As stated in the description, this is the sequel to Numb, Pain, or Healing?. I've taken liberties with some of the details as I can't find them on the normal fan-operated sites per the usual. Disheartening; however, the story must go on! Enjoy. As also stated, this is based off of Hans Christian Anderson's tale of The Snow Queen, as well as Within Temptation's song "Ice Queen". Read and review.
Disclaimer: Not mine, not mine... but after the disaster that was The Last Jedi, it SHOULD be mine!
The battle had been oddly short. Not that she enjoyed battle (unless casualties were minimal or she got her adrenaline rush), but the shorter they were, the happier she was. Her master and her had been to four planets now, tracking the progress of the Separatist's movements and defeating several battalions of battle droids along the way. All four planets were and still belonged to the Republic, thankfully, for the time being. With the way things were looking, the war front seemed to be shifting back towards the Outer Rim, which should give the Inner Rim a slight respite.
Despite her master's objections, Admiral Tarkin had accompanied them per request of the Supreme Chancellor. At the time, she hadn't cared for the details, given how much Tarkin's attitude and mere presence annoyed her, something Skee and she and Master Luminara could both agree on. Four planets and two months later, she discovered that the Chancellor had assigned Tarkin to work at consolidating the planets within the Inner Rim towards the Republic's side so they would be better prepared if the Separatists would suddenly change course back towards the Core worlds (which might have been the result of some… reconnaissance on her part). While she could respect his mission, she still didn't appreciate his attitude.
Now they were on their way to rendezvous with General Skywalker at the newly conquered world of Yag-Dhul to head to Antar 4 for yet another battle against the Separatists. They had kept that planet since the beginning of the war, and now had been deemed the best time as any for the Republic to try and win back the planet. It wasn't anticipated to be an easy battle, but it was necessary.
"Commander." Ani sighed, shifted on the bench in the hallway, and looked up at clone Commander Skee. "We have met up with Skywalker's troops orbiting around Yag-Dhul. General Unduli requests your presence in the hangar."
"Sure thing, Skee," she replied, rubbing the bridge of her nose. Even though it had been two months ago, she could still feel the faint outline of the new tattoos across her face. It's not like I didn't know this was coming. Besides, it will be good to see Skywalker again. "What about Admiral Tarkin? Is he going to be there too?"
"He had to go make a report to the Supreme Chancellor, which will hopefully take a while." Ani met his eyes and smiled at his comment. He smiled back. "And I need to check up on Commander Gree." She nodded.
"Tell him hi for me, will you?" She had felt slightly guilty that, during their last mission, Gree had jumped between her and a blast meant for her. It had been her fault; she should have paid better attention to her surroundings. It hadn't helped that she had been saving her master and Tarkin (ungrateful kriffing bastard) from a sneak attack by one of the assassin droids near the end of the battle. Fortunately, he hadn't been killed, but hurt enough to be confined to the medbay for now almost one standard week. Skee had been there when she had been chastised by Luminara, and when Tarkin had made a particularly snide comment about Jedi and the limits of their powers. She may or may not have been behind the incident that had him wind up tripping and almost falling flat on his face in front of the troops while attempting to exit the bridge. Master Luminara so far was oblivious (or didn't care), Tarkin thought she was out to get him with her "cheap Jedi tricks" and became more overtly pissed and snobby around her (not that it was untrue), and Skee didn't know anything. Officially.
"I will," Skee said, grinning at her. "Try not to do anything rash." She pretended to be offended.
"Who? Me?" she asked, pointing to herself. Watching the hallway for signs of anybody approaching, she leaned in closer and whispered, "Although, if Tarkin decides to make anymore snide remarks, he might get a black eye next." Her tone darkened. "Apparently he can't unwind enough to thank those who rescued him if he thinks they're apparently wrong or dangerous or –"
"Whoa, whoa!" Skee motioned for her to calm down. "Not that I don't agree with you, Ani, but remember what you said? About behaving and not intimidating your opponents to like or agree with you?"
