Dedicated to my friend who reads through my drafts, and even though she has no idea who any of these people are, told me she loved this chapter.

Tw: Sexual references.

"So how'd you sleep last night?" Warthog asked Wolffe, eyes glinting.

"Fine. Why?" Wolffe put another mouthful of his meal into his mouth.

"No reason," Warthog innocently said. "Where's Karina? Don't you usually eat with her, every meal?"

"She had something to do and will be late." Wolffe glanced up. "Is there something specific you want to know?"

"No. Oh, look, there's Karina!" Warthog said brightly.

Wolffe's attention immediately snapped up to Karina, who was pushing past the crowd.

Or trying to, at least.

She was struggling to get around a group of clones who were chatting near a table. She kept speaking up, but they didn't seem to notice her.

Wolffe stormed over to them and crossed his arms, clearing his throat. "She's trying to get past."

"Oh, sorry," one of the clones apologetically said.

They all stepped aside, and Karina said her thanks and made her way to Wolffe's table. He already had a tray of food ready for her, and slid it over.

"How did you sleep last night?" Warthog questioned Karina.

"Alright, I guess," Karina responded. "I had a nightmare, but I got over it."

"I'm sure you did." Warthog chuckled.

Wolffe raised an eyebrow. "You're acting strange, are you sick?"

Warthog grinned widely. "I'm perfectly fine. In fact, I think I'm going to go find Coda. He's only here a bit longer. Have fun, you two. But not too much fun."

He winked again before walking away.

"I think there's something wrong with that one," Wolffe seriously said, watching him go.

Karina giggled before her mouth fell open. "Did you change your hair? How did I not notice?"

Wolffe resisted the urge to pat his hair down. "I've been meaning to get it cut. Does it look bad? Do you not like it?"

"No, it looks good." Karina pushed a stray strand away that had fallen into his eyes. "I never knew your hair curled."

"A bit," Wolffe admitted. "I like to keep it short enough that it doesn't."

"Do you not like the curl?" Karina asked, cocking her head.

"I just had a girlfriend once who didn't like it." Wolffe rolled out his shoulder. "I never really thought about it again."

"Well I think it looks nice," Karina chirped.

Wolffe pretended to brush her words away, but he felt... weird. His insides felt all fuzzy and he was fighting back a smile.

What was wrong with him?

Was he dying?

"Hey." Karina placed a hand on Wolffe's forearm. "Are you okay?"

"Yes," Wolffe answered, fighting his panic at why he hated it when she pulled her hand back.

Her hand would fit perfectly into yours-

No.

Stop that.

"You just seemed a bit out of it." Karina put down her utensil. "I think I'm going to see if I can get some fresh air. Maybe explore a bit."

"I have to train the cadets," Wolffe told her with a frown.

"It's okay, I'll be fine on my own." Karina tapped her pocket, where the comm rested. "Besides, I know how to reach you."

"I'll see you later, then." Wolffe made a mental note to see Stunner later. His stomach did this weird flutter thing as Karina kissed his cheek before leaving.

It was probably a virus he picked up on some planet.

Or some alien bug laid eggs inside him and they were hatching.

Or maybe he had a deadly disease.

He'd deal with whatever it was after he trained the cadets.

"I have to say," Wolffe paused to turned off the simulation, "you didn't do terribly."

Fizzle cheered and nudged Mistake. "You hear that? We didn't do terribly!"

"Don't be too happy about that," Wolffe sharply said. "You still got hit by the training bolts. If this were real life, you'd be dead."

Bones lowered his gaze. "Yes, sir."

Wolffe opened his mouth to scold them more, but stopped when Karina entered. He gave her a curious look. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm bored. Is it okay if I hang out with you? I'm still not cleared to return to work." Karina batted her eyes at Wolffe, smiling hopefully.

"Fine," Wolffe grumbled. "Just don't distract them."

But he had a feeling that he had already lost the battle, because the cadets were all staring at her.

