"Is it like a Jedi to keep you waiting? Especially with something this important?" Saw said, crossing his arms and kicking his foot up on a nearby boulder. I turned my head slightly from my folded hands and glared.
"They will come. I know it." Was all I said about the matter.
"Just like a Senator's brat to depend on someone's word…" Saw scowled. Did he not think I heard him? How dare he?!
"Care to repeat that, docking rat?" I stood up, glaring up at him as my lip curled up into a snarl. I looked like a wild animal. I have given this look time and time again… I gave it to my friends when they bad mouthed the Jedi.
"You heard me, Lexie. Your plan is flawed,"
"You said you admired me for my connections to the Senate!"
"And now I see just how useless they are! What could I possibly think could benefit us from someone who knows how to argue?"
"Oh, you sorry son of a-"
"Enough!" We both silenced. Steela was having none of this bickering. It would get us nowhere. And I knew that too. But Saw was insulting my pre-position in the Senate and to insult me is to insult my mother and I will never stand for something such as that.
Saw shot me a dirty look before he walked off, leaving me to ponder my place in this Rebellion. I looked at Steela and made a face of uncertainty. "What's his problem? Someone pee in his Corellian flakes?" Now Steela was giving me a dirty look.
"Saw doesn't exactly like being left to die. It would be nice if the Jedi gave us an answer." She said, hoisting her hot pink sniper rifle onto her shoulder before standing up straight, staring me down.
I chuckled. I don't know why. I thought about Ahsoka and how she has a habit of making grand entrances. "If I know my Jedi, they're waiting to make a great entrance." And just as I said that, a transport ship began revving up in the distance. I stood up from my perch on a boulder and saw lights in the dark night sky. Maybe that's them… Or maybe the Separatists found us…
"Intruders." Saw came back with a snarl on his face now. Steela whistled and a Dalgo came bounding towards her. I'll never figure out how she does that.
"I'll go check it out. Hutch, you're going with me." Another Dalgo bounded out of the clearing and Steela took off with Hutch. I guess all we can do now is wait and see if it's friend or foe.
In the time that they were gone, I got to rest up a little. But not before I had my outfit modified with heavy battle armor. I worked on the vest stitching while reinforcing it with armor plating under the fabric. It would fasten around my body suit perfectly. I stitched on leg armor near the thighs, where the main arteries were. I worked with my shoulders too to make sure I didn't lose an arm during this… 'armed struggle'. I had just finished when I realized how much time had passed. I set my new uniform down and decided to sleep for as long as possible… Which was not very long. It felt like five minutes later that someone was shaking me awake.
And by shaking me awake, Saw and his buddies dumped a bucket of water on my face. It chilled me to my freaking core and I leaped up, ready to fight.
"Haha! You should have seen your face!" Saw said, making a mimicking face of complete shock. That was it. They've been pushing me around almost since day one! I'm getting a little tired of them thinking they're better than me, just because they've been here longer!
"I'm gonna kill you!" I shouted, chasing them out of my tent, my hands shaking and my face contorted in the most violent expression I have had in the longest of times! I haven't been this mad since the Death Watch tried to take Ahsoka away from me!
That was the day that something inside of me… went dark. I became poisoned with anger and… fear. That was the hardest week of my life… Worse than when I lost my father. Because in that week, I had lost my mother and I had to say goodbye to the most wonderful person that had ever entered my life.
I won't do it again without it being proper.
I let Saw go after chasing him for a while. I guess this counts as my shower for the day… I quickly dried off my hair with one of my old shirts and began to comb it out with my fingers. I didn't have many resources now that I am basically a fugitive. If I were to walk within the city walls of Iziz, I would be shot on sight.
Once I was dry, and dressed, I was prepping my modified pistols when I heard someone whistle behind me. When I turned around, I saw Steela and Saw heading our way. And behind them… My heart almost stopped in my chest!
Ahsoka! She looked more beautiful than ever! Her skin had become darker, seeing as how she has seen more combat. Must be a tan or something… Her arms seemed to have more muscles than I remember… And her eyes… They haven't changed one bit! They're still full of a child-like spirit that I have come to know and love!
"Watch out, Lexie," Yura poked me with her elbow and she laughed. "You're bi is showing." Oh how I wanted to smack the daylights out of her!
"My 'bi' is not showing! Your stupid is, though." She reacted as if I shot her in the foot. Her harsh recoil and shocked expression was holograph worthy!
"Oh, please! Everyone in the camp knows that you're as crooked as a Rapier's neck; Lesbi-honest, here." Any more homosexual jokes out of her, and I will personally cut her tongue out.
"Okay, Yura… I will say this with as much respect as possible… Shut your bloody noise hole!" I snapped, standing up to the immature 24 year old. Pathetic; I'm almost half her age and I have more maturity in my left arm than she does in her entire being.
"Okay, Jeez… Someone woke up on the wrong side of the palace bed this morning," I can't form into words how much I hate this woman!
Idiocy aside, she is kind of useful… That's it! Just kind of useful—actually, easily replaceable!
I decided to not engage in a fist fight with the moron. It would only upset the rest of the group. Instead, I focused all of my attention on the other three men traveling with Ahsoka. One was her master, Anakin Skywalker. I remember him from the hologram back on that cruiser. He said he would try to get me Amnesty. That was honestly quite nice of him…
The next was a man with a sandy blonde beard and medium length hair. He looked like a Jedi through and through. His eyes seemed incredibly friendly but his stature was like an ice wall… Clearly, he takes the Jedi way very seriously. Probably lecturing Skywalker every chance he gets.