"I know!" She stood and stretched, mostly to unwind. "But I've met banthas who are easier to convince than Tarkin! Why Skywalker couldn't get stuck with him, I'll never know." Skee snorted.
"Hopefully our next battle or two will go smoother so we can ship him back to Coruscant," he murmured. Ani hid a grin while arching a brow at him.
"Remember, Skee – behave," she said with mock seriousness. She really couldn't blame him though. Tarkin's dislike for the clones seemed to be at war with his dislike of the Jedi, which was something that the clones never forgot. If it wasn't for the fact that the Chancellor liked the guy, things might have gotten out of hand by now.
"Always." He pointed down the hallway. "Better join your Master now before she thinks something's wrong." She nodded and clasped his shoulder.
"And you got to go check up on Gree. Try not to help him escape the medbay this time." Last time, Gree's convincing had led to a confrontation between the healers and medics on board and the two clone commanders. The clones had been gaining notoriety fast throughout the war for being as bad as the Jedi when it came to avoiding the medbay, check-ups, and patching up after battles, something that irritated those responsible for their collective health. It didn't help when some healers were Jedi, like… And that thought was pushed out of her head.
"Can't promise anything." His brown eyes danced with mirth, causing her to groan.
"Just know if you guys do something rash this time around, I can't help this time around," she warned. Which was completely true, and something she could honestly blame her master for. She shuddered. Next time, Skee or Gree was going to be the one first to get a full physical and one night medbay stay as punishment. Or Tarkin, who actually was a better target. Hmmmm… how to work it? Her mind filed it away for later.
"Thanks for the warning. Please do inform Captain Rex where our respective locations are, General." She eyed him before rolling her eyes. It couldn't hurt.
"I suppose that's the least I could do." He gave a smart salute before heading away. She let out a short laugh before heading the opposite direction to the lifts. Yes, it would be good to see Anakin again. She wanted to know what his opinion was on Tarkin being here. Her master remained gracious in his presence, always the diplomat, cordial and polite. Yeah, her master may have been training her in procedure and protocol, but she was different. While she personally could tolerate him in small doses, his apparent superiority complex constantly grated on her nerves, which meant that after a certain amount of time her tone was laced with sarcasm and her words phrased passively aggressive. They were in a Force-frakking war. Nobody involved should have time for a superiority complex, let alone have one.
Upon taking the lift one level down, she noticed her master standing alongside the closest landing pad, apparently the one Anakin would be arriving on. She continued her slow walk up to her master's position, practicing grace and ease while noticing a slight tension in the older woman's shoulders. She stopped to the right of the Jedi Master.
"Hello, Master Luminara," she greeted with a bow. "I was told I was to join you here."
"I'm glad you were able to come on time, Padawan. I'm sure Skywalker would have been disappointed if you had not shown up." She sensed that there was more to be said, but then Skywalker's yellow starfighter dropped in. Literally dropped in, with no sound that she could tell.
"And as for your practice with your stride, I suggest you learn to control both your speed and length." Was that a smile on her master's face? "Your style is better appreciated when you're not outrunning the others nor making loud noises with every step you take."
"Yes, Master," she replied, smirking slightly. "But what if large strides just happen to be necessary? And convenient?" She swore she heard a sigh come from the elder woman.
"Keep asking questions like that, Padawan, and you might find yourself assigned special homework to correct yet another… interesting shortcoming of yours." Rolling her eyes, she murmured another, "Yes, Master," before fastening her gaze on the rising cockpit then moving to the Jedi Knight headed towards the two of them. The man stood before the both of them, and nodded to each of them.
"Master Luminara, Padawan Ani," he said. "It is good to see you both again."
"As it is to see you, Master Skywalker," Luminara replied.
"Glad to see you too, Master Anakin," Ani grinned at him, ignoring her master sending her a small warning via Force bond. "How's Master Obi-Wan doing?"
"He is well, and he will be joining us at Antar 4 once he's completed his conversation and strategy session with the Council." Luminara frowned.
"I didn't receive any notice about a strategy session." Anakin shrugged and sighed.