"Get into pairs," Wolffe ordered. "I want you to spar. If your blaster ever malfunctions on the battlefield, you're going to need to defend yourself with your bare hands."

Wolffe walked over to Karina while the cadets figured out what they were doing.

"Hey, Wolffe!" Karina happily said. "Sorry for bothering you, but I didn't know what else to do. I got lost and thought maybe it was best to not explore anymore."

"I could take you around sometime," Wolffe offered.

"Oh, I wouldn't want to bother you. I know how busy you are!"

"It's not bothering me if I'm offering," Wolffe told her, glaring slightly.

"We'll do that sometime, then," Karina decided. "Oh, and thanks for letting me stay last night. I hope I didn't intrude."

"It fine," Wolffe assured her. "I'm always here if it happens again."

Karina smiled brightly again, and it spread to her eyes. His knees went weak, and he smiled softly back.

What was wrong with him?

"When should we do that then?" Karina excitedly asked.

"I can let the cadets go early," Wolffe blurted out. He didn't usually do stuff like this, but... 

Karina. He couldn't say no to her.

That was probably bad.

Get it together, you di'kut.

"Please! Please!" the cadets all chanted.

"Sounds like fun!" Karina agreed.

"Get out of here," Wolffe told the cadets, rolling his eyes at their glee.

"Where to first?" Karina asked.

Wolffe shrugged and began to steer her away. "We'll see."

"Kamino is boring," Karina stared with a groan. "Everything looks the same here."

Wolffe hummed in agreement. "There are a few good spots, though. Some places to be alone with your thoughts."

"Can we go there?" Karina requested.

"I was saving the best for last," Wolffe smugly said. "I'm taking you somewhere you'll love."

"We'll see." Karina raised her chin challengingly.

Wolffe pushed her into the next room, feeling self-satisfied at her awed expression.

"Wow." Karina looked around, her mouth parting. "What is this?"

"It's where I hide the bodies," Wolffe whispered, crouching in front of her. He cocked his head, grinning. His hair fell into his face.

Karina smacked his shoulder. "Don't do that! Don't scare me like that!"

He chuckled. "It's actually where we're taught some different skills. Survival things. The Kaminoans didn't want to make this room, but the Republic insisted so clones would have better chances of survival if stranded."

Karina took in the room filled with green. Plants were everywhere, with vines covering the walls, and flowers hanging from the ceiling. There was a pile of wood in the corner, with flint next to it. A control panel was next to the door with various buttons on it.

"What types of things do you learn here?" Karina curiously asked, running her fingers along the rough bark of a tree. She could see the sky through the glass ceiling and stared up at it.

Wolfe shrugged. "Just stuff."

"You're very vague sometimes," Karina remarked, glancing back at him.

Wolffe frowned. "There's not much to say. We learn how to start fires... Which has been more dangerous than useful."

"It's definitely horrifying to think that Sinker knows how to start fires," Karina said, giving a shudder at the thought.

Wolffe sat on a section of grass, digging his fingers into the dirt. "Let me know when you want to go back."

"Is-Is there a way to change the setting here?" Karina asked, biting her lip nervously.

"We can make it snow or rain," Wolffe told her. "Why?"

"I kinda miss home," Karina confessed.

Wolffe wordlessly stood and went to the control panel. He changed the settings quickly and he came back to her side, concealing a smile.

Karina's expression was one of pure joy as artificial snow came down from the ceiling. She held out a hand and let flakes land on her bare skin. She stared up at him with pure delight, and Wolffe's stomach did a little flip.

"Thank you!" Karina gushed, cheeks turning pink due to the temperature in the room lowering. The tip of her nose was also reddening.

"If only we had hot chocolate," Wolffe said, fondly reminiscing on the drink.
Karina laughed and threw a chunk of artificial snow at him. It hit his face and he blinked in surprise.

"I thought you're supposed to be a fine-tuned soldier," Karina mocked. "A hardcore warrior."

Wolffe bristled. "A snowball fight isn't a good test of my skills."

"Or are you a wimp?" Karina smirked, grabbing another handful of snow.

