"The pilot in the front hatch controls the tank, the shells, and the short range blasters. The commander in the top hatch controls the turret and the main cannons. You have to take out both hatches or the tank will remain operational." I hung on her every syllable. Ahsoka was so knowledgeable; it was hard to not listen to her!
She nodded to Captain Rex who jumped on the tank and opened the front hatch, throwing in a sonic grenade. The hatch snapped shut and he used the cannon barrel to get to the top hatch, tossing in another sonic grenade before back flipping off the tank. An electrical pulse rang through the whole tank and it fell on the ground with a loud thump. I jumped at the noise.
"Everyone, divide into teams of two and we'll practice an assault on both hatches." I jumped next to Saw. I'd rather be his partner than Yura. Cocky piece of—Okay, never mind.
I'm gonna boast a bit. Why not have some fun? "I'll take the top hatch," I put my hands on my hips and smiled. Saw knocked my arm out of place, making my body jerk too. Rex chuckled before throwing us both sonic grenades. I caught mine and felt Saw's hand shove into my chest, knocking me backward but not over.
"Hey!" I shouted before running towards the tank and up the side, onto the cannon barrel, like Rex demonstrated. Too bad the cannons weren't locked into place. The cannon clicked downward and I hit my head on the barrel, falling off the tank and on top of Saw. I landed on his chest, my legs tangled around his as my head was practically in his sternum.
"Oh, blast it… Sorry," I quickly scrambled off the man who groaned as he sat up, rubbing his skull.
"Stupid klutz." He muttered. Well, isn't that nice of him. He sure knows how to piss me off, doesn't he?
"Lexie, your head," Steela said, helping me up. My gloved hand went to my head and I looked at my fingers… How lovely, I'm now bleeding. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, I'm fine." I stood up and backed away from the scene I caused. "I just… need to… Ugh," I groaned.
"I'll be… over there." Was all I could say as Saw glared me down as if I murdered his cat. I get why he's upset, but he doesn't have to be pissed. It was just a practice run! We'll have plenty more…
"Jerk-ass…" I'm not one for colorful language like that but I needed to say something or it would just be pent up rage. I took out my bandanna from my wrist guard and wiped off the blood on my face before tying it around the cut. Should help it a little…
The lessons continued without me. I just kind of sat there, watching everyone. Rex kept screaming at everyone and it really didn't seem to be helping. I glanced at Ahsoka and she seemed so invested in what she was doing… Master Jedi Kenobi approached her and began whispering something to her which she only responded with a nod.
Wait… Now he's heading toward me… What just happened?!
"The infamous Lexie Bonteri…" Oh great. Is he gonna insult me?
"I know. 'She's a late senator's daughter; failure as a soldier; nothing like her father.' I've heard it all before." If he was gonna insult me, might as well be something new right?
"You shouldn't be so hard on yourself… it's only your first day," Wait… he wants to help me?
"You're a Jedi… It's easy for you to say. It's not like you had any problems on your first day. You all are already perfect…" At least, that's what I've heard.
"You'd be surprised, Lexie. To be honest with you, I wasn't the best Padawan… I might have been one of the worst." I'm not saying I don't believe him. I'm saying that it's kind of surprising to hear a Jedi reprimand themselves. Especially for one that is a Jedi Counselor.
Kenobi told me how he was reckless as a kid. It wasn't until he was 19 that he had a handle on how to act as a Jedi. And even then, he was a little clueless. He told me how he met Skywalker and how much of a pain in the neck the kid was. But he put up with it because of his master, Qui-Gon Jinn… This all seemed too true to be… well, true.
"That Qui-Gon sounds like your father. Was he really as heroic as you make him out to be?"
"He was. The bravest Jedi I've ever known. Even braver than Anakin." He looked at his apprentice who stood next to Ahsoka and he said something to her, making her smile and push her elbow slightly into his side, making him laugh.
"What about Ahsoka… She's the bravest person I've ever known…" I told him, smiling as he looked down on me. He smiled back.
"She was the youngest Padawan in the Jedi Order. She's already come so far… But she still has a lot to learn." I don't know what else she has to learn, but I know one thing… She'll be the best Jedi that this Galaxy has ever seen. Better than Skywalker, wiser than Yoda, braver than Qui-Gon… She'll be a vision. I just know it.
After Tank training, we moved on to Destroyers. Those Spider droids with their own shields. I had nightmares about those damn things and to come face to face with three of them was like… A horrid Holo-Game! They stood in a triangle like they were on some stage and about to sing to a birthday kid… And then, when no one expects it, they attack! Blow up the place… I'm delusional.
"Destroyers are quick; Pack twin blasters and come with their own shield generators—Nothing short of cannons will pierce it. But, they do have two weaknesses and you will need to work together to exploit them." Skywalker nodded at Rex and he activated a Destroyer, making me jump as the thing stood up and put up its shield.
"The shields deflect high velocity attacks," Rex shot at the shield and the blaster fire bounced off the shield completely. The droid started stepping forward and I backed away, biting down on my lip.
"What the shields don't stop are slow and stationary objects!" That makes sense. Ahsoka pulled out a Sonic Grenade and very slowly, the grenade rolled across the concrete and under the shield. "They're designed to absorb them, so nothing hinders their movement."