"I hadn't either, until just a few moments ago. All I know is that it involved some sort of trying to predict certain battles and other strategy that they won't share because nothing's concrete. Not yet, anyways, according to Master Obi-Wan. And with Antar 4 being so difficult to retake, it will make any plans that much more difficult to formulate. I was supposed to let him know when I arrived so we could join in on the collaboration." Awkward silence fell around the three of them. Ani saw that while Master Anakin could look in her general direction all right, he could barely look her master in the face. Luminara looked calm, but underneath was tension at not seeing Ahsoka seeing Anakin again. In the distance beyond Anakin, Ani noticed several technicians and clones chatting amongst themselves and directing glances towards their group. We're probably within their hearing range, and we should move elsewhere so Master and Anakin can figure this weirdness out, she thought.
"Hey, Anakin, do you know when Rex is coming onboard?" she asked. Luminara raised an eyebrow at her, but she thought she saw Anakin smile slightly.
"He's following in a smaller ship. I decided I would have him and a few others come along separately so we could better coordinate our attack plan. The intel we've received indicates the necessity of the use of all available field specialists we have." Her master nodded in approval. "He should be here in a few minutes." Suddenly, a whine and a whirring sound meshed together as they heard the hatch open. Moments later, a landing craft dove through one of the plasma barriers to begin landing procedures. Ani's face brightened.
"I take it that's them?" Upon Anakin's nod of agreement, she turned to both Masters. "I'll go greet them. I have a message for Captain Rex. Maybe you Masters better head on out to start discussing what your plans are. We're attracting a little too much attention down here, the three of us," she said. The Masters seemed to nod in unison to this proposal. She didn't receive any feedback from her master however, which seemed a little odd. Maybe her leaving the two older Jedi alone would return things back to normal.
"Good idea, Ani," he said. At least he was returning the favor of replying on a first-name basis. "Luminara and I will head to the bridge to meet up with Tarkin to discuss and confirm our strategy. Although, I should ask, what do you need to tell Rex?"
"Just that Gree wants to see him." A cough from Luminara caused her to correct her next statement. "Commanders Gree and Skee both want to see him in the medbay."
"Why there?" She winced.
"Commander Gree is… recovering." He stared at her with a raised eyebrow and crossed arms. She met his stare with her own, managing to keep her arms at her sides (another thing Luminara had been stressing).
"Do I even want to know what happened?" Before she could answer, her Master interrupted. "I will inform you what transpired while we make our way up to the bridge, Master Anakin," she informed him, turning on her heel to stride towards the lift. Ani saw the man roll his eyes before nodding in her direction and turning and following the Jedi Master. She fervently hoped that everything involving the matter with Barriss had been put to rights, especially for Anakin, and wouldn't affect their situation. Anything else would inevitably lead to conflict, and while she knew they would handle it (eventually), Tarkin wouldn't be above using it as another way to insult the Jedi. Conniving bastard. Meanwhile, she had a message to deliver to Rex. She ran towards the group of clones now disembarking.
"Rex!" she called out. "Captain Rex!" She saw him turn towards her, and she slowed down her run, halting to a standstill in front of the company of five. All five immediately saluted. "Good to see you again," she nodded at him. "All of you."
"Good to see you as well, General," he responded. "I spotted Generals Skywalker and Luminara heading towards the turbolifts. Shall we follow them?"
"Not yet," she responded. "Both Masters will discuss the intel received from that region and aid in coordinating the strategy. We have some time before we're expected there, anyways, but make sure you have your comms on you. For now, I will be showing you to a briefing room for us to go over and share any new intel you or I may have received."
"Figures." The clone sporting a completely shaved head snorted. "I was hoping we wouldn't have to spend too much time here. Just let us give our report and head back to General Skywalker's fleet."
"Now, men," Rex said. "You all knew this would be more complicated than expected. Antar 4 has been held by the Separatists since almost the beginning of the war. Their hold on the planet is strong, and the population is more than willing to side with them, which is unfortunately the other main reason this mission will be so damn complicated." He looked at the padawan. "Apologies for the language, General."
