This is a work of Clone Wars fanfiction. I do not own the Clone Wars, or Star Wars.

Also, I don't particularly care if there is a mess hall on the cruisers, so don't bother with telling me it isn't, if it truly isn't.

Yawning, I tried to stretch out my back. Honestly, couldn't they make these beds a little bit more comfortable? Apparently not.

I looked at the chrono on my holopad. It was only 0500, about 3 hours before I normally woke up. Blinking away my sleepiness (I knew I wasn't going to be able to go back to sleep) I got up. Just as I went to go turn the 'fresher on, my stomach growled really loud. Great.

Abandoning the notion of taking a shower, I stumbled out of the room to the mess hall. It wasn't a long way from my bunk, but it seemed like it took forever to get there. Of course, I did make some wrong turns here and there. I had to make it look like I wasn't rushed though, so I had to slow down when passing a clone or Admiral Nyan. Which happened a surprising amount. So I was very out of breath by the time I got to the cafeteria.

There weren't many clones there that early, it was still about an hour before most woke up. I got on line for breakfast, and sat down near a wall once I got it. The food didn't look very appetizing, but I figured that appearances could be deceiving.

I was wrong. The food tasted terrible, like mold and dirt. I made a face, but luckily no one was looking at me. I quickly finished as much as I could handle, because even if tasted bad, it was food, and I stood up to throw the rest away.

I was heading out of the room when an incoming trooper grabbed my arm. I checked for my lightsaber. It wasn't there, and my brain instantly switched to danger, and I had to force myself to remain calm. I looked up at the trooper. He seemed only half awake.

"You're not a clone." He said, his words slurred.

"That would be correct." I answered, trying to keep myself from hyperventilating. "Now if you'd please let me go."

"You're not a clone, so who are you?" He finished, tightening his grip on my arm.

I lost it. I started hyperventilating. In, out. In, out. In… I tried to remember the breathing techniques that Master Koth taught me. But I couldn't. I was too panicked, everyone was staring at me, and I…I couldn't. It felt too much like those years ago.

Instead of answering I gathered enough strength to wrench my arm from his grasp and ran.

I ran through the halls, not bothering to plan out where I was going. I ran as if I was in danger, because I thought I was.

Most people jumped out of my way, but I almost ran into one. I brushed past him, hearing his voice faintly call out my name, but I kept running. I finally got to a dark hallway and sat down against one of the walls. I put my head between my knees and tried to calm down my breathing.

I watched as Cecily sprinted past me. She seemed upset about something. From what I could gather, she didn't sprint unless she felt threatened, or was specifically told to. I checked for anyone who might be following after her, but no one came.

"Cecily!" I called after her, but she was already gone. I tried again through our force bond. 'Cecily!'

No response. I became extremely worried. Suddenly I felt a spark of fear go through the force. That was most definitely Cecily. I tracked the outburst through tens of hallways, until I found it in a dark hallway. I walked down it, turning the lights on.

And there was Cecily, her head between her knees, hyperventilating. I was surprised for a moment. Ever since she had become my padawan, she had looked and acted like she had been in thousands of battles. Now, she looked like the 14 year old she was. And it scared the kriff out of me.

I cautiously approached her. "Cecily…"

She looked up and upon seeing me, immediately tried to revert to her normal guarded expression. It failed.

I sat down next to her. "What's wrong?" I asked, trying to figure out why she had run all the way here.

She looked at me and tears started welling up in her eyes. She opened her mouth to answer but nothing came out. Instead, tears started streaming down her face.

Great. I had absolutely no idea how to handle this, and here she was, crying.

Trying to calm her, I hugged her while sending waves of comfort. "It's going to be okay, they're not here. They can't hurt you."

She whimpered. "I'm tired." She mumbled.

I checked my chrono. It was only 0530, of course she was tired. "Let's go back to your quarters, you can go back to sleep there."

She nodded. I helped her up and we started the walk back to her quarters. When we got there she climbed right into her bed. I pulled the covers round her.

"I'll send someone to keep an eye on you in a little bit. I have to talk to the admiral about battle plans." I told her. I didn't get a response so I looked back at her. She was already fast asleep. I smiled and closed the door.

As soon as I got out, I went to find someone she trusted. Unfortunately, there were not many people on this ship she trusted.

I was still looking around when Fish walked up to me. "Is the commander okay?" He asked. "I was in the cafeteria when she seemed to have panicked and fled."

"She should be fine now, I'm just looking for someone who can watch after her until I can." Replied. Then I had a thought. "Actually Fish, would you mind watching over her?"

"If you need me to." He replied, pretty confused. "But I'm pretty sure she doesn't trust me at all."

"That shouldn't be much of a problem. All you have to do is stand outside her door and try to calm her if she gets upset. I'll be back probably around 1000, so I can takeover if she isn't already awake." I replied.

"I guess I could." Fish replied. I said a quick thanks and started walking down the hallway, trying to find Admiral Nyan.

I walked in the direction that the general pointed me, trying to find the commander's quarters. I knew where the general's quarters were, so I figured that it would be near there. After coming to the door I thought was hers, I opened it a little bit to make sure. It was hers. So, I stood outside the door and waited.

It was a couple of hours before anything happened. Some of my brothers had passed by to talk to me, but not much else. It was then that I heard the commander sobbing, which soon turned into screaming.

I burst into her room. She was shaking uncontrollably, and was curled up into a ball. She looked so incredibly young in that moment that I did a double-take. I walked over to her side after clearing my head, and sat down.

I reached out to try and wake her up, but she shied away from my touch. I really wished I could use the force at that moment.

"Commander. Wake up." I said softly. She continued screaming. I shuddered. Whatever could have gotten the usually so guarded commander like this had to be bad. I tried again. "Verd'ika, please wake up."

"Fish?" She mumbled, opening her eyes a little bit. Upon confirming for herself that it was me, she sat up and curled into me. I was taken aback by her curling up into me. She wasn't screaming anymore, which was good, but she was silently sobbing. I awkwardly put an arm around her and patted her back.

A few seconds later, the General burst in, looking extremely worried.

"I came as soon as I could. Is she okay?" He breathed out.

I looked to the commander. "She seems to have fallen back to sleep, sir." I responded.

He sighed in relief. "Good. I can take over for now, I've sorted everything out with the Admiral." The general said.

I nodded, and started to leave. Suddenly I turned around. "Um, sir?"

"Yes, Fish?" The general was tucking the commander back in.

"What happened that was so bad?" I asked, cringing when I realized that I had in fact, asked it.

His look seemed to turn even more somber. "I think, I should let her tell you herself."

"Yes, sir." I said. I then turned around and walked out the door, and didn't ask any questions this time.