I woke up the same way I always did, alone and with a myriad of notifications on my data pad requesting my attention before the day had even begun. Sighing, I swung my legs over my bed and groaned as I wiped my eyes with my hands.

  The war with the Separatists had been raging for the past six months, and I've yet to see any action. I spent nearly the entirety of my short life practicing my marksmanship, close-quarters combat, and simuted missions with my brothers, and none of it amounted to anything.

  Well, that wasn't entirely true. According to the whims of my superiors, the best way to put all of my skills to use was to be a middle-managing security officer at the Kamino cloning facility. I understood the importance of protecting a pce like this; not only was it my home, but should anything happen to it, thousands of my brothers would die before they even left their tubes.

  It's just...my brothers are fighting and dying, and I'm here just checking on water leaks, handling disputes between the other clones, and doing the same routinized security checks over and over again. I could be doing so much more, at least, I like to think I could help make a difference in the war. Call me idealistic or whatever you want, but seeing nothing but white walls and a never ending downpour of rain will make anybody start to lose their marbles.

  "Well, the day will go on without me if I just sit here," I said in a meager attempt to motivate myself.

  It didn't work, but I had things to do, as dull as they might be.

  I quickly cleaned up for the day before donning my bck body glove and putting on my white and grey armor, indicating my security officer status. I typically went without my helmet, as did most of the brothers when inside the facility. While the regutions of the Gactic Army of the Republic were strict, many of us here on the facility were given a bit of leeway. I mean, where else but home, right?

  I clipped my stun baton to my waist and holstered my DC-15 side arm bster and with one final breath, stepped out into the hall bustling with dozen's of my brothers headed to breakfast or early morning training.

  "Hey! Good morning, 86, looking as handsome as always." I groaned internally at the veiled insult. While all of us clones were born from the same DNA from Jango Fett, making us all the same person in appearance. I, on the other hand, was born with horns simir to those that a Zabrak would have. Meaning, I not only stood out amongst my brothers, but my helmet as well had to be altered to fit my head, making me feel ridiculous at times when I was required to wear it.

  I've heard rumors about clones with abnormalities being nyxed by the Kaminoans, but for some reason or another, I was spared.

  "Hello, CT-2135." I returned his greeting and made it a point to ignore his teasing.

  "Aw, don't be like that, and I told you my name is Looper." He said with a shove to my arm.

  "Right, because you always come around to annoy me each morning, got it." I chuckled, and he frowned.

  "No, because I always make sure to be thorough on my missions, checking everything twice. As a matter of fact, I was just promoted to Sergeant for my efforts." He said, his voice dripping with pride. "At this point, I outrank you."

  "Hate to rain on your parade, Looper, but regutions state that I supersede your authority in all matters of security, nice try. You won't be giving me any orders anytime soon." He grunted at that but said that while that was true, I'd still have to obey orders in non-security matters.

  Asshole.

  We parted ways when we got to the mess hall, and I grabbed a nutrient bar and some Bantha milk to wash it down. I had a schedule to keep and it only allowed for short meals throughout the day, so a fvorless bar packed with vitamins was my go to in the morning.

  After scarfing it down, I patrolled the East Wing of the Facility while checking out the requests that came in that morning. And just as always, each of the requests amounted to little more than problems like faulty locks or lost access cards. I submitted a few maintenance requests and called for new access cards to those who requested it after doing a sweep of the area, which took up a few hours. Being meticulous was the name of the game.

  I called it busy work.

  As I was walking down the long corridor that connected the East and West Wings of the facility, I looked down at the massive cloning machines, all the blueish-green tubes that contained new clones still growing. The cloning process never ceased to amaze me. Hundreds of thousands of us, with millions more on the way, were created for the sole purpose of winning a war. And to think we all came from the DNA of one Mandalorian bounty hunter.

  As I was fiddling with my data pad to see what requests and extra security checks needed to be conducted in the West Wing, I was stopped by a reddish hand that grabbed my own.