"Don't worry about it," she grinned. "I've heard worse. Besides, at least my vocabulary is expanding."
"Not in the way your Master wants it to, I'm sure," Rex muttered, to which she and the other men laughed.
"Oh shut up!" She whacked the clone on the shoulder none too gently. "I'm sure you remember where the medbay is located."
"Hard to forget after the third visit," he retorted with a smirk. "Not like you and the other Generals had anything to do with that." She rolled her eyes at his sarcasm.
"Then you head there. Gree and Skee want to see you. Go. Now." He saluted her before also heading to the turbolifts. She watched him for a moment before turning to the others and gesturing to the end of the hanger. "Come; follow me to the briefing room."
Despite the initial happy feeling upon arrival, Anakin's mood quickly turned sour as Jedi Master Luminara and he neared the turbolifts. Ahsoka was gone, and though he knew it to be irrational he held Luminara responsible for her departure. Well, at least partly. Without a word, she summoned the lift and gestured for him to enter it upon arrival. When they were both inside, she pressed the button for the level of the bridge, which caused the turbolift to rise. He noticed out of the corner of his eye her turning to face him.
"How have you been recently, General Skywalker?" she asked cordially. As always, remaining the polite Jedi. It was times like these he was glad he wasn't one to beat around the bush.
"Well, despite suffering a loss earlier," he saw her flinch slightly, "I have been doing well. How have you been? I see Ani has grown a bit since I last saw her."
"Padawan Ani," Luminara corrected absently, a small smile appearing on her face. "She has indeed. She has her own batch of clones under her command that are known for their skills in data retrieval and decryption. One reason our last battle was so short was due to their special abilities."
"Why am I not surprised?" He allowed himself a smile. Last he heard, Ani had been working on being able to decrypt and encrypt a variety of systems, although that was secondary to her honing her fighting skills. With a sense of humor that was close to his own, and while not having been super close friends at the Temple (mutual friend had introduced them; the rest was history) he enjoyed catching up with her whenever possible. It helped that she saw him as Ahsoka had, at least with the respect and awe at his abilities. Her listening ear and easygoing nature made her enjoyable to be around, now a reminder what Barriss had been, before… "I sense a 'but' coming."
"But she needs work on her other skills, namely the ones that aren't used in a fight." This time he faced her, in time to catch a pointed look aimed in his direction. Not enough to kill, but definitely enough to do some damage. "You seem to have made many fans back at the Temple, and while your actions generally have good intentions behind them, I would prefer it if she didn't attempt to mimic all of them."
"Better she does and stay a Jedi than follow the rules and turn to the dark side like Barriss," he returned with steel-edged tone. Another slight flinch (though her eyes never left his), but now he couldn't care less. It was out in the open now. Time to deal with it.
"Do you honestly think it was my teaching that caused Barriss to fall?" Luminara asked softly. He gave an angry shrug.
"YES! Maybe- ugh, I don't know!" he exclaimed. "All I know is that she blew up a section of the Temple, killed innocent beings, framed my padawan, and now is in prison for probably the rest of her life. If your padawan hadn't turned nuts, Ahsoka would still be here."
"Barriss was your friend," Luminara pointed out, her tone hardening. "If we are going to play the blame game, Skywalker, let's not forget you were considered to be a good friend of hers. Maybe you should have noticed something."
"Maybe you should have kept in touch with her even after she was knighted!" Anakin shot back.
"You could have provided her with more support, knowing what it's like to be on your own after a knighting."
"Well, you could have prepared her better for the pressures of war she would have faced!"
"Maybe you should have made sure the Geonosian worms had been completely destroyed before we left Geonosis!" That combined with the veiled hurt behind her voice startled him for a moment.
"You think it was something the worms did to her?" he asked, less heat in his voice now. Guilt had now taken hold with icy claws. He should have done something back then, been more thorough in the destruction of the underground lair. If he had just paid more attention to the egg caches down there, Barriss wouldn't have been infected and she'd currently be sane and a Jedi and Ahsoka would still be here. Luminara shrugged, looking resigned.