"You don't want to do this," Wolffe warned.

"Oh, I think I want to," Karina countered, eyes glinting. She slowly raised the snow, cocking an eyebrow.

Wolffe narrowed his eyes. "If you do that, there's no coming back."

Karina laughed and tossed it at him. It hit his chest, and he grabbed all the snow he could carry and dumped it on her as retaliation.

Karina shrieked as she was covered in freezing cold snow. "I'm going to get sick because of you!"

"I warned you!" Wolffe held up a finger accusingly. "This is your fault!"

"Don't invite my family to my funeral," Karina dramatically said. She let her head loll to the side, eyes fluttering shut.

"You're fine," Wolffe grumbled.

But he was still worried about how hard she was shivering and helped her brush the snow off.

"C-can we go back now?" Karina asked, jaw chattering.

Wolffe grabbed the handles of the wheelchair and pushed her from the room. "Stay in bed, okay? Staying warm will prevent you from getting sick."

"I won't get sick from being cold," Karina boasted. "I was cold all the time at home."

"Still," Wolffe insisted.

"I'll stay in bed," Karina reluctantly said.

"Good." Wolffe reset the room behind them before pushing her down the hallways.

Karina made him stop, however, when a group of the younger cadets passed by. They were all staring at her in awe, and she wanted to talk to them. They looked to biologically be around ten years old, but Wolffe knew they were actually younger than that.

Wolffe rolled his eyes. This would be a lengthy detour.

"Hi!" Karina warmly said. "What're your names?"

They all nervously nudged each other before the bravest stepped forwards.
"CT-"

Karina cut him off. "Your names, please."

He relaxed slightly. "I'm Flare. This is Venom and Sunshine."

Sunshine waved merrily, flashing a bright smile. Venom stared silently, glancing at Wolffe.

"It's nice to meet you all," Karina pleasantly said.

"What are you?" Venom harshly asked.

"I- I'm a mechanic," Karina explained, unsure of herself. She grasped Wolffe's arm, squeezing it.

"Where'd you come from?" Venom asked instead.

"Oh, I came from a planet called-"

"So not Kamino?" Flare excitedly asked. "You're not a clone?"

"No, I'm not," Karina answered.

"How were you made, then?" Sunshine innocently asked.

Wolffe's fingers dug into the handlebars. "Cadets. Do you have somewhere to be?"

"Not really," Flare responded. He turned his attention back to Karina. "Where did you come from, ma'am?"

"I- I came from my mother," Karina vaguely told him.

"You came from her?" Sunshine frowned on confusion. "How did that work?"

Karina looked up at Wolffe with pleading eyes. He merely grinned, showing all his teeth.

"I- I came from inside her," Karina said and tried to signal to Wolffe that she was ready to go.

"Inside her?" Flare wrinkled his nose in disgust. "She ate you?"

"Don't you have something to do at least?" Wolffe questioned.

"Is this about sex?" Venom hissed out. "The thing I can hear the older ones whispering about?"
"Go ask Nala Se," Wolffe instructed before guiding Karina away. When they were finally alone, he quietly said, "Venom seems odd."

"He seems scary," Karina added. "He reminds me of you."

"How does he remind you of me?" Wolffe asked indignantly. "He's nothing like me."
"Oh, come on! You have to admit you're both a bit rough!" Karina adjusted her sling.
"I'm not rough!" Wolffe defensively said.

"Well you could be a bit nicer to the cadets you're training," Karina pointed out. "You're a tiny bit mean to them."

Wolffe clenched his jaw. "Well if they're going to survive in this war, I can't shower them with hugs every day."

"At least tell them they're doing a good job occasionally." Karina leaned and pressed the button to open the door to her room.

"Why don't you take over for a rotation and we'll see how it goes." Wolffe lingered in her doorway. "I'd like to see you deal with them."

"Deal. Tomorrow," Karina said, holding out her food arm for a handshake.

"Tomorrow." Wolffe shook her hand, a sense of foreboding settling on him.