Special thanks to Mauryn, cozzizzie, and Stellar Spirit for following this story.
Stellar Spirit: To my knowledge there has only ever been one Kaminoan jedi and she lived for over 3,000 years.
Mauryn: I'm still trying to figure out how to get the clones to work into the storyline but I'm sure I'll eventually figure it out.
Chapter 2
Nal's POV
To say that Nal was nervous would be an immense understatement. Today would be the day that he would meet the master that would lead him to either Knighthood or failure. He had heard many things about his soon to be master. Kiha Na had a rather prestigious reputation among the order as one of the most powerful and wise masters of the order who had trained many a padawan into powerful and influential Knights. The young Nautolan's nervousness was only amplified by the two jedi with whom he shared the ship.
Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi had reputations among the jedi for being a reckless Knight and a wise Master respectively. Every now and then one of the two would send him a sideways glance. After many such glances Master Kenobi initiated conversation with the new padawan, "I hear that congratulations are in order for your recent apprenticeship young one." Nal startled a bit at Master Kenobi's sudden statement before collecting himself and answering, "Thank you Master Kenobi." Conversation died off for a moment before Anakin asked Obi-Wan something that made Nal's own curiosity rear its head.
"What can you tell me about Master Na, Obi-Wan," Anakin asked., "All that I've heard was what has been said around the Temple." Obi-Wan took a moment to answer, "And what have you heard my former apprentice?" Anakin took a moment to shift his weight, "I've heard that she is far older than she appears and is considered one of the most powerful and wise of the order without being on the Council." Obi-Wan gained a thoughtful look before answering his former padawan, "All of those things are completely true," he answered, "Master Na is over four hundred years old and in that time has amassed a large amount of power and wisdom." While this conversation was taking place Nal kept his attention focused almost solely on it. He wanted to know more about his master without showing his nervousness even though he was sure the more experienced jedi could sense it.
The pilot's voice coming over the intercom stopped the conversation from continuing any further, "Generals Kenobi and Skywalker we are approaching General Na's fleet and will exit hyperspace in 30 seconds." Nal's nervousness shot to almost unbearable levels as the ship exited hyperspace and his new master's ships came into view. Master Kenobi must have sensed his increased anxiety since he put a calming hand on the young Nautolan's shoulder, "There is nothing to be nervous about young padawan Master Na has a reputation for being a calm and patient master." While this helped calm Nal's nerves somewhat it couldn't completely erase how nervous he was.
"Generals and commander the shuttle is prepped and ready to transport all of you to General Na's main ship," the same voice from earlier once again came over the intercom to inform them. Master Kenobi took his hand away from Nal's shoulder to turn and leave to room to head to the shuttle bay so that they could make their way to his new masters ship. His last thought as they boarded the shuttle was, 'I hope that this all works out in the end.'
Kiha Na's POV
"I understand your concerns over our position and defenses Admiral but reinforcements should be arriving soon to fortify our position and with them comes two more jedi to help turn the tide of the battle," Kiha reassured the Admiral who watched over and had control of her ship The Steadfast when she could not. The Admiral nodded his head before turning to issue more orders to the other troopers who manned the bridge. Sensing that the conversation was over Kiha returned to studying the maps of the sector that they were in to see if she could find a more defensible position from which to fight the Separatists. Her focus was interrupted by her second in command coming up behind her to inform her of something she assumed.
"General we have three Republic cruisers coming out of hyperspace on our six," Commander Arklight's voice came a second after he dropped the customary salute. Kiha addressed him without turning around, "Thank you for informing me Commander, make arrangements for the arrival of the Generals and my new padawan." Kiha heard him reply in the affirmative before she heard the sound of his footsteps moving away from her. Kiha took this moment of reprieve to balance herself before she headed to the hanger to meet with Master Kenobi and the others."Sir the shuttle carrying the other jedi is about to land in the hangar." Kiha nodded to the trooper who informed her of this before taking her leave of the bridge and making her way to the hangar where the ship would be making its arrival.
Many thoughts ran circles around her head. Some were pleasant, some not as. Along the way there she was joined by her commander who thankfully left her to her thoughts. Knowing that being lost in her thoughts and feeling unsure of herself wouldn't make the best first impression Kiha recited the code in order to balance herself so that she made the best first impression possible. The closer to the hangar that they got the more activity the saw as troopers prepared themselves to make their own best first impressions. Entering the hangar she saw that the troopers that would greet the other jedi had already lined up where they needed to be to accept the others. Kiha was broken from her thoughts by the arrival of the shuttle into the hangar and its landing. Slowly the ramp lowered and four forms left the shuttle.