"I don't know, Anakin. I don't." In that moment, he caught a glimpse of what she really felt, underneath her well-worn Jedi resolve. "The message she left behind implied that the incident with the worms could have started it all. But it's not like we can study her, since she's in the highest level security of the Coruscanti prison system. Nor is there time; the war has all our resources at its disposal at the moment." She took a deep breath. "You're not the only one who lost someone special, Anakin, and remember that I liked Ahsoka quite a bit as well. As did my current padawan." He felt guilt prickle the edges of his conscience; Ani was probably suffering the loss of both her friends as well. Yeah, he should have remembered that. "Now, both of our former padawans are gone. I can understand your anger towards me, and know I do not care if that changes or not. However, while you're here, I'd appreciate it if we could work professionally, if nothing else." He gave a short bark.
"For who? You? Me? Your padawan?"
"For Tarkin. I know he reports straight to the Chancellor almost constantly, and the last thing the Jedi need is another bad report about us directed to the Chancellor, especially one as high in the ranks as Tarkin." He sensed exasperation rolling off of her in waves, and despite himself he smiled just slightly. It was good to know even Jedi Master Luminara had limits to her almost-never-ending patience. "I swear he makes it a point to find a way to complain at least once a standard day either about us to the clones or about the clones to us. It is a toss-up whether he dislikes the Jedi's tactics or the clones' random ingenuity more. After his most recent remarks regarding the Jedi in general while on the bridge after our most recent battle, I could feel the atmosphere grow slightly darker towards him." She paused. "Also, my padawan tripped him." He surprised himself – and her – by laughing out loud.
"Did she at least hurt his pride?" he asked upon regaining his breath. Luminara shot him a look, but he remained amused. He knew Ani would probably not have been happy about Tarkin joining them on their most recent run, but she was extremely patient. He must have pushed her to her breaking point. Despite his respect for the man due to his close relationship to the Chancellor, his dislike for the man's overall attitude grew a little more. His treatment of Ahsoka before and during her trial on Coruscant certainly hadn't improved his attitude towards that man. He also wasn't surprised that the trial and its aftermath had further formed Tarkin's opinions and sentiments against the Jedi. "I'm sure he deserved it," he said dismissively. "Did you scold her afterwards?"
"No." Surprised, he studied her closely. Was that a blush on her face, or were the lights playing tricks on him? Whatever it was, it complemented her regular skin coloring. "He did deserve it, although I would never admit that, and it certainly wasn't serious enough for a reprimand. And if you repeat that, I will deny it."
"Duly noted," he smirked. Despite his desire to hold her accountable for Barriss's fall, part of him was glad to see she was weathering the stress of that plus the war plus her current padawan pretty well. He could unleash that desire later on, on safer terms. They had a battle to prepare for. "I'll see what I can do to persuade the man to tone it down." The turbolift doors wooshed open to display the bridge at large, with Tarkin turning to face them at their right.
"Ah, General Skywalker! How good to see you again!" he said, his tone sounding pleased.
"Admiral Tarkin," Anakin said, hiding a smile and nodding in acknowledgement, as he knew Luminara was. Yes, he would see what he could do. The man may have considerable talent and prestige, but here was a prime case of where personal hubris was dangerously close to outweighing ability, and it didn't matter how well honed.
"Alright, Gree, what did you do now?" Rex asked upon seeing the familiar green markings upon the relatively new Phase III armor resting by the bed. His two brothers, the one in bed obviously Gree and the other by default Skee, looked up at his voice. Gree smirked as he offered a mock salute.
"Good to see you too, Rex!" He winced as he brought the arm back down, obviously not fully healed yet. "Just did a little rescuing is all."
"So I see." He stared down at the man before turning to the other, who was sitting next to the bed on a chair. "And you didn't stop him?"
"Rex," the fellow clone rolled his eyes, "I was kind of busy at the moment, finishing the data grab and making a quick exit. If I had been there, though, I'm pretty sure I would have pushed him aside to take the blast." Rex shook his head at the two, although he knew he probably would have done the same. Probably. Maybe. It depended on who was the target.
