The original story is posted under "Fanfiction" on the Brothers All Forum.

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PROLOGUE

He was young. To some, naive. To others, a hero. He was unlike all the other troopers-to-be, often found trying to communicate peace and mercy to the holograms and training sergeants which were to role-play as the enemies he would soon face. This troubled his own sergeant so much that he gave up trying to teach the little boy the methods of war and instead, sending him away to the lab to be dealt with. The Kaminoans were in shock. How could this be? They blamed it on a mistake in the gene tinkering, a chemical imbalance, a phase from a wrong idea which would eventually fade away...but even so, the boy continued this odd behavior, to such extent that the Kaminoans gave up before they even began the extermination process. Eventually, after several threats of being left behind, he learned to keep such radical thoughts to himself and instead obey the orders he was given. In fact, he played so well behind this mask of his that he forgot what peace and mercy really meant...

Sep 24, 2009 8:17 PM | Report Abuse reply

CHAPTER ONE

"Zero?! ZERO!!"

The clone trooper snapped his head up. He had been so intent on destroying the enemy that he hadn't heard his sergeant, Bender, call his name. Bender snatched the DC-15a rifle away from Zero.

"Fierfek, Zero, they'll dead ten times over with you shooting at them like that! Can't you ease up on them a little?"

Zero laughed.

"Being one of the best snipers in this unit, I'm afraid I can't afford that luxury, sir. After all, I'm the one you depend on to clear the area, even if it does mean killing the enemy ten times over."

Bender glared at him.

"And if our men are down by your so-called friendly fire?"

Zero got up and took his rifle back.

"I'm not color-blind, sir. I can tell white from brown."

Vix and Clay, his two closest companions, followed close behind him as the company began spreading over the newly-cleared area.

"You do well, Zero," Vix said, slapping his friend on the back. "I'm proud of you."

"Well, I --"

There was a crash behind them, and the three whirled around. A young Mandalorian woman, helmetless, was looking up at them from being flat on her back on the ground. She began to beg almost immediately.

"Please, don't shoot! I've given up; the contract's gone sour. The Separatists have doubled-crossed me... I... I have a family. I can give you information. But please, have mercy on me!"

"Please, have mercy on me!"

The young man, clad in ragtag armor, almost dying, looked up pleadingly.

"I'll give you information, codes, highly guarded documents - anything! Please, I have a family. A life back home. My employers have double-crossed me... said... things that weren't actually true! They conned me into this! If I just could get one chance of revenge... Please, spare my life!"

Little Zero grinned.

"You don't have to worry about that, mister. I wasn't going to shoot you anyway."

He held out his hand, offering to help the man up. The man looked at his hand, then his smiling face, and sneered. He pulled out a gun...

"NOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!"

Zero opened fire, instantly killing her as he sprayed the entire area with wild shots. The other troopers ducked and dodged, some even getting hit and falling dead themselves. Bender was over there instantly, whacking him across the head and back into reality.

"YOU @#$%!! YOU'VE COST US LIVES, INFORMATION... WE COULD HAVE USED HER!!"

Zero stared blankly down at the woman's body, trying to shake the image of the man's gun out of his head.

"No...sir. It was all...a...lie."

Sep 24, 2009 8:17 PM | Report Abuse reply

"What do you mean, 'It was all a lie'?!" Bender yelled. "What if she was telling to truth?!"

"IT WAS ALL A LIE!!" Zero yelled back. "I WON'T MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE I MADE IN...training..."

His voice faded off as he realized what he had done. He looked around the clearing, then into the patches of woods where the other troopers were staring at him.

"Did... did I -- ?"

Zero couldn't finish. He swallowed hard, trying to force the tears down. Bender sighed.

"Zero, it was an accident, OK? But you really, really need to concentrate right now. We can't have...you know. This."

He swept his arm to indicate the fallen and wounded, but Vix stopped him.

"Sarge, that's not helping," he snapped.

"Well, what will?" Bender retorted. "Because I can't have a handful of men falling down dead every time Zero has a flashback."

Vix started to say something, but Clay gave him a sharp nudge, indicating that he shouldn't go on. Vix snapped his mouth shut, and Bender turned back to Zero.

"Ner vod," he began, but Zero held up a hand.

"I don't want to hear it."

"You don't know what I'm going to say."

"I do. It's the same speech you give every time I lose it."

"No, it's not."

"You're just denying it to soften the blow."

Bender sighed. "Maybe I am, maybe I'm not. But you still need to hear it."

Zero glared at him.

"Just shoot me. Sir."

Bender slowly took off his helmet and motioned for Zero to do the same. Zero paused, then reluctantly did so.

"Zero, there's a shipment of supplies coming in in a couple of days. The shipment is being accompanied by a Jedi general. We can have him or her --"

"NO!"

Zero froze, realizing how loud his exclamation had been, then quickly backpedaled.

"I - I mean...sir, that's great...but I don't need that sort of help."

Bender gritted his teeth in annoyance.

"I wasn't asking you, Zero. You're going to be healed by that Jedi, whether you like it or not."

Sep 24, 2009 8:18 PM | Report Abuse reply

Zero stared at Bender with both relief and frustration. He was a sniper, for fierfek's sake! One of the unit's most hardened soldiers! He didn't need help; he helped others! Bender sighed and replaced his helmet.

"I'd like you to apologize to the men, Zero."

Bender indicated the men kneeling beside the fallen.

"Gez, Kyle, Jax, Kom'rk, and Pilot were killed instantly. Summers and Jay are in critical condition; Adenn was shot in the leg but should be able to continue without too much medical treatment."

Zero winced. It was a tight-knit group since Geonosis, and everyone knew everyone. He knew that his comrades - although normally caring towards his mental problems - would not quickly forgive this. Somehow, he'd have to make it up to them. Vix went over and patted him on the back.

"It's OK, Zero. We'll be all right."

Zero slowly turned.

"We will?"

Vix paused, unsure of what to say. After a moment, he took a deep breath and admitted,

"All we need is a little time."

Zero, still unconvinced, shrugged Vix's hand off and went to go apologize for his actions.

* * * * *

"Do you think he'll be all right?" Vix asked, turning to Bender.

Bender shrugged.

"It just depends on how the others react to him."

Bender froze as he heard yelling: Fej. The three turned to see Fej waving his arms threateningly at Zero, who simply took it in silence. Clay cleared his throat.

"Sir?"

Bender nodded and jogged off to settle the dispute.

* * * * *

"IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!! YOU KILLED JAX!! YOU KILLED HIM!!"

Zero simply stared at his boots, the weight on his shoulders growing even heavier.

"WHY?! WHY DID YOU --"

Bender came up behind him and gripped him hard on the shoulder.

"Don't make it both your faults, now. Fighting won't help; it can only hurt. And it definitely won't bring our comrades back."

Sep 24, 2009 8:19 PM | Report Abuse reply