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ajremixBeen back in clone commando hell for the last couple weeks and a couple videos I'd been watching reminded me that, in Legends-era at least, a lot of the Mandalorian words and customs that spread through the regular troopers were mainly from commandos and ARCs and my mind kind of went on a tangent from there.
I guess clones play hacky sack now.
Title: Kicking It
Fandom: Star Wars: Clone Wars/Republic Commando
Rating: G
Word Count: 1217
Characters: Cody, Obi-Wan, Delta Squad, various minor appearances
Summary: In which clones play a game except for when it's not a game.
Cody watched for a good five minutes before he was compelled to step in. Not because anyone was doing anything wrong, merely to sate the questions that had been burning in brain since he stepped into the hangar. “What are you doing?”
“Oh, Commander!” Waxer said, eyes and majority of his attention still on whatever game he and several other troopers were engaged in. “Have we gotten orders?”
“No. Carry on with… whatever you’re doing.” Cody paused for effect. “What are you doing?”
“It’s a game, sir.”
“I can see that.” A game which had caught on quickly if the other half dozen roughly formed circles of jeering clones was to be considered. “What game is it?”
“Don’t know what it’s called, sir. Saw one of the commando squads doing it and picked it up from them. Far as I know-” Waxer cut himself off as the fist-sized ‘ball’, as far as Cody could tell, came his way. He gave a little sideways hop, letting it hit his chest, then, as the ball bounced off, kicked at it with the side of his boot, sending it back across the circle. “The only rules are if you let it drop, you’re out and you can use anything but your hands.”
Commandos, huh? That made sense. Whenever a new trend went through the troops, it tended to be started by either commandos or Jedi and Jedi trends were generally less… raucous.
“Heads up, Commander!”
Cody jolted, instinctively catching the ball the came arcing his way. The clones around him booed and laughed in turn. “C’mon, sir! You can do better than that!”
The ball was mostly spherical, a hole on one side and slightly flattened on another. It like very much like the ball part of a ball-and-socket joint. “Did you take this from recycling?” Cody asked.
“We asked first.” Cody magnanimous ignored the sotto, “Mostly,” that followed.
All in all the game seemed harmless enough and was a far less destructive way to let out energy than the last game some commandos had spread around. He tossed the ball to Waxer and stepped fully into the ring of other clones. “Alright, lads. Show me how it’s done.”
---
The game had seemed harmless enough at the time and it spread like wildfire through the troops. With their frequent collaborations, the 212th passed it along to the 501st where it eventually got to the 104th who quickly came to realize that it probably wasn’t a simple game as had been originally thought.
Wolffe and his pack had been pinned down by droids with no Master Plo Koon or back-up available and their resources quickly dwindling. A commando droid, safely from behind its shield, hurled a thermal detonator at the clones.
“Grenade!” There was no room for them to escape the blast radius but they flattened themselves against the wall by instinct-
Except for Sinker who had stepped out of cover, caught the det neatly in the cradle of his ankle and foot and flung it back with a sharp kick. There was a mechanical ‘uh-oh’ and an explosion. The clones all looked to Sinker who stood apparently shocked by his own actions. Then Wolffe yelled for a charge and, finally, they were on the offensive.
That news made its way back to Obi-wan- and Cody, by extension -in short order. “Apparently it was from a game they picked up from us,” Anikin said over the holo, “and Rex said we picked it up from you.”
“Commander?” Obi-wan asked. “I recall seeing you joining in a time or two.”
“Yessir. Waxer said it was from a commando squad.”
“I believe Delta was the last squad we transported?”
“Affirmative, sir.”
“Good. I do believe we’re supposed to be picking them up from their last mission. I’m curious to hear what they have to say about it.”
---
“I see. Excellent work as always, Sergeant,” Obi-wan said, handing the datapad of recently acquired Separatist codes to Cody.
Boss, as crisp and professional as ever even with fresh blaster marks on his armor, said, “Thank you, sir. Will that be all, General?”
“There is a question I had for you and your men.” He waved a hand toward them, leaning against the edge of a table himself. “Please, be at ease. It isn’t about anything official.”
Boss and Fixer remained in perfect position. Sev and Scorch exchanged glances. “Of course, sir. What about?”
“I understand you’ve started a trend among my men. A game?”
Boss tilted his head. “A game, sir?”
“Where you kick a ball to each other?”
“Ah, yes. I suppose it could be considered a game, technically it’s for training. I’m afraid Forty here is to blame for that.”