"Were you saving the young padawan's ass again?" It sounded more like a statement than a question.
"Yes, but before you go to chew her out, she was protecting General Luminara and Commander Tarkin from assassin droids," Gree said. Rex sucked in a breath. Assassin droids were never to be taken lightly, and the fact that Gree had taken a blast and was still here to talk about it meant one or both of the Jedi had noticed and protected him from being injured worse or killed. "There were a lot, and it's not like she remained unscathed, but if she hadn't stepped in both would be dead or at the very least cooped up in here for longer than I am."
"Lot of thanks she got," Skee muttered. "Especially from Admiral Tarkin. At least General Luminara had reassured her after the lecture, but Tarkin just saw that as an opportunity to make more nasty comments about the Jedi. That guy needs an attitude adjustment, if you asked me."
"I know Tarkin isn't the greatest," Rex raised both hands in attempt to calm both men down. "I know; I was part of the task force that had to rescue him from that Separatist prison. Even when he does get saved he still is quick to point out how and to what degree he dislikes you." A lump formed in his throat. "That's what happened when Ahsoka saved him." A respectful silence fell over the three.
"Heard anything from her?" Skee asked, breaking the silence. Rex shook his head.
"Besides the message she left for me and the guys, explaining her decision and asking us not to contact her, neither the General nor I have heard anything from her," Rex responded. "I just hope the kid's alright."
"I just can't believe Barriss would do something like that!" Skee exclaimed. "I mean, sure she'd been through a lot, but so has every Jedi. How could she turn against the Republic like that?" Gree looked despondent.
"I knew something was different after she was infected with the brain worms," he said heavily. "Something had changed, but at the time I didn't think much of it. In fact, her increased effectiveness at battle and tactics had somewhat impressed me as being more what was needed in this war than her previous battle tactics. Was she then changed to… what she is now? I don't know. I just know I could have said something."
"We all could have said something," Rex stated. "What happened with her reminded me of what happened in regards to Slick, and that deserter I met on Saleucami. Both left the Republic for various reasons of their own, and while none of us could understand that, I'm sure we'd all agree they showed some signs of their ideas or intentions that no one picked up on. If we had paid better attention, would we have noticed? Would we, could we have done anything? Maybe, maybe not, but the signs were there, and now they've gone. So have Barriss and Ahsoka. Even Generals Skywalker and Luminara didn't pick up on those signs, and they're Jedi. I'm sure they tried, though."
"Yeah," Skee agreed. "It's not like we're not busy with the war, though."
"Maybe, but I think we'd all agree that is no excuse," Rex said evenly, watching the other two bob heads in agreement. "Not even for us. Gree, how is the padawan holding up?"
"Besides apologizing over and over for landing him in here?" Skee joked. The injured clone glared at him, not that it would deter him from making future wisecracks.
"I wasn't serving under her long when the news about Barriss came in," he said. "We got called to Coruscant where I think both the General and the padawan were called before the Council, probably for some review or some other war-related discussion. I found both of them afterwards, and while the General looked none the worse for wear, the padawan looked completely worn out. I don't know if you knew this, but both girls were considered to be friends of hers, to what degree I don't know, and she had already lost another good friend before that happened. Also, as a whole the Jedi have lost almost as many of their comrades as we have ours," Gree reminded both of his brothers, who nodded in agreement. They were fiercely protective of their Jedi commanders both on and off the field, mostly due to the unfriendly reception many beings gave both groups by now. Only they knew what horrors they went through on a daily basis, month after month, and now year after year and so stuck together in order to provide as much support as possible. It wasn't like they'd get it anywhere else.
"She's been doing better, and I've noticed that she and the General have gotten closer as a result. However, it's still a fresh wound, one my men and I do our best to minimize opening. This is a war, and it's best to keep moving forward instead of lingering on what's been done and said, so if you," he directed, albeit respectfully, to Rex, "would make sure your men didn't bring up either of them to her or rip on her in relation to the incident, I would much appreciate that."
