My first day

It was a bit hard. I really tried not to eat but I couldn’t. What I really did was taking small portions of food the whole day and I think day by day I will see results. And also, Im doing exercise in order to get skinny in less time. I only have two months until summer and I have to be ready.

This is my day two, I only took breakfast and in a few hours Im going to the gym. I really don’t want to, but I’ll do it anyway.

Ana didn’t wrote anything about exercise but I’m adding this into my new lifestyle. Food is the reason of my problems so I have to get rid of it, and what I really need now is support to be pretty and skinny again.

ARC Training Program “First Day”

(I know I haven’t posted in a while, sorry! I’ve taken a break to focus more on my novel but now I’m taking a break from that… so here is the next chapter! Sorry it’s a shorter one.)

“ARC Troopers, you have been selected for this task because you are the best, the elite, you all know what to do. The success of your mission is our key to a swift victory. When you get into position, send word as planned. Then I will join you.” Obi Wan Kenobi’s words were clear and direct, but Alpha wasn’t listening. His mind was somewhere else back on Kamino stuck in a conversation that plays on an endless loop through his mind. When the Jedi leaves so that they can prepare for the mission, the other Troopers regain life and begin to move around the room and speak amongst themselves. Alpha doesn’t move. He is rooted to his spot. He uses all his self control to focus on calm breathing and forces his eyes to glare at nothing but the ship floor. After a moment of Alpha not moving, one of the Troopers in pure white clone gear steps forward.

“Sir, we’re prepped and are ready for battle.” Cody stands at attention waiting for his Captain to respond. Alpha lets his eyes scan over to the clone beside him. With both men wearing helmets, it was impossible to tell what either was thinking. Cody clears his throat and fights the urge to sneak a glance at his brothers while under Alpha’s silent stare.

“Line up Troopers.” Fordo’s voice is sudden and nearly startles the kid, but he manages to keep his cool by giving a quick salute before speed walking over to the group of newly graduate clones. Alpha’s stare follows the boy only causing Cody to stiffen and grow more uncomfortable. Fordo turns his visor on Alpha.

“A word, Captain,” Fordo’s voice comes out a little to loudly causing the other ARC Troopers to take notice of their Commander and Captain stepping out of the room. Now in the corridor, Alpha lets his eyes land on the ARC Trooper in red and white gear. His hands clench into tight fists.

Fordo puts his hands on his hips with a sigh before saying, “You can be mad at me all you want but I need—theyneed you to have a clear head!”

Alpha’s jaw clenches so tight it hurts. It takes everything to hold himself back.

“Sir. Yes. Sir.” Every word is forced before the real words can come pouring out in an irreversible flood of rage. The air around them is heavy where one wrong move could end in complete disaster. Neither of them could afford anything to go wrong today. The Jedi were watching their every move in this mission. They couldn’t slip up before the mission even started.

Alpha is the first to walk back into the room with the other Troopers. One second more and he wasn’t sure if he could restrain himself. While walking towards the far end of the room a cluster of soft voices comes over his commlink.

“… not something we did, right?” it was one of his new Troopers. Alpha almost comes to a complete stop.

“I don’t think we’ve been Clone Troopers long enough to make him angry.” A different clone, probably Rex says.

“You don’t think we did anything to get knocked down to cadets again, do you?” the voice is timid so it must be Gree.

There’s a chuckle and a different boy with too much confidence in his voice says, “That would be a new record I’m sure.”

Alpha feels his anger subside for a moment as a smile begins to form across his lips. He clears his throat and says, “I can hear you.”

Eight clone’s whip their heads in Alpha’s direction. He holds in a chuckle while laughter erupts on the other end of the room where the other ARC Troopers were listening in on the newly graduate clones open commlink. All eight wince and begin bickering with each other over whose fault this was. Alpha walks over to their group causing them to fall into silence.

“For the upcoming mission I’ve decided to split you up into two groups of four,” Alpha moves on straight to business. “Four will be coming with the ARC Trooper team and the other four will be joining Jedi General Kenobi.”

There is a sudden wave of anger and anxiety with clenched fists and stiffened posture. Alpha waits to let them settle their thoughts before one steps forward. He stands at attention trying to stay professional.

“Sir, I thought the point of this program was to train us to be ARC Troopers? By splitting us up and sending half with the Jedi would it not put that half behind?” Fox’s voice was calm, but Alpha could hear the steel in his words.

“I’m training you to be leaders, not ARC Troopers. One day each of you will be assigned to a battalion that you will lead into battle beside a Jedi general. The ARC Troopers can help you acquire skill but none of that will be worth a damn if you can’t follow the orders given to you by the Jedi.” He waits for anyone else to come forward. When they don’t, he lets out a breath and goes on, “Cody, Fox, Thire, and Neyo will be joining the Jedi.”

Cody and Fox break their forcefully causal stances and look like they’re going to argue. One sharp look from Alpha, even with his helmet on, puts them in their place. Thire and Neyo show no sign of disappointment or excitement. Thire gives a nod while Neyo shrugs his shoulders like he couldn’t care less where he was assigned. Rex and Wolffe give each other looks but with their helmets Alpha couldn’t tell what it meant. Bacara was just as indifferent as Neyo, but Gree looked like he was buzzing with excitement. Alpha gestures for the four going with the Jedi to follow him. He ignores the slight grumble from Fox and the sluggish movements from Cody. When they’re walking through the corridors of the ship Alpha chuckles, “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you boys were pouting.”