Fixer turned his head just enough to give a very good impression as to what he thought for being ‘blamed’. Obi-wan turned to the commando in question and asked, “How exactly did you come up with this, ah, training exercise?”
“No- don’t ask Fixer to tell a story!” Scorch said, not quite loud enough to be interjecting.
“We were engaged in a firefight with Trandoshans. One threw a grenade into our position. Oh-seven tried to kick it back and ended up hitting Six-two in the back of the head instead.”
“Ugh,” Scorch rolled his helmet to the ceiling. “Fixer is so bad at stories. He tells ‘em like he’s debriefing.”
“It was pure luck the explosion didn’t take off Six-two’s head,” Fixer added, his voice a shade or two icier.
“Not like there’s anything useful in it,” Sev said.
“No bullying in front of officers, Deltas,” Boss reminded them flatly. Sev grumbled.
“So it is a counter for grenades?” The commandos’ helmets moved in a way Obi-wan had come to know as ‘curious surprise’. Even if they had different training and trainers than the troopers, much of their body language was still the same. “A trooper in the 104th had kicked back a grenade and claimed it was an instinctual reaction after playing this game. I was merely curious if that had been the intent behind it or not.”
“The 104th, sir?” Asked Boss, audibly confused. “I don’t believe we’ve ever been in contact with them.”
“This game has become quite popular among the troops. They’ve been sharing it with their friends in other divisions.”
“Well, whaddya know, Fis’ika- you’re a trendsetter!”
“Good job giving away our trade secrets.”
Fixer just silently withstood Scorch and Sev’s commentary with his usual long-suffering grace. Obi-wan only mildly tried to hide amused smile. “Thank you for indulging my curiosity, Delta squad. Please, rest up. You’ve more than earned it.”
With a sharp nod, Boss turned and strode out, his squad falling in behind him. As the door closed behind the commandos, Cody stepped up to Obi-wan and asked dryly, “Should I add this game as part of training, General?”
“Absolutely not. The moment you do, half of them won’t be able to see it as anything but. Do keep an eye on what commandos get up to in the future, however. Sometimes they can get a little too… creative.” Which, Cody had long since learned, was Obi-wan-speak for ‘destructive’.
Cody huffed in acknowledgment, grateful for the lack of broken noses this time around. “At least it’s not get’shuk.”
I guess clones play hacky sack now.
Title: Kicking It
Fandom: Star Wars: Clone Wars/Republic Commando
Rating: G
Word Count: 1217
Characters: Cody, Obi-Wan, Delta Squad, various minor appearances
Summary: In which clones play a game except for when it's not a game.
Cody watched for a good five minutes before he was compelled to step in. Not because anyone was doing anything wrong, merely to sate the questions that had been burning in brain since he stepped into the hangar. “What are you doing?”
“Oh, Commander!” Waxer said, eyes and majority of his attention still on whatever game he and several other troopers were engaged in. “Have we gotten orders?”
“No. Carry on with… whatever you’re doing.” Cody paused for effect. “What are you doing?”
“It’s a game, sir.”
“I can see that.” A game which had caught on quickly if the other half dozen roughly formed circles of jeering clones was to be considered. “What game is it?”
“Don’t know what it’s called, sir. Saw one of the commando squads doing it and picked it up from them. Far as I know-” Waxer cut himself off as the fist-sized ‘ball’, as far as Cody could tell, came his way. He gave a little sideways hop, letting it hit his chest, then, as the ball bounced off, kicked at it with the side of his boot, sending it back across the circle. “The only rules are if you let it drop, you’re out and you can use anything but your hands.”
Commandos, huh? That made sense. Whenever a new trend went through the troops, it tended to be started by either commandos or Jedi and Jedi trends were generally less… raucous.
“Heads up, Commander!”
Cody jolted, instinctively catching the ball the came arcing his way. The clones around him booed and laughed in turn. “C’mon, sir! You can do better than that!”
The ball was mostly spherical, a hole on one side and slightly flattened on another. It like very much like the ball part of a ball-and-socket joint. “Did you take this from recycling?” Cody asked.
“We asked first.” Cody magnanimous ignored the sotto, “Mostly,” that followed.
All in all the game seemed harmless enough and was a far less destructive way to let out energy than the last game some commandos had spread around. He tossed the ball to Waxer and stepped fully into the ring of other clones. “Alright, lads. Show me how it’s done.”
