🐺 ~PROJECT SAC-1~ ⚔️

Chapter 20 - Faulty Flash-Training😵‍💫

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An ocean of grief.

Due to a mighty sacrifice, Kamino successfully fought off a Separatist siege, but Agent Talla learned through Commander Cody that it resulted in a beloved brother to become a dearly departed. Due to lack of experience with others emotional turmoil, she originally ran away, but found her courage to inform Hunter, Tech, Wrecker and Crosshair that Maintenance Clone 99, the very inspiration for their squadrons name and insignia, that he is marching far away, and never to return. And due to the hustle and bustle of the sham for a funeral, none of them were able to attend and obtain closure.

Agent Talla is relieved that Mistress Shaak Ti will speak to the Prime Minister and inform him that Doctor Nala Se intends to decommission his top squadron, but she is at a loss - how does one help soothe the waves of grief in four battle-hardened soldiers who have never before experienced this level of emotional turmoil, when she herself has never experienced so either?

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The rest of the evening proved to be more distressing for Talla than the mission on Silva, and that was saying something because she actually lost half a limb and almost died because of it. But in this instance, Talla had lost the company of her three friends and crotchety roommate.

...

That last one wasn't as devastating of a loss, but still it was hard to bear his silence that proved to be so much more vexing than his reign of verbal terror. And the usual spark of mischief in his eyes, the bane of her existence, it was gone, leaving behind a haunted man. It was admittedly sad to watch him try to suppress the crushing grief. But it was also proof he had a heart, right? Maybe?

The inexperienced Clone Agent had researched grief for the death of a loved one when General Kenobi 'died', so she expected the guys to experience a flurry of negative emotions, but that didn't make watching any of them go through it easy. Not by a long shot.

Once the shock wore off, each of them ended up locked in their dark rooms and didn't even eat dinner. Talla could sense their anger, and underneath that their anguish at losing someone who was a large part of their life and she felt completely helpless for not knowing exactly how to offer comfort. These battle-hardened men were not big on having heart to heart talks about their feelings, a big way to aid in coping. And she also didn't know who would accept a hug, another form of comfort she personally liked. Hunter and Tech were almost always eager listeners while Wrecker was ready with his hugs when she was having a rough time, but when it came to themselves... that was uncharted territory. They never opened up on how they emotionally dealt with their traumas inflicted by Nala Se, just the skills Tech researched to help deal with the symptoms.

But Talla was resolved to find a way to help out somehow, because they deserved support.

They'd be taking off sometime tomorrow afternoon after getting their clothes laundered, and stayed the night in the docked ship instead of their personal barracks. Talla didn't sleep a wink, racking her brain for ways to show support without making the boys feel in any more uncomfortable. Of course, she couldn't change things or take away the pain sadly, but she could aid in their healing! The mental health journals she had found through the Net gave tons of suggestions on how to support a grieving person, but another issue Talla faced was that she also didn't want to overwhelm them. That'd make them more tense, which also wouldn't help things.