  "Ah, General Shaak Ti. I was uninformed of your arrival, please excuse this oversight of mine." Shaak Ti was the main Jedi that I had become acquainted with, and she would often talk to me about her missions whenever she came to check on the cloning facility. The other Jedi, such as Obi-Wan Kenobi and Mace Windu, were nice enough. But she seemed to take an actual interest in my work, as dull as it was. It got to the point that even my brothers teased me for being an ass-kisser or some nonsense like that.

  Truth be told, I didn't care. Seeing her always served to lift my spirits.

  "Don't worry, 86, I was not meant to be here today, as I'm currently on leave after my st mission."

  "And you decided to spend your free time on this waterlogged pnet?" I asked with raised eyebrows, as there were plenty of other pnets to take a vacation on, ten times better than this one.

  "I didn't come here for the scenery, that much is obvious." She took a few steps ahead of me before stopping me in my tracks. "I came to see you." She fshed a smile, and I found my gaze drawn to her plump, white lips.

  "Well, while I appreciate it, General. I'm afraid I'm currently on my rounds and don't have the time to hang out right now." She shook her head.

  "Nonsense, I've already taken the liberty of granting you leave as well so that you may accompany me." Puzzled, I asked why she would do that. It wasn't that she couldn't do this; she was in charge of all of us security officers here on Kamino after all. It's just, why would she go that far to speak with me uninterrupted?

  "Is this an order, General?" I asked hesitantly, unsure of what to make of the situation. She put her hands on her hips and gave me a wry smile.

  "Do I have to make it one?"

  "No, I'd be happy to accompany you and hear about your test mission. How long will you be staying with us, a few days?"

  "One week, the entire duration of my, well, our leave." She said happily. "After which, I will be stationed here on a more permanent basis to oversee the combat training for new batches of clones and fully embrace my role as the commander of the clone forces here. In other words, we'll be seeing much more of each other, 86." She smiled brightly.

  "That's wonderful, but don't mind me, I know you have a big job to do and I'll try not to take up too much of your time when that comes." Her smile faltered for a moment before it perked back up just as fast.

  "Yes, of course. Thank you for your consideration. Now then, will you be so kind as to have lunch with me in my quarters?"

  "I'd be honored, General." I turned off my data pad and gestured for her to lead the way. As we made our way through the endless maze that was the white and bck hallways that the Kaminoans seemed to love so much, various troopers said their 'hello's' and saluted. Despite her limited appearances up until this point, as a Jedi, she was well-liked by all of us clones for her kindness and less cold way of speaking to us.

  And seeing as she would now be here on Kamino full-time, it would no doubt boost morale when my brothers learned about it.

  Finally, after a walk longer than I had anticipated, we had made our way to the administrative wing of the facility where the Kaminoans, Jedi, and high-ranked clones congregated or stayed during extended visits. Shaak Ti's quarters were down an isoted hallway with nothing but a storage closet being the only other room in the hall.

  She punched in a code and stepped into the room, with me falling in step behind her.

  It was incredibly spacious, and to my surprise, unlike the walls outside, the walls were painted a dark blue. The room itself was adorned with pottery, pnts, and various crystals that sat upon shelves and desks of various sizes. A rge, white couch sat in the center of the room opposite a colossal monitor that hung from the ceiling. To complete the room was a decently sized kitchen, fridge, and a bathroom next to it. The final room, I assumed, was her bedroom, but that door was closed.

  "The perks of being a Jedi and a General." I mused out loud. "Certainly puts my room to shame. If I ever start being able to move things with my mind, will I get perks like this?" I joked as I moved past her to admire some of the pottery on a nearby shelf. "So, what is on the menu for-" I turned, and before I could react, Shaak Ti had wrapped her arms around my neck and pulled me in for a deep, sloppy, and desperate kiss. She pulled away after a moment and looked down at me with dark-blue eyes in a haze.

  "You."