Kamino was one of the most strategic and important planets to the Republic during the Clone Wars. Namely, because it was the birthplace of the Grand Army of the Republic. Thousands of clones would be shipped out daily to reinforce the army in the field or to form new battalions as the war's end moved further into the future.

Tipoca City housed one of the largest military complexes in the galaxy, with its huge cloning facilities and even larger training complexes for the Clone Army. Within one of the hundreds of training halls stood a group of clone cadets socialising. Sentry droids flew overhead with bright searchlights to monitor clone performance.

The intense hubbub of the open-top facilities let loose thousands of conversations, from the mess halls to the drill centres. With the overhead speakers always droning orders that nobody could even begin to comprehend due to the mess of communications.

The group of clones numbered four altogether. Close to the standard size of the usual cadet groups. However these clones were not to become regular soldiers, They were officer cadets. One group of many others to become junior officers upon their training's end.

The doors of the hall hissed open as one of the clones jumped in surprise "Atten-!" he bolted to attention and then turned to face the intruder "Oh Blast you Brag!" He shook his head as his body morphed back to his casual stance in disappointment. The other men laughed and slapped him on the back. He had mistaken him for the Master Chief.

The intruder was the last of the group, just barely on time. It was Brag. An accomplished cadet, but overconfident. "Heh, I knew I'd get you this time Howler!" He joined the group in the circle and slapped him on the back. Howler was aptly named after his ability to always detect if the Master Chief was entering the room a few seconds quicker than the others. He shrugged off Brag's declaration and sighed as he rolled his eyes.

"So Brag, what are you doing so late?" Chimed in another man, Star. Named because of his status as the 'Star' of the group. Scoring perfectly in almost all of his examinations. "I was just down in maintenance halls" "Never knew you were being demoted to maintenance! Finally accepted your new career as a bad batcher eh?" barged in Pip, the little brother of the group.

All but Brag laughed in unison once more "Can it, Pip! Or I won't let you the information I just learned!'' Brag hit him in the arm as his mouth formed a smug smile. "Let me guess what it is this time, You met General Skywalker down there and he's going to put you in the 501st and even put you on to become an ARC trooper" Clapped in Brake, assuming this was yet another one of Brag's stories. The group was plenty familiar with how Brag liked to boast.

Brake was Named aptly due to his ability to overthink just about everything in a stressful situation, with a desire to slow operations to a crawl. Brag grumbled, "Do you boys want to know or not?" the rest replied with deadpan faces, suggesting that they certainly don't want to hear another one of Brags 'adventures'. "Amuse us, Brag" called out Howler in a monotone.

"Glad you asked!" Bragg's smug smile formed once more. "I heard that today is the final exam, whenever the Master Chief decides to show up that is!" Everyone instantly either groaned, shook their heads or did a mix of both.

"There's no way they would spring it on us without warning, Brag" Star crossed his arms. "Yeah, I thought we would finish at least thirty rotations from now" Brake agreed. "That's the thing, boys. They're fast-tracking our batch for reinforcements, plus you all know that they're upping the production numbers" Brag raised his finger in the air correcting the others.

"I did hear the Master-Chief in the mess a few rotations ago saying we're good enough for the field right now" Pip chimed in on Brag's defence. "That just means we're getting the best cadet group award Pip" Star slapped the back of his head. "Yeah, there's no way-"

Suddenly the doors whooshed open "-Attention! Master-Chief on deck!" Howler cried out. It wasn't a late arrival this time. They all rushed into formation as a trio emerged through the door. At the head led the Master Chief. A retired bounty hunter hired by the Republic to train upcoming cadets, there were many more like him in Tipoca City. He was human but stood at least a foot over the cadets. His face looked weathered with bags under his eyes and he maintained a perfect buzz cut with well-kept brown mutton chops on his cheeks.

On his right, he led a Jedi and on his left, he led a Kaminoan. The three of them moved to the front of the formation while the clones all gave a collective stomp and stood at attention. "Officer-Cadets! You have passed all physical and mental exams thus far! Normally you would have a few more to pass! However, I have orders to get a few groups of mine out to the front early! With this session today, you will give your all and attempt the final exam!"

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Brag fought with himself not to let his smugness form a smile in front of the Master Chief. This was an incredible occasion for him. One of his stories was factual. The others felt quite the opposite. Howler, Pip, Star and Brake all felt as if their hearts had dropped to their stomachs.

He continued "This is Jedi General Shaak Ti" He gestured to his right "One of the many Jedi you will serve under in the field!" He then glanced to his left "And this is Dr Komo Ne! Here to make sure you are all up to scratch!"