"Consider it done," Rex replied. He hadn't known the padawan nearly as long or much as Ahsoka had, but he knew Ahsoka had been fond of her, almost as much as she had been of Barriss. The Jedi kids – initiates, padawans, whatever – were as much a victim of the war as were the adult Jedi. The kid was now stuck in the middle of an incident she had not been involved in personally, through no fault of her own. If there was anything he hated as fiercely as the Seps and their droids, it was innocents getting caught in the crossfire. Here, it was a crossfire of a different kind, and he would be making sure to be having words with his men so they would know to leave both women alone. With the one responsible was locked away, and her victim currently in parts unknown, there was no one left to blame for what had happened and no sense in doing so.
"Thank you." Gree sank back into the pillows, having relaxed at Rex's words. "It's moments like these that I wish the war would end soon. As wrong as it sounds, though, at the very least both are alive and out of this war. Means they'll live to actually witness the end and peace after that." Seeing the looks on Rex and Skee's faces, he continued, "After working with Barriss for so long, it's hard for me to think of her as a traitor, especially to the Republic. Apparently, from what I've heard from the padawan, other Jedi have had their heads messed with, snapped, and they've been healed. Hopefully whatever caused her to snap was the result of the worms, and she'll get the help and healing she needs."
"I hope so," Rex muttered. "Cody was not happy when he heard the news. That guy still has a thing for her." That in of itself was an understatement. Last he saw the man, Cody was still keeping tabs on her, for General Kenobi, or the Jedi Council, or so he said. Poor man still held out hope.
"Well, one of us has to." Rex noticed Skee smiling at him. "Come on, hope can't be a bad thing to have. We may find it useless, but surely you've seen how it acts as a drive for the Generals and some of us to do our jobs faster."
"So do blasters, ships, and heavy weaponry," Rex pointed out pragmatically. "Speaking of which, when do we get reinforcements?"
"General Kenobi will be receiving them and wait for us to arrive in orbit around Antar 4 before giving us what we requested," Gree stated, a sour look marring his face. "However, we've been warned we may not get everything we need."
"Dammit!" Rex blew out a breath. "Well, it wouldn't be war if this bull didn't crop up for almost every battle."
Thanks to the constant intercommunication between the command cruisers, they found out they needed to refuel before reaching Antar 4. The planet Norulac was the closest planet in the Inner Rim with available fueling stations and still on good terms with the Republic, so it was decided they'd head there. The gunships They were also contacted by Jedi General Kenobi and given the new rendezvous coordinates for a thorough briefing prior to their invasion. His ships had enough fuel and would remain in orbit around Antar 4.
Luminara gazed at her padawan as she directed the flow of traffic in the hangar bay. The fleet currently was in orbit around Norulac, over the most prominent mountain range just north of the capitol where the central government was located, and the crews were finishing up gathering up the necessary equipment, containers and cells that would need to be filled with fuel. They had been already low on fuel, and since the upcoming battle was rumored to be a long and difficult one, they would need to fill up on as much fuel as they could hold. Master Kenobi had put in a request for whatever extra they could obtain. The cruisers had determined how full their tanks and reservoirs were, and found only one had to land. This left the crews to board the one cruiser with as many empty cylinders and assorted other containers to be filled as well. From what she was seeing, her padawan was handling it calmly and efficiently. She had appropriate cold weather gear on, a long, dress-like tunic over her Jedi robes and armor, with a hood that overshadowed her face. The sewing team at the Temple had gotten better at designing their gear for cold weather. Luminara would have to make sure to thank them personally when they got back to the Temple.
Despite their partnership for only a few months now, they had learned much from each other, even if her padawan tried to hide it (equally amusing and exasperating). Personally, she was glad for having been assigned an apprentice, now more so than ever with the pain and agony that Barriss's actions had left her to bear, which she would never show outwardly. The act of bonding through their shared pain had been the key to strengthening their relationship and bringing them closer. At least it was a positive reaction to Barriss's action, for which she still had no answers. Although she tried to refrain from making comparisons between Barriss and Ani, it was days like this that the differences were being obvious and hard to ignore.
