Part of The Pack

Chapter 6

Everyone knew that Comet was a prankster, troublemaker, and the pup of the wolfpack. Everyone thought that Comet was always happy, funny, and playful. Never once did it cross anyone's minds that Comet wasn't always like this. Nope, no one knew about Comet's past on Kamino as a cadet. Not that Comet would say anything about it. He had told no one, not the rest of his pack, not even Plo Koon. His batchmates knew but considering they were the source of the trouble, they would tell no one, either. Comet had gone through a lot on Kamino, but that made him tough and stronger. He tried to put his past behind him, but somedays it was easier than others. One of those days was today:

"You're stupid. It'll be your fault if never get off of Kamino!" said one of Comet's batchmates. He punched Comet in the face, leaving a fresh spurt of blood flowing from his now broken nose.

"Forget that. He's useless! He's the reason why every Kaminoan hates our squad!" another cadet said kicking Comet's shivering form.

Comet backed himself farther into the corner, eyes wide, shivering from the cold rain of Kamino and from how scared he was of his batchmates in his squad. He whimpered from the pain of his broken nose, his sprained wrist, his eye that would become black and blue, and the other injuries from his brothers. His nose wrinkled at the smell of his blood-soaked blacks, and tears blurred his vision. His brothers advanced on him, this time holding sharp-tipped metal poles and looking at him with full of hatred.

The roof of the building was quiet except for Comet's screams of pain and his shouted pleadings for help from anyone. His brothers cut him, his skin stinging from the pain, while others yelled harsh words at him. They didn't stop their abuse until later when the older cadets came around on their patrols. They found Comet limp and pale, bloodied water seeping through the drains on the roof and Comet shying away from their touch. That was just the beginning of the abuse he would receive from his time on Kamino.

Comet sighed, laying on his bunk, newly painted helmet resting on his chest, as he inspected the many scars he had gotten from his batchmates. He traced his scar on his cheek from where his brother, Veto, had cut him with a knife. That had been a couple of days after the first attack on the roof of Kamino. Comet had been glad to have gone with the wolfpack. His batchmates had all gone with the 104th, but they hadn't gone with the wolfpack. They had been beyond happy to have gotten rid of him, but he still saw them from time to time. Whenever Comet saw him in the halls, they wouldn't do anything, but only because Wolffe and the rest of the pack were with him.

"I hate you. All of you, for what you've done to me." Comet said. He hadn't realized he said it out loud and that the rest of the pack had heard him.

"What? Do you still hate us for not accepting you from the start?" Boost asked as he turned over on his side to face Comet.

Wolffe, Sinker, and Warthog looked over at Comet in confusion. They had thought Comet had forgiven them. Comet's faced flushed light pink in embarrassment.

"No. Not you guys, other ones." Comet said quietly. He wanted to kick himself. He had made them worry.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Wolffe asked softly. His hair was slightly disheveled because he had run his hands through his hair while filling out paperwork.

"Not really. No, I don't. Besides, it's all in the past, now. They can't hurt me anymore." Comet said harsher than he intended. The others flinched in surprise but nodded their heads as they went back to what they were doing.