"General Saje."
Kara blinked several times, rising out of her meditation slowly.
"General Saje."
She was on another cruiser, some mission.
"General Saje."
The war, the Retrieval, Kara shook her head slightly as she slid off her bunk and hit the comm button, "General Saje here."
"General, communication from Coruscant. You're requested to the comm center," one of the comm officers said.
"I'm on my way," Kara said. She grabbed her robe and slid it on, running her hands over her shirt for a moment before she shoved her feet into her loose, leather slippers and headed for the bridge.
They'd transferred General Secura and her men to the Valiant yesterday, and Kara had barely begun sorting through her troopers' records. She'd already confirmed the existence of Knight Squadron, the ten men who would follow her no matter the mission. She'd also confirmed Lieutenant Screech's Home Squad, which would always be in charge of their base camp or landing zone. Other than that, Captain Zip hadn't pointed out any other squads in need of formal recognition, but they both agreed that they would work on it.
Of course, if the Council was sending them on another mission, they'd probably figure out something they needed and hadn't thought of before. Kara shook her head slightly as she entered the comm station, nodding to the Lieutenant as he scuttled backwards with a salute.
"I'll just be outside," the young Twi'lek stuttered before fleeing.
Kara glanced over her shoulder, wondering if she really looked that terrifying, and then turned back to call up the communication. In moments, she had a three-foot-high Master Windu staring at her from the holo platform.
"Master Windu," Kara said with a bow.
"General Saje," Windu said pointedly. "We have a new mission for you."
"Sir, may I remind you that I don't even have a full company as of yet," Kara said pointedly.
"We're making arrangements to get you more troops General," Windu said, "but for now, this is a retrieval. We're sending you to the planet Alsaiir. It's currently located in Republic space, but there are indications that it won't be for long. On Alsaiir is a Jedi outpost that was abandoned in the war, within it are several important relics. We need you to retrieve those relics before the planet falls into Separatist hands and return them to Coruscant. I'm sending the data you'll need."
Kara bowed, "Of course, but sir, if the threat of the planet to falling to Separatist hands is so clear, shouldn't someone with more troopers be dispatched?"
"We don't have anyone else we can send right now," Master Windu replied with a scowl. Then he closed his eyes for a moment, "If you do run into trouble, we'll do what we can, General Saje, but I wouldn't depend on help arriving in time."
"Yes sir," Kara said, "I understand." She rested her hand on the panel below the projector, "Is there anything I should know about Alsaiir?"
"It's a temperate world, not much different from Alderraan and Naboo. We've used it as an outpost for Jedi in need of a retreat away from Coruscant for a while now, but with the war on, it's not possible anymore." Windu said calmly.
"So we won't need that bad weather gear that got lost in transit," Kara said, "that's good to know." She nodded slightly, "I sent the report in about the gear, apparently it's not the first time my people have had their gear lost or had faulty gear shipped out."
Windu sighed, "It seems to be an ongoing trouble. I'll leave you to deal with your mission, General Saje."
"Yes, General Windu," Kara said.
"Oh, and General Saje," Windu said.
"Yes, General Windu?" Kara asked.
"If you're going to adjust the size of the hologram, I recommend you keep your eyes steady."
"Yes Master," Kara said, bowing. When she straightened, the transmission had ended.
For a moment, Kara allowed herself to enjoy the feeling of glee and mischief, then she clenched her hands, cleared her face and stepped back out of the room. Finding the Lieutenant waiting, she smiled, "I'm expecting a databurst from Coruscant. When it comes in, please route it to my datapad."
"Yes sir," the Lieutenant said with a salute.
Kara nodded and walked away, reminding herself, again, to ask Captain Sei'lar about that military protocol instruction. Then she remembered her datapad was in her room and set off quickly, cursing herself for a fool. Thankfully her pad was sitting on the "desk", a somewhat dubious flat surface that folded down from the wall that she didn't trust to hold more than the two datapads she depended on.