Barriss's tone would be more of a request than a command, as Ani's is. Also, her overall demeanor would be gentler, compared to the firmness Ani is presenting as she is fielding questions and directing traffic. Just how different she is from Barriss becomes almost painfully clear in these types of situations. She swallowed hard and blinked fast to stay the threatening pain and its embarrassingly moist expression. However, even with the differences, I'm glad I have Ani as my padawan. The differences help me to realize they are two different people, and in light of what has happened regarding Barriss, I hope it works out in her favor. I would like my legacy to involve more than Geonosian brain worms, bombings and assassinations, she thought wryly.
Another thing that was getting harder to ignore was Ani's… unexpected abilities. They had gone back into hiding the moment they had left Alderaan. Her padawan had doubted what she had accomplished in that moment, as Luminara had been tempted to do. However, before leaving the Temple, her old master had taken the time to examine her padawan. Windu had seen something in her padawan, something growing, but had seen fit to only disclose it to her, along with exercises to give her padawan. Ani complained, despite doing the exercises as told, but no further growth had appeared to either of them. While troubling, Windu had said that it tended to take time to develop. Bastila Shan hadn't needed the time, but then she had been gifted from birth, as well as being another Jedi from another time. Meantime, the exercises still had to be done.
What was more troubling was the cold reception Skywalker gave her. She couldn't blame him for his reaction to Barriss, as that had been similar to hers upon returning to Coruscant, without the grief, the guilt, and the anguish that had tormented her. While she understood his question as to why she hadn't seen this coming, he seemed to be blaming her personally for Barriss's fall and Ahsoka's departure, which meant any interaction would either be painfully polite or brimming with hostility. As long as he didn't direct any of that toward her current padawan, she could deal with it.
"Master?" She noticed then that her padawan was staring at her expectantly. "Master Anakin and the others are waiting for us in the last gunship. They're ready when you are."
"Good. Let us join them." They walked towards the waiting gunship. "I thought I should let you know, Commander Gree is remaining behind. He's up and about now, and will moderate the readings and scans of the planet."
"Landing the cruiser is not in order, then?"
"No. Strange geothermal readings arose while you began coordinating the refueling. Master Skywalker, Admiral Tarkin, and I decided we would keep most of the containers here while taking a squad of clones with two gunships down planetside to scan the area. We also left the commanders of the other two cruisers with instructions on what to do while we are investigating."
"Aren't geothermal readings expected for this planet, though, given the amount of mountain ranges and its relatively cool climate?" Ani asked curiously. Underlying the question was a concern that it could be something not caused by natural forces. Norulac was as known for its high amount of mountain ranges as they were for their lack of a strong, central government, and fugitives were known to skulk into the various quadrants to lay low for a while.
"Not to the abnormally high level we found them to be."
"You don't think it's the Separatists, do you?" Alarm and anticipation both arose in her padawan, something Luminara frowned at her for. A Jedi should not desire a fight, merely be prepared in case one did occur. Given that she had said it so many times to Ani, though, she knew it would fall on deaf ears. Besides, the lecture could wait, given the current circumstances.
"We will see, Padawan. Once we land and check the area, we will see what is behind all this. Hopefully, it is something relatively minor so we can fuel as planned." As they neared the gunship, they saw Admiral Tarkin standing next to Master Skywalker, both in their cold weather gear, and Luminara could hear her padawan groan.
/I did tell you Tarkin was coming with us, Padawan./ She reached out with their bond.
/I know you did. Doesn't make me like that fact any more, especially knowing we have to ride with him. Couldn't he go in the other gunship?/
/Not now, obviously./ With an eyebrow raised, Luminara held back a smile at her padawan's blunt reaction to that. /All I ask is that you remain calm, composed, and don't cause any unnecessary complications./
/Yes, Master./ They boarded the gunship, and Luminara commanded the pilot to take them planetside. She could see the other gunship lined up for take off, with quite a number of containers they deemed necessary to begin filling with fuel. They would only leave once the command group verified the area was safe and secure.