---
The game had seemed harmless enough at the time and it spread like wildfire through the troops. With their frequent collaborations, the 212th passed it along to the 501st where it eventually got to the 104th who quickly came to realize that it probably wasn’t a simple game as had been originally thought.
Wolffe and his pack had been pinned down by droids with no Master Plo Koon or back-up available and their resources quickly dwindling. A commando droid, safely from behind its shield, hurled a thermal detonator at the clones.
“Grenade!” There was no room for them to escape the blast radius but they flattened themselves against the wall by instinct-
Except for Sinker who had stepped out of cover, caught the det neatly in the cradle of his ankle and foot and flung it back with a sharp kick. There was a mechanical ‘uh-oh’ and an explosion. The clones all looked to Sinker who stood apparently shocked by his own actions. Then Wolffe yelled for a charge and, finally, they were on the offensive.
That news made its way back to Obi-wan- and Cody, by extension -in short order. “Apparently it was from a game they picked up from us,” Anikin said over the holo, “and Rex said we picked it up from you.”
“Commander?” Obi-wan asked. “I recall seeing you joining in a time or two.”
“Yessir. Waxer said it was from a commando squad.”
“I believe Delta was the last squad we transported?”
“Affirmative, sir.”
“Good. I do believe we’re supposed to be picking them up from their last mission. I’m curious to hear what they have to say about it.”
---
“I see. Excellent work as always, Sergeant,” Obi-wan said, handing the datapad of recently acquired Separatist codes to Cody.
Boss, as crisp and professional as ever even with fresh blaster marks on his armor, said, “Thank you, sir. Will that be all, General?”
“There is a question I had for you and your men.” He waved a hand toward them, leaning against the edge of a table himself. “Please, be at ease. It isn’t about anything official.”
Boss and Fixer remained in perfect position. Sev and Scorch exchanged glances. “Of course, sir. What about?”
“I understand you’ve started a trend among my men. A game?”
Boss tilted his head. “A game, sir?”
“Where you kick a ball to each other?”
“Ah, yes. I suppose it could be considered a game, technically it’s for training. I’m afraid Forty here is to blame for that.”
Fixer turned his head just enough to give a very good impression as to what he thought for being ‘blamed’. Obi-wan turned to the commando in question and asked, “How exactly did you come up with this, ah, training exercise?”
“No- don’t ask Fixer to tell a story!” Scorch said, not quite loud enough to be interjecting.
“We were engaged in a firefight with Trandoshans. One threw a grenade into our position. Oh-seven tried to kick it back and ended up hitting Six-two in the back of the head instead.”
“Ugh,” Scorch rolled his helmet to the ceiling. “Fixer is so bad at stories. He tells ‘em like he’s debriefing.”
“It was pure luck the explosion didn’t take off Six-two’s head,” Fixer added, his voice a shade or two icier.
“Not like there’s anything useful in it,” Sev said.
“No bullying in front of officers, Deltas,” Boss reminded them flatly. Sev grumbled.
“So it is a counter for grenades?” The commandos’ helmets moved in a way Obi-wan had come to know as ‘curious surprise’. Even if they had different training and trainers than the troopers, much of their body language was still the same. “A trooper in the 104th had kicked back a grenade and claimed it was an instinctual reaction after playing this game. I was merely curious if that had been the intent behind it or not.”
“The 104th, sir?” Asked Boss, audibly confused. “I don’t believe we’ve ever been in contact with them.”
“This game has become quite popular among the troops. They’ve been sharing it with their friends in other divisions.”
“Well, whaddya know, Fis’ika- you’re a trendsetter!”
“Good job giving away our trade secrets.”
Fixer just silently withstood Scorch and Sev’s commentary with his usual long-suffering grace. Obi-wan only mildly tried to hide amused smile. “Thank you for indulging my curiosity, Delta squad. Please, rest up. You’ve more than earned it.”
With a sharp nod, Boss turned and strode out, his squad falling in behind him. As the door closed behind the commandos, Cody stepped up to Obi-wan and asked dryly, “Should I add this game as part of training, General?”
“Absolutely not. The moment you do, half of them won’t be able to see it as anything but. Do keep an eye on what commandos get up to in the future, however. Sometimes they can get a little too… creative.” Which, Cody had long since learned, was Obi-wan-speak for ‘destructive’.
Cody huffed in acknowledgment, grateful for the lack of broken noses this time around. “At least it’s not get’shuk.”
