Part of The Pack

Chapter 3

It had been a few weeks since they got their pup. Wolffe couldn't help but smile whenever he saw the childish clone. Comet had gotten the idea that because he was the pup, he could do whatever he wanted. It made Wolffe mad whenever he did something bad, but Wolffe was a loser for those puppy eyes. It was his weakness and Comet knew it, so he used it to his advantage. Wolffe had more of a bond with Comet than the rest of his pack. Cody and Rex, his batchmates, saw that Wolffe had been much happier since Comet came along and joined the pack. They also knew that Comet was not the adorable innocent little cinnamon roll they thought he was. He was a menace that looked like an adorable innocent little cinnamon roll that was, a lot worse than Waxer, Boil, Fives, and Hardcase. He got along great with them. They knew that Comet got out of trouble easily, it was because of his puppy eyes.

 Last night, Comet had annoyed Echo so much that Echo, who was usually sweet, had thrown his regulation manual at Comet. It had hit him in the eye and Comet had run off going to Wolffe. Wolffe had taken one look at the pup's eye and told Echo off. Echo had apologized profusely and after he had practically screamed for forgiveness, Comet finally forgave him. 

Wolffe woke up and he started to get up but Sinker whined. The pack shifted hearing Sinker's whine but they didn't wake up. They had slept in their usual pack pile, which was better now that they had another member to cuddle with. Wolffe ignored Sinker and proceeded to get up. Sinker whined again and grabbed Wolffe's arm. "Stay" he mouthed. Wolffe shook his head, only for Sinker to give him his puppy eyes, which weren't as effective as Comet's. Wolffe sighed and lied back down. Sinker yawned and snuggled up against Wolffe and Boost, falling back asleep.

It wasn't until later that morning that they got some news that worried them, especially Wolffe. They knew it would happen sooner or later but they still weren't ready to hear it. 

"Commander, prepare the men. We're heading to the Khorm system tomorrow." Plo Koon said while the pack had been getting ready to go to the mess hall for breakfast. He left them to go to his council meeting. 

"I'm not ready to die yet." Comet squeaked he looked at the pack with wide eyes. 

"Who says you're going to die?" Warthog asked. He wished that nothing would happen to the pup on their mission tomorrow. 

"Shinies don't even have a 50/50% chance of surviving their first mission. I know what's going to happen, Warthog. We all know what's going to happen tomorrow." Comet said sadly. He loved his pack, he didn't want to leave them, as a grieving mess.

"Comet, I promise to protect you," Wolffe said. He was not going to let anything happen to him. He failed Scorpion, he wasn't going to fail Comet. 

"Wolffe, don't make a promise you can't keep," Comet said. He knew what would happen to Wolffe if Comet died. He would be an unstable emotional mess. 

"No. I failed Scorpion, but I won't fail you. I will make sure of it." Wolffe growled. Comet just nodded his head. 

The pack had gone to the mess hall but they ate quietly. The other clones decided to leave them alone, they knew what happened when they bothered them when they were brooding. It would result in going to the medbay because their hand got bitten. Plo Koon came walking into the mess, wanting to talk with his pack, but he walked back out into the hallway when he saw they were brooding. He understood they were scared about what would happen to Comet and he decided to stay clear of them until their mission was over regardless if Comet was alive or not.

The Wolfpack had gone throughout their day making Comet happy and allowing him to do whatever he wanted. It didn't do anything to ease their worries. Comet had gone back to annoying Echo and this time Echo didn't throw his regulation manual at Comet. Comet had thrown sand at Anakin, made fun of Cody and his love for Obi-Wan, and annoyed Kix in the medbay. 

Comet had looked at his armor, white and shiny, and he retreated to the Wolfpack's quarters. He wanted desperately to paint his armor but he knew he wouldn't get the chance, unless, he survived Khorm. Which was unlikely. He flopped down on his bed, a bit dramatically, and sighed. He took a nap because he had nothing better to do. 