The Doctor raised a finger interrupting "Well, to monitor combat performance and review genetic structure" The Master Chief was stunned for a moment as he glared at Komo and flared his nostrils. It was obvious the Komo wasn't used to the discipline he had to distil so instead of expanding his lecture, he spared the Doctor and faced the formation.

"Anyway!" Master Chief curled his hands behind his back "Am I understood?". The Clones all chanted back with a mighty cry "Yes, Master Chief!" He smiled, "Good."

The Bounty Hunter withdrew a datapad from his belt and began working with it for a few moments. Brake kept his head on straight as the Master Chief worked away on his datapad but couldn't help to let the thoughts race through his head. This was the final exam for his commendation to become a real officer, this was what he was bred for. But a huge pit in his stomach was forming, fear, anxiety and excitement were building up. His mind was already going into so many avenues of thought that he didn't even think of the surprise that Brag was speaking the truth for once.

The feelings began to shift around his stomach. First, it was like a whirlpool. For the next few moments, it was shifting up and down. But the more he had to wait the more prevalent it got. His throat began to dry up as the seconds turned to millennia.

Brake took a mighty gulp to force these feelings back down his throat. It worked only slightly as he took a deeper than normal breath. His thoughts began to wander and focus more on the excitement as he thought about his training coming to an end.

'I wonder what General I will serve under' he pondered, letting curiosity attempt to coup his inner anxieties and doubts. Most of the Officer-Cadets were given extra classes on strategy and tactics after the bloodbath that was Geonosis. It led to them learning about the faults of Jedi Strategy during the battle, which in turn led them to learn more about the Jedi.

'Jedi General Kenobi would be incredible or maybe even General Skywalker! But the 501st is one of the hardest units to get into. I could barely get into the 7th Sky Corps! Never mind a specific Battalion I want.' Brakes anxieties had pushed the excitement back with the aid of fear.

As Brake kept fighting his inner thoughts. Dr Komo Ne and Shaak Ti were inspecting the troopers, Looking at the formation up and down. The Doctor was less interested in the men, seeing them more as tamed animals and less than men. Shaak Ti on the other hand stood patiently with her hands clasped with one another.

Brake could feel something else. Not brewing inside of him but an outward force looking in. As if he was made of glass and he was being looked through. It started at an inkling and grew to a pulsating beat.

With his eyes facing forward he couldn't see any outside force staring into him. His peripheral vision was discounted due to his training helmet and no trooper would dare to move his gaze when being drilled. Especially on a final exam.

As the pulsating continued Brake felt the need to divert his eyes, just for a moment. It would be a quarter of a second at most. 'Nobody would notice' He began to convince himself. 'The Master Chief is too busy on that datapad to even notice' He reassured himself.

'What if this is a test?' Anxiety pulled back at him. 'What if they're trying to see who cracks first?' Brake's anxiety and paranoia pulled at his thoughts. In reality, he was simply standing at attention awaiting further orders. But in his mind, he was lifted into the air through his thoughts, with nothing to ground him.

The pulsating ire had returned after his bout of paranoia with a skin-crawling sensation. His skin was infested. His hair stood on end. He had to get some relief. 'Nobody will notice' he started to convince himself again.

Brake writhed under his skin as he was finally convinced. He took a semi-deep breath, trying to keep his chest from moving. He attempted to move his eyes but they couldn't move. Throughout this episode, he was having both mind and body had been separated.

Tensing his body and stealing his mind. Brake propelled his eyes. Suddenly, Terror engulfed his entire being. His mind began to race as his eyes were stuck in fear. They began to widen. He wanted to scream, but his Body wouldn't respond.

Shaak Ti was staring back at him. Out of anyone to be staring at, Brake was looking at the worst option. Brake's thoughts now regrouped and moved to the consequences. What will she say? What will she do? His mind began to speed up once more.

As Shaak Ti stood and stared softly at Brake. Just for a moment, Her mouth moulded into a knowing smile. As her eyes shifted back to its usual patrol of the formation. The infestation went numb, then disappeared. Brake's eyes clicked back into the default position. His mind was grounded within a moment as it crashed back into reality.

The Master Chief's neck elevated from the datapad "Alright, Let's get started troopers!" He enthusiastically cried. "General, Would you like to do the honours?" He showed Shaak the datapad. Her finger craned out as she looked up and down the list. "Hmm, Him." She clicked on the pad.

He looked up from the datapad and threw his arm up at the formation his finger outstretched. It turned down the line. Craning past every clone who sighed in relief knowing they were not first. Until it reached the very end. It was Brake. "CT-3128! You're first!"