Given that the data hadn't arrived yet, Kara felt justified in ducking into the 'fresher for a sonic shower before dressing in her armor yet again. As she pulled on the silvery grey under suit, Kara felt grateful that her father's gift had included several of the suits, even if there was only one set of armor. Once dressed, Kara collected her datapads and headed to the conference room that she frequently borrowed. By the time she'd collected a cup of caff and settled down, the data she'd been waiting for had arrived and she was ready to immerse herself in the details of their new mission.
It was two hours later before she went up to the bridge to find Captain Sei'lar.
"Captain Sei'lar," Kara said, "may I have a word?"
"Of course, General," Sei'lar said.
Kara followed him to the back of the bridge, "I have new orders from Coruscant, a retrieval mission."
Captain Sei'lar nodded slightly, "As you know, my orders are to provide you with all the assistance I can."
Kara nodded, "We are being sent to Alsaiir, to retrieve important Jedi relics before the planet falls into Separatist hands. Their intel says that Alsaiir is currently Republican aligned, but with the way the war is going."
"That can change at any moment," Sei'lar said with a slight nod, "I will put us on course to Alsaiir immediately."
"Thank you, Captain," Kara said. "I'll be making use of one of the conference rooms for a while."
The Captain smiled slightly, "General, consider the room yours for the duration. Certainly, you get more use out of it than my people have lately."
Kara bowed, "Thank you, Captain." She turned and headed back to the conference room, pulling out her comm unit as she went.
"Captain Zip."
Kara smiled a little, "Captain, please come to the conference room near my quarters. We have a new mission."
"Yes General," Captain Zip replied.
Kara thought for a minute about General Secura's wrist comm and wished she'd been issued one, but that request, like all the rest, was languishing on the supply lines that rarely carried what was ordered. Her fingers twitched and Kara sighed, picking up her speed in hopes of being able to get to the conference room before Zip did.
Finding the room empty, Kara dragged her datapad over, summoning her stylus with the Force as she pulled up the drawing program. She took a deep breath and began to draw.
"Sir?"
Kara didn't look up, "Door's open, means come in, Zip. Have a seat, we've got a mission."
"Yes, sir," Zip said.
Kara nudged the datapad over with the mission parameters. "Take a look, tell me what you think."
"Are you okay?" Zip asked as he sat down.
"Just, force stuff," Kara waved her hand slightly, unwilling to take her eyes off the scene she was sketching. Gloved hands were holding blasters pointed at a figure who was lying prone on the ground. She thought it was a Twi'lek, but they weren't the only species that had lekku. The face of the person, and the full body of her shooters weren't in frame, but under the one visible hand was a broken light saber. Kara flipped the scene and began to sketch again.
"This is a Republic held planet," Zip said.
"But they're concerned it'll be overrun," Kara said. "And that information may not be as up-to-date as we'd like."
"But it's just a retrieval, find the relics and get out, right?" Zip asked.
"Nothing's ever just a retrieval," Kara said as she finished the octagon shape that dominated her new drawing. "But on this one, I want to do something specific."
"What's that?" Zip asked.
"I want you to stay on the Retrieval with half the company. I'll take Knight, Home, and one other down." Kara said.
"But, why? Sir." Zip protested half standing.
Kara looked up at him, "I want you here, so that when shit goes wrong, you can come rescue us. If you're down there, you'll already be in the middle of it. We aren't going to have back up for this, so we'll have to make our own."
"I don't like this," Zip said, carefully sitting down, "We're supposed to protect you."
Kara took another look at her Captain, "That's what Knight Squad is for, Captain. I promise, they'll be with me every step of the way. I need you where you can do the most good too, up here to lead the rescue mission." She glanced back at her pad, studying it for a moment with a frown.
"I'm not comfortable with this," Zip said softly.
"I'm sorry," Kara said, "but I need this from you."
"Did you see it, in your drawings?" Zip asked.
