Deciding that Wash really needed someone to watch over him then, Tye stood up and walked over to the lonely trooper.

"You're doing well Wash," said Tye, placing a hand on his shoulder. "You're keeping your promise."
"It's just," started Wash and breaking down slightly. "It's so hard. It's like I can't ignore and it's permanently part of my programming."

"It might very well be," said Tye having spotted C.T watching them. "But you're still fighting it. And you're still winning."

The low hum of an incoming ship alerted the small company to newcomers.
"It's one of ours," informed Radar, having already heard the incoming ship and determined that it wasn't a Separatist ship.

"We are technically short two members," said Tye as he watched the ship come over. "But I don't recall any mention of new assignees any time soon though."

"Is it Klick and Rain?" asked Washington excitedly. Tye turned to remind him kindly of their death when the pair were interrupted by an unwelcome shock to the truth by a considered friend.

"They're dead C.T-5298," said C.T coldly. "Remember?"
"C.T!" snapped Tye.
"He needs to face the truth Tye," replied C.T. "You're only making it worse for him."

Tye didn't reply as the ship touched down behind them. He and C.T had fought numerous times in the past but it had never usually escalated to that level before and Tye was concerned as to where it was going to go.

"Tye!" yelled Tick, waving him over. "You're gonna wanna come and see this."
"This just keeps getting better," muttered Tye to C.T, as he turned and ran over to where the twins were. "What's wrong?"

"Tye?" asked one of the two newcomers.
"Kye?" said Tye as he looked at the newcomer. "What are you doing here?"

"I feel like I should be asking you that," said Kye. "I was reassigned here. I didn't know you were here."
"I'm technically in charge," said Tye. "I've been made Captain of Orange Company."

Tye then noticed the multi-coloured trooper standing behind his old friend and former traning team mate Kye.
"Who's this?"

"This is... the rainbow trooper," said Kye.
"Rainbow trooper?" asked Tye raising an eyebrow.

"He refuses to change his armor colour," said Kye. "And that's put him at odds with every other place he's been assigned to."
Tye had turned his full attention to the rainbow trooper in front of him.
"What's your name?"

"I wasn't ever given one," said the trooper. "I was considered an Oddball among my training squads but I didn't like that name."
"Well then, how 'bout 'Colours' ?" asked Tye.
" 'Colours' ?" asked the trooper. "Why 'Colours' ?"

"Well, you have every colour under the sun on your armor," replied Tye with a shrug. "And calling you Rainbow sounds a bit weird."

"Colours," whispered the trooper. "I like it."
"Then that's your name," said Tye. "Just one proviso."

Colours looked at Tye questioningly and Tye explained, "The predominant colour has to be orange."  
"Yes sir," said Colours, seemingly more exuberant than before.

"Call me Tye," said Tye. "I don't like the whole 'calling by rank'  thing."

"I like colours," said Washington suddenly. "I like the colours of water."
Tye rolled his eyes and said, "Colours, this is Washington. He loves water like you love colours."

"Can you draw?" asked Wash suddenly.

Even Tye, who was used to Wash talking so fast, was slightly taken aback by how quick he had asked that question to someone he hardly knew. But Colours didn't seem to be phased by it.

"Yes," he replied. "What do you want me to draw?"
"I can't go to the water, so can you draw a picture of the water?"

As Tye, Kye and the twins watched the two new rapidly speaking friends depart, Kye turned and asked, "I've never seen him like that before."

"How long have you been with him?" asked Tye.
"He was reassigned to my platoon about 2, 3 months ago, I think," said Kye. "I honestly didn't think much about it. But I always remember that he was distant from everyone."

"Because no one would accept him," said Tye with a sad smile on his face. "That's how most of this company came together. The most unaccepted, rejected, misfit, defected, unstable; they all ended up here in Orange Company under my command."

"That's how you knew what to do with him," said Kye in surprise.

"If you'd talked to me about it back when I was first put in charge, I wouldn't have been like that at all. He would have been transferred from company to company until he was either severely wounded or killed," said Tye. "Most likely the latter of the two."

Kye was extremely surprised by Tye's change in attitude towards those considered defects by their creators, but felt that he preferred this version of Tye to his previous self. "Is everyone else here?"

"C.T, Dye and Aye?" confirmed Tye, as he looked over at his lonely team mate. "Yeah, they're all here."
"He still alone all the time?"
"Most of the time," sighed Tye. "He's not really out to make friends."

"He's more out to lose them," said Tick.
"He is very lonely," added Tock.

"This war has done many things to us," sighed Kye. "How much longer do you think it'll last?"
"Who knows," said Tye. "Any word of how far it's spread?"
"It's mostly out here in the forgotten parts of the galaxy," informed Kye. "Those stationed closer to the Core haven't seen much action."

"We've taken a beating out here for them," said Tye. "It's like no one really cares what happens to us at all."

"No one certainly seems to."
"This really is," sighed Tye, staring out into the distance.

"Just an Outer Rim War."