When Wolffe walked into the pack's quarters he saw Comet asleep shivering because of how cold the room was. Wolffe grabbed a blanket from the pile of blankets in the corner and draped it over Comet. He tucked it around his body making sure to keep him as warm as possible. He stopped shivering and Wolffe smiled knowing Comet was safe. For now, Wolffe thought bitterly. Wolffe walked out and told the rest of the pack to stay clear of their quarters because Comet was sleeping. 

Later that night the pack cuddled next Comet pulling him close, in their usual pack pile. Comet was in between Boost and Sinker. Warthog had Sinker against him, and Boost's back was against Wolffe's chest.

Plo Koon was meditating in his quarters. The force was telling him that Comet would be okay on Khorm, but someone else wouldn't be. He tried to meditate on it harder, but the force wouldn't tell him anything more. He decided to keep a close watch on the Wolfpack tomorrow. 

That morning was hectic and chaotic. Comet had a major panic attack and he refused to go to Khorm. Sinker had gotten hit with Comet's shoulder pad, Boost had a boot thrown at him, and Warthog had gotten hit with Comet's helmet. Wolffe had woken up early to get the rest of the 104th Battalion ready for Khorm, so he missed Comet's outburst. He knew something was up when they finally arrived in the hangar. It may have been because Boost, Sinker, and Warthog were dragging a very uncooperative Comet, behind them. 

Plo Koon was amused when he saw the Wolfpack trying to get Comet on the Republic Cruiser. Comet went limp to make it harder for them to get him on the Cruiser. It was much harder for them to get Comet on the gunship, he was thrashing and flailing his arms and legs while they held him, and it was practically impossible to get him out of the gunship. When he was finally on Khorm, he kept jumping at every noise he heard thinking it was a battle droid. 

When the troopers encountered the battle droids, Plo Koon, had to use the force to make sure Comet didn't run off and try to hide. What Plo Koon could not do was, use the force to get Comet to stop screaming. The rest of the 104th Battalion felt bad for the shiny, their shinies that had come off of Kamino with Comet, were already dead. 

Comet blasted droids, but he stayed as close to Boost and Sinker as much as he could. Wolffe was nowhere to be found, and Warthog was up in the sky part of the air attack because he was a pilot. Comet could smell the blood of his brothers, hear the screams of his dying brothers, and hear the clank clank of the battle droids. When the battle droids had been defeated Comet panicked because he lost Boost and Sinker, he spun around and around, but he couldn't find them anywhere. 

"Hey, Comet. You doing okay?" Wolffe asked behind Comet. Comet turned around and launched himself into Wolffe's arms. Wolffe stumbled backward a bit, not expecting Comet to have done that.

"Yeah, I'm fine now that you're here. I couldn't find any of you guys." Comet said. The rest of the pack caught up with them, minus Warthog. They had to track down Asajj Ventress who Plo Koon had saw earlier during the battle. Comet squeaked. He knew about Ventress, and she loved to kill clones. She loved to cut shinies in half with her lightsaber. 

It was a while later when they found Ventress. Comet hid behind Boost as Ventress got closer. Ventress could feel fear in the force, her eyes landed on a shiny, who was hiding behind an older clone. Ventress smirked, she realized it was the Wolfpack, and she knew the shiny was the pup of the pack. She knew it would be devastating for the Wolfpack if something were to happen to their pup. 

"Well, well, well. What do we have here? It looks like a shiny. Did you know that a good shiny, is a dead one?" Ventress said as she watched the shiny shake in fear. 

"Don't touch him. Leave him alone." Boost demanded, aiming his blaster at her. The other members of the pack had formed a circle around Comet, their helmets were off, and they bared their teeth at Ventress. 

"Now, why would I do that?" Ventress force pushed the clones out of the way, they could be dealt with later. She ignited one of her red lightsabers and walked closer toward the whimpering clone. She raised the lightsaber above her head, preparing to cut the clone in half.

"Comet!" Wolffe yelled.