"No," Kara said. Carefully, she ran her stylus through the middle of the octagon, sketching out a sinuous figure that made her gut clench with dread. "This isn't today, or this month, maybe not this year. I don't… this isn't about the mission." She leaned into the Force, hoping for more clarity as to why she was being shown images that were so far away. All she got was a feeling of waiting peace, a certainty that what needed to be seen would be when it's time came.
Zip sighed, "If you're only taking three squads, how do you plan to deploy?"
Kara smiled, "I want Home Squad with the ship, naturally. This isn't meant to be longer than a day, so we won't set camp. Knight will be with me, of course. We'll be going into the enclave to retrieve the relics. Third squad will be at the entrance to the enclave. They'll keep an eye out for trouble and cover our rear. If something happens, they'll hold the door from cover so we can decide the best way forward. Depending on what's going on, we'll fallback to the gun ship, or Home Squad will come to us. This may be an enclave, but it's very defensible."
"Have you been there?" Zip asked.
"No, but Master Windu was telling me that it's located in a box canyon. It has two additional exits, but one of them is a near vertical rock climb and the other is a cave system that is practically a labyrinth to the uninitiated. There's a lot of very good shielding in place there, from when the enclave was home to a very rich and very paranoid crime lord. The Jedi helped deal with him after he assassinated a Chancellor about three hundred years ago, and we were able to claim the enclave for Jedi use afterwards."
"I see," Zip said.
"There's a couple of maps in there," Kara said, "not the labyrinth itself, but there's a secondary landing port if we need it. You need someone inside the shields to open it though, which is why we won't be using it."
"But if there's trouble, we can come straight to you," Zip said as he tapped the datapad.
"Exactly," Kara said as she swiped to a clean page and put the stylus down to look Zip full in the face. "I understand you're not happy that I'm asking you to stay. I'm sorry, but the ground action if there's trouble is limited. The rescue operation is what's going to be important. I have to go into the enclave, it's been sealed, only a Jedi can get in without ripping the place apart, so I need you here, to handle getting us home. Knight Squad are my protection, they watch my back and assist me in achieving the mission objective. You are my partner. I need to be able to trust you to do what needs doing so that I can do my job. That may mean that we're fighting different battles, and it may mean that we're side by side through the whole thing, but I need to know that when I ask for a distraction, you can give it to me. I need Chip, and Fallback, and Sergeant Blaze for when I have to toss someone up a cliff face or handle a speeder bike because I got the defective one. Can you work with that?"
Zip took a deep breath and nodded, "I can sir."
"Thank you," Kara said with a slight smile. "If nothing else, consider it time to work out how to fill in our command structure. Master Windu said we'd have replacements, and I want them to have a place before they get here."
"I'll consider it," Zip said, standing up, "if that's all?"
"Yes," Kara said, then realized that wasn't what she was supposed to say, "um, dismissed. Have the squadrons who are leaving begin preparations. Have Lieutenant Swoop get a gunship ready."
"Yes sir," Zip said and saluted her.
Kara smiled a little, feeling his confidence in her increase a little as he started to leave. It was one thing to be given command, but Kara knew she'd have to win over her troopers on her own. A sudden thought occurred.
"Captain," she said, looking up.
"Yes sir?" Zip asked, turning back to look at her.
"Keep track of which squad comes with me today. Next time I need another squad, make sure it's a different one. Knight Squad may be exclusive, but I don't want to foster resentment and favoritism among the other squads as well."
"Yes sir," Zip said.
Kara waited until he left, then triggered the door. The room became nearly silent, with only the faint hum of the engines to fill the air. She looked around the room, taking in the two-toned grey on white walls, grey metal floor, and darker grey table. The chairs were white, and while they could swivel and move back and for a bit, they were fastened firmly to the floor. All in all, it was a depressingly plain room.
Kara's eye fell on the printer situated by the terminal in the corner that doubled as the inner-ship comm system and she smiled. She had started drawing because that was how the Force showed her visions, but that wasn't the only reason she drew. She took her datapad and moved over to the terminal to see about adding some color to her conference room.