HOME | DD

CWC: A Lesson in Tact — Description
"Yeah, and get this- apparently those guys had to make a 'tough' decision on whether or not to shoot back at them! Whoever their C.O was must have been a basket case! Haha!" Echoed a party of officers from across the room at 79's. The lads were clearly on shore leave and decided to partake in the staple pasttime of drinking. The head of the group- or at least the loudest- was a Lieutenant, judging from the chest rank on his fleet uniform.

Tal, adorned in his armor, minus his blasters and sword- heard all of what the distant party was discussing. His blood began to boil, teeth grinding in frustration and grip tightening around the glass mug in his possession. 'Keep talking buddy, the more air you spend now- the less you'll have when I polish the bar counter with your face.' Thought the ARC trooper, with the resolve to do just that and more. Luckily, he wasn't alone- the booth where he sat was accompanied by Kane, Gutfeld and his ARC Squad's second in command: Zaine.
"Easy boss." Said his fellow ARC officer. "He's just a rook- probably hasn't even jumped near the Outer Rim."
Gutfeld then chose to jump in. "Hell, he probably hasn't even gotten close enough to a droid to land a punch!" As usual, the jokester of Zeta Squad applied his logic that can't be countered because of its sheer idiocy- that if even attempting to respond would further drive home the fact that you lost.
Kane elbows his marksman swiftly in the arm, not breaking posture or even his calm demeanor. "FIERFEK!"
Even with the humor at the table, Tal was still honing in on the conversation from afar- the ridicule that was being directed at the 77th and their altercation with the planetary defense forces. And once again, the head of the group was crucifying an officer that was at the heart of their punchline.

"That's it." Tal abruptly stood up from his seat and made his way to the unlucky clones. Zaine attempted to lunge from his position to stop his team lead but fell short.
"Captain, DON'T!" As he yelled to him amidst the rowdiness of 79's patrons, Kane notions to Gutfeld to call for backup while he takes inventory of the medical supplies in his pack.
Tal plowed through the crowd of bar attendees varying from hostess girls, server droids and troopers- neither faltering or slowing in step. Finally, after countless customers moaned and complained from the shoving, he made it to the crew of officers- pushing aside the unnecessary members. The officer in question then wore a confused and agitated look on his face.
"The hell do you-"
Before he could finish, Tal grabbed him by the unkept collar of his dress uniform. Catching his eyes in a deadlock, the ARC trooper began to tighten his hold and lift him off of the ground- a true testament to the fact that his build and prowess trumped the average clone. The bar attendees all focused on the two clones, music still playing but a lack of glasses toasting and drunken karaoke. At that moment, Zaine began closing in on the group and spotted Coruscant Guard and Senate Security in tow behind Fox- their commander.

"Shab."

Just another night in the city of lights.

This piece takes place in one of the later arcs, where the 77th find themselves training local militia and planetary defense forces in the fight against the CIS. The altercation in question is further along in the arc where the 77th's troopers have spent a few months into training the forces to where they've become relatively close- until one incident of blue-on-blue occurs only for it to ignite a hellfire of lies, betrayal and an everlasting scar of distrust no one could have anticipated. You witness Tal in this excerpt lose his composure because the officer that was being ridiculed was a man who he took under his wing- despite the difference in their status as general infantry and special ops. War is hell, causing the lines between duty and ideals to become blurred.

This is the side of the Clone Wars you were never meant to see.