The first she recognized as the human jedi master Obi-Wan Kenobi, the second she saw was his former apprentice Anakin Skywalker, the third was a clone dressed in blue and white armor with twin blaster pistols attached to the belt around his hips, and the last to exit the shuttle was a young, blue Nautolan with a timid look on his young face who she assumed was her new padawan. As the group approached she looked over the young jedi whom she would mentor for however many years it took until he was ready to take the trials to become a Knight. He was dressed in the robes that all padawans seemed to share and was a deep blue color with large black eyes and looked to be around 16 if she had to estimate. Looking at his waist she saw, to her relief, that he had only one lightsaber attached to his waist.
Kenobi was the closest and therefore the first one to greet her, "Master Na it's a pleasure to see you again, despite the circumstances we find ourselves to be in." Kiha gave him a small smile in response to his wit before replying, "It is good to see you as well Master Kenobi." Anakin took this time to clear his throat so that all attention was focused on himself, "It's nice to meet you Master Na, my name is Anakin Skywalker and this is Captain Rex," as he said the last part he gestured to the clone who stood behind him and a little to his left. The only response that the clone gave was a salute and a crisp "Sir." At this point the youngling was the only one who had yet to introduce himself so Kiha directed her attention to him, "I don't believe I've had the pleasure of learning your name young one."
The Nautolan looked startled for a moment before answering her, "M-My name is Nal Fati Master." Kiha made a side note to herself about working on his confidence before answering him, "It is nice to meet you Nal Fati, I am ,as you may already know, Master Kiha Na and I am to be your Master until you are ready to pass your trials." Padawan Fati at this point looked ready to burst from excitement which he couldn't quite hide. This gave Kiha a small sense of amusement and from the look on the faces of the others they felt the same way.
The rest of the meeting was cut short by alarms suddenly blaring and Kiha's commlink going off. "General there are 4 Separatist cruisers approaching from hyperspace directly in front of us and will be here momentarily!," the Admiral exclaimed. "Understood Admiral I am on my way to bridge now," she told him already on the way to the door of the hangar. Remembering that she had an audience she turned and proceeded to give orders, "Commander Arklight gather your men and prepare for battle, Nal follow me, your first lesson begins now, Generals it would probably be best if your returned to your ships to coordinate your attacks from there." Receiving nods from all those gathered they all went there separate ways.
Kiha arrived at the bridge just as the Separatist ships appeared in front of the gathered fleet. "Admiral have the fighters deploy to counter the droid ships and open fire on those cruisers," she ordered as she entered. The Admiral nodded and gave the orders and with that the battle started in earnest. Kiha and her padawan watched as the cruisers took shots at each other and the smaller ships weaved around each other and the cruisers.
"Master Na are you there," Anakin's voice came over the commlink. "I am here Skywalker, what is the problem?," she questioned. "The droid fighters are taking heavy losses now is the time to give everything you've got into destroying those cruisers," he answered. Kiha nodded even though he couldn't see her and gave the order to fire all guns at the leading cruiser. One by one she watched as the Separatist cruisers fell not only to Republic cruiser fire but also to the skill of Anakin Skywalker and his squadron of pilots. As she and her padawan watched the last of the enemy cruisers turned and fled back the way it had come not only to their relief but also that of the clones. Seeing that the battle was truly over she decided to contact her commander to inquire about the losses of the battle.
"Commander Arklight, give me as status report," she asked. "Our fleet has taken moderate losses with a large number of fighter ships and one of the cruisers," he replied. Kiha took a moment after he answered to say a prayer to the force for the souls of the ones that had perished in this battle before answering him, "Thank you Commander, that is all." Closing the communications with Arklight she opened communications with Skywalker and Kenobi, "Generals, I thank you for your help for without you our losses would have been far worse than they were." Obi-Wan was the one to answer her, "It was our duty to help you Master Na and a pleasure, but I am afraid that I must cut this short for Anakin and I have received orders from the Council to head to Christophsis to repel the droid invasion." Kiha nodded to him before saying farewell and cutting off communications with him. Turning to the main window she watched as the fleet of Obi-Wan and Anakin jumped to hyperspace and headed to their destination.
Turning to her padawan she saw that he had a slightly shellshocked look on his face. She took a moment to feel pity for the young Nautolan who had probably never even left the temple before. "If you have any questions young one, now is the time to ask," she told him. He startled at her question before turning to look at her, "D-Does seeing people battling and losing their lives ever get easier Master?" She felt a moment of sadness for the innocence that would be killed by this needless war, "No my young apprentice, it does not." Ending the conversation there she turned to look out of the window into the vast emptiness of space and could only wonder what the future would hold.
Chapter End.
Sorry if the battle scene was lackluster but battle scenes are most definitely my weakest point. In this chapter we are introduced to not only Kiha's new padawan but also to some of the main characters. On a side note don't expect every chapter to be this long I just had a lot to get done this chapter and I didn't want to drag it out to multiple chapters so I just shoved it into one. The next chapter will start the story's merging with the TV series. Remember to read and review!