“I’m not—” Cody and Fox blurt out before falling into silent embarrassment. Alpha smiles under his helmet and leads them into the ship’s hanger. He spots Kenobi staring at a fleet of starships preparing to depart for battle. When he sees Alpha, he gives a smile.

“Captain, are these the Troops you were telling me about?” Kenobi places a hand on his hip while taking in the four clones. They pop to attention in front of the Jedi. Alpha crosses his arms with a soft chuckle.

“They’re still green but they’ll get the job done.”

“Not a problem. I look forward to working alongside you four. You can board the gunship with the others. We’ll be parting shortly.” Kenobi gestures to the closest gunship. The four salute and walk towards the ship. Alpha stares after them. His hands squeeze the sides of his crossed arms. Kenobi notices and gives him a light pat on the shoulder.

“It never gets easier,” Kenobi’s eyes look out to the new Jedi Knight getting settled in his starship. “You just have to trust your training and trust them.”

Alpha lets out a shaky breath exposing how anxious he really was. Wanting to move past the emotional moment, Alpha turns towards Kenobi, “Where are the Troops coming with us?”

Kenobi points to a small squad of clones in pure white armor standing to the side. With half of his boys going with the ground assault they were going to need to fill in their ranks. Fordo wasn’t happy with the thought of splitting them up but Alpha didn’t care. Cody and Fox would excel alongside the ARC’s, but what they really needed was time working beside a Jedi. Neyo was a wild card and Alpha would be the first to admit he lets him get away with a little too much. If he can’t handle following a Jedi, then he’ll have to go back to the drawing board with that one. He wasn’t sure how Thire would do. In the ground assault Thire wouldn’t be able to rely on the shadows. He’ll have to adapt and quickly. At least that’s the reason he told Fordo. The real reason he was sending half his squad was a truth Alpha wasn’t quite ready to admit to himself.

When he leaves Kenobi and begins leading the new Troops back towards the ARC Troopers the conversation with Fordo on Kamino comes flooding back. He squeezes his eyes shut when the wave of anger washes back over him. The Troops behind him notice and give him a wide berth. When he makes it back to the room with the ARC’s he sees his boys checking their gear one more time before lining up. The Troops Alpha had escorted in takes in the new four.

“Who are you four supposed to be?” one of the newer ones say. Bacara manages to side eye the Trooper even with his helmet on.

“We’re part of the ARC Training Program.” Gree explains proudly. The new Troops exchange looks with each other before the one who approached them snorts.

“ARC Training Program? You’re either born an ARC or you’re not one at all.” The Trooper crosses his arms. “How long have you been in?”

“Since… yesterday.” Gree says with less enthusiasm. The Troopers burst into hysteric laughter. Alpha reaches his limit and clears his throat with a glance over his shoulder towards them. the new Troopers straighten up and put some distance between them and Alpha’s four. Bacara keeps an eye on them but follows the others when it was time for them to board their gunship.

“Listen up,” Alpha turns to his four and quickly shows them how to connect to the ARC commlink. “We’ll be silent from here on out. The Seppies like to try and listen in on our chatter so we’ll be relying mostly on hand signals. Only use verbal communication when necessary.”

“Understood.” They say as one. When the gunship departs, they can already hear the blaster fire from the fight in space. Alpha keeps an eye on his four and an eye on the new Troops. He was feeling something he’s never felt before. His legs begin to feel weak and a sour taste coats his tongue making him feel nauseous. Memories of finding his boys in the training simulation covered in blood and shrapnel burns behinds his eyes.

“You’re kidding me.” Alpha had laughed expecting what he was just told to be a joke. He was standing in his room with Fordo who stood with arms crossed, his expression serious.

“It’s time Alpha. If we’re going to take Muunilinst we’re going to need them to fill in our ranks.”

Alpha couldn’t believe what he was hearing. A sudden urgency falls over Alpha as he says, “Cody just got out of his bacta tank! Half of them still walk with a limp. They aren’t ready.”

“We’ve gone into battle with much worse. They’ll be fine.” Fordo doesn’t budge. Alpha knew he was talking to a brick wall and the fact that Fordo was keeping his cool and Alpha was close to losing it only fanned his anger. Fordo goes on, “They were able to complete an ARC Trooper level battle simulation with training blasters. I’m not even convinced all ARC Troopers could do that. They’re ready.”

“It’s not your call. This is my program Fordo. I say when they’re ready or not.” Alpha stands his ground. He’s worked to hard for this to be swept out from under him. Fordo’s eyes fall to the floor for a moment before meeting Alpha’s again.

“It’s already done. I spoke with the Prime Minister. They’re already marked for graduation and assigned to the Muunilinst mission.”

Alpha feels the breath get knocked out of his lungs. His limbs feel numb as he tries to grasp the words coming out of his Commander’s mouth. It’s already done.A pain aches through his chest with a heavy weight. The image of Fordo changes in that moment for Alpha. He was no longer speaking with a trusted friend and brother. This was his Commander. Nothing more.

Alpha’s grip on the handgrip tightens as the gunship lowers into Muunilinst’s atmosphere. The gunship has fallen into a dead silence. His four were holding up under the anticipation for their first battle. After a time, Kenobi’s voice comes over their commlink.

“ARC Troopers, deploy!” with that command their gunship pulls away from the horde heading for the ground assault. Alpha closes his eyes pushing back the memory of Thire’s limp body being carried down from the tower in the battle simulation. Fox cold and lifeless, Neyo barely recognizable under a pile of droids, and Cody falling from the citadel tower. He opens his eyes with a deep breath. Kenobi’s words ring in his ears. Trust your training and trust them.

And then their gunship is shot down.

Read full story HERE on AO3!!!