Then there was a muscular man in camo armor plating and had an incredibly sculpted face. He looked like a war hero on closer inspection… I know who this is! It's a clone! A clone trooper! And judging by the closeness to Skywalker, he looks like he's from his unit. He must be a special clone to be hand selected by a Jedi like Skywalker.
I had to stay formal. I'd never forgive myself if I let my poetic, mushy side show in front of higher ranking officers like the Jedi. I kept a stone expression and just waited for them to tell us how to win this stupid war.
"I remember you…" Skywalker looked at me and I blushed, standing up straighter then before.
"As do I, Master Jedi." I bit my lip. Just exactly how much did Ahsoka tell him about Carlac? I was scared… But it seemed for nothing. He didn't spare me a second glance before speaking to the entire group.
"The Separatists have strength in numbers; we're gonna show you how to target—and destroy!" That's a comforting notion.
"Now to be clear," Uh oh… He's about to go all philosophical Jedi on us. "We are not here to fight your war—rather to show you how to conduct it in the most efficient and successful way possible." The mystery Jedi waited for everyone to agree on this. Once we did, Skywalker introduced the clone trooper.
"Captain Rex," His name is Rex… I'll remember that.
"I'll show ya how the 501st destroy clankers," He seemed way too enthusiastic about this. I don't know why but it was kind of refreshing to see this much excitement. "First, I need volunteers to carry supplies from our entry point, a half click west."
"Shouldn't be a problem." Saw said with a cocky attitude and it made me want to punch him.
So I guess that was it. We started moving towards the place that Rex mentioned. I hadn't even moved 6 steps before I heard her voice.
"Lexie!" Ahsoka's voice rang in my ears and I was already blushing as she ran to catch up with me. "It's… really nice to see you again." She smiled.
"It's wonderful to see you too, Ahsoka." I smiled back at her in the sweetest way possible.
"I didn't realize that you had such strong ties to Onderon."
"Onderon is my home! My mother was their representative in the Senate," I smiled at the fond memories back in the Iziz palace. Back when Onderon was under the rule of King Dendup. Those were the times.
"Your voice is strong," Steela said. "Like hers was." She's comparing me to mom… I was happy with that.
"Have you ever considered joining the Republic Senate?" A nice offer, but I'll pass. I don't trust the Republic… I trust the Jedi, but not the Republic.
"Winning this war won't change how I feel, Ahsoka. I don't trust the Republic, and I won't fight for them." Ahsoka seemed to anticipate my response. She didn't try to push me further into considering joining the Republic Senate. She quickly changed the subject, much to my appreciation.
"Well, what matters now is that we need each other's help. Just like we did on Carlac." Now there's a topic I can get behind on. Carlac certainly was a learning experience for me.
"I know that's the truth." I cleared my throat awkwardly. She giggled. Oh my gosh, that giggle is so… Ugh! Why must she be so perfect?
"Carlac? What happened on Carlac?" Oh right, I never did tell Steela about Carlac.
"Ahsoka is the reason I dropped in on you guys. The reason I'm here, and not with Death Watch…" That was putting it bluntly.
"Really?" Steela seemed shocked, or more impressed by the young Padawan.
"What she really means is—" Nah, I'll finish for you, 'Soka.
"She saved me from a huge mistake. If it wasn't for Ahsoka, I would be dead." Those were the words I was looking for. They're pretty self-explanatory… As long as we can keep out me hitting her… I have never regretted something more in my entire life.
I'm so fond of that Togrutan… I could never, ever hurt her again.
I headed forward because it looked like Steela wanted to talk with Ahsoka. That didn't bother me very much, honestly. It was nice to have someone on my side that wanted to protect me.
The more I headed ahead, the more I caught up with the clone. I can't say I wasn't interested in learning about him… I was actually very interested.
"You know, I've never met a Republic Soldier before… You guys must be as brilliant as they say considering how many battles you've won." What was I supposed to say?! I want to know all about a clone and what they can do! Get real! That could not be more insulting… I didn't want to upset him! He is my instructor after all…
"I wouldn't call us brilliant, kid. But we get the job done." Man of few words, Captain Rex is. No matter. I'll find out how to talk to him. I know I will.
"I've always seen war holos of the Republic battles. You and the other troopers are incredibly in sync with each other," Were those good words? He didn't seem to think so.
"Well, what did you expect? We're pretty much all the same, down to the sounds of our voices." Uh oh… did I make him mad?
"I don't really believe that. Everyone is different, even clones. There will always be something that makes you who you are. I'll figure you out, soldier. It'll be my personal mission." I was smiling. But Rex seemed unimpressed because he grabbed my shoulder and got inches away from my face.
"Your mission is to win this war, Bonteri. Spend less time focused on me and more time focused on the battlefield. This war will be a blood bath. Got it?" He snapped right in my face. I could smell his breath and see every crease of his face even under those ridiculous visors.
Okay, anyone uneducated would say that I am scared… Or, anyone educated. Okay, fine. I'm scared, okay? Rex is a scary man! Inches from my face, staring into my soul with those golden eyes! He's like a restless demon under all that armored plating! Crap, crap, crap, get away from this monster, Lexie!
"I get it, no problem. Understood, sir. Couldn't understand more, yeah?" Shut up, you moron! Now he thinks you're a babbling idiot! Ugh!
Rex walked away. Oh, thank god! My vision was getting blurry… Oh good gracious, that man is terrifying… How could the Jedi be scarier than that man?!
Oh, I know why… Because one of the Jedi is practically Ahsoka's father! God, why do you hate me so?