The electrical pulse made the Destroyer curl in and fall back on the ground. "Destroyers are blind from behind! A distraction combined with a rear assault will give you a kill. The trick though, is to get the right speed on the droid popper." I was staring at Ahsoka's eyes the whole time. And she noticed. I blushed and looked away, biting my lip as I did so.
Rex activated all three Destroyers and I looked at them, feeling more and more nervous as I did so. Stupid droids, making me feel scared. Rex tossed a grenade at Saw and he approached the droid, throwing the grenade. It went across the ground but bounced off the shield. I snickered.
"Nice try," Steela punched him in the arm and looked at Ahsoka who tossed her a grenade. She stood up straight and threw the grenade sideways, watching as it slowly passed under the shield. I smiled at her.
"That was suave," She grinned at me and I smiled back, looking at Ahsoka who tossed me my own grenade. I crouched down and tried to throw it as slowly as possible. But as soon as I was about to let it go, I heard a girl shout.
"Just throw it straight, Bi-teri!" I threw it way too hard. It practically ricocheted off the shield! Okay, that was it.
"Alright, Yura… I've tried being polite, I've tried using force, and I've tried ignoring it. I guess the only answer now is—" And that was it. My fist came in direct contact with her cheek, knocking her straight to the ground and landing her back on large tree roots. She looked incredibly dazed and there was a huge bruise forming on her cheekbone.
"Y-You hit me!" Yura shouted. I growled down at her. "Keep your nose on that ugly face and out of my business, you homophobic schutta." I was completely done with her mocking me for my sexuality. That's all it has been the whole time I've been here. No one else has a problem with it! Not even Steela! Why does Yura just… relentlessly tease me about it?
You know what? I don't even care. I left the idiot on the ground where she belongs and stalked back over to the group who were practically jumping out of my way. I folded my arms over my chest and tapped my foot on the ground.
"Do you… Want to try again?" Skywalker said. I looked up at him and nodded once, now completely focused. Rex threw a grenade at me and this time, without any distractions, it passed by the shield, much to my happiness. "Hmm. Nice job." The Jedi said, smiling at me.
"Thank you," I bowed my head at him while Ahsoka smiled at me. I felt someone put their hand on my shoulder and I turned to see Steela. She smiled at me and I couldn't help but smile back.
I guess you can say that things were looking up for me…
"Everyone, pair up! We'll practice in groups," Rex told us. I watched from the side as two of our teammates helped Yura up to her feet. She swayed back and forth and practically fell over every little thing. Clearly, she's never been hit in her life… Not like me.
"Lexie," I turned around and saw Ahsoka standing there, holding a grenade in her hands. "Wanna perfect that technique of yours?" She tossed the sphere in the air and caught it effortlessly and I bit my lip, smiling like an idiot. That slight dip in her step, sticking out her hips like that as she stared at me through half lidded eyes, smiling that killer smile…
"Absolutely." Oh yeah. I'm in love. Like, head over heels, stumble, stutter, and stay up all night kind of love. Ahsoka led me to a separate area where there was a Destroyer waiting, shield up and guns pointed at us. I gulped.
"The Separatists knew how to scare people… Could those things be any more menacing looking?" Ahsoka snickered at my outburst.
"Are you scared of them?" She said. I just nodded. I took the grenade from her hands and threw it at the shield, getting quite frustrated when it bounced off the shield.
"Damn. I had it a few minutes ago." I picked up another grenade and tried again. Still too hard. The next one missed the shield entirely. I threw the next one directly at the shield as hard as possible in a frustrated waste of energy.
There was a moaning noise to the side and I saw Yura sitting on a rock, rubbing her sore cheek. Serves her right. Stupid laserbrain.
"Lexie… what's got you and… what's her face over there at each other's throats?" Ahsoka asked. I bit my lip and looked up at her, shrugging.
"I don't really know what she has against me, other than me being homosexual. It doesn't bother most people, but it irks the hell out of her. To the point where all she can say is jokes, childish name calling, and even threats. She doesn't like me because I like girls. I don't know…" I sighed and stared off into space.
"So… You're um…" Did Ahsoka really not know?
"Don't tell me you didn't see how overly lesbian I was, 'Soka…" I guess she didn't see it… "I mean, I guess I wasn't always that way… I must have liked boys at some point… But I can't even remember when that was. Girls have just always been… More attractive to me. But it isn't all about how someone looks, you know? If you have a crap personality, I don't want to be near you, no matter how hot you are." It was like Ahsoka was seeing a whole other side of me.
I sighed again. "I haven't had good experiences with boys. I did try to 'fix' myself, I guess you could say. Had a boyfriend and everything. Mom was so proud of me. She said that I was finally beginning to act like a young lady… Then, when we went on a midnight cruise, he took advantage of how absolutely defenseless I was. I didn't know how to fight or to overpower someone… And he got what he wanted out of me. And left me there, in the woods of Raxus. It was hours before I got home…" Ahsoka sat down next to me. I guess I had ended up sitting on the ground and messing with one of the grenades left next to my feet.
"That's when I decided that I wouldn't let anyone in lightly. It only leads to pain… But, I seemed to forget all the bad things after I met you… I must say, Ahsoka, you know how to keep someone distracted." Her headtail stripes changed color and I smiled, blushing myself.
"I'm sorry, Lexie… I had no idea." She put her hand on my forearm and I shrugged.
"It's alright. I'm over it now." Was all I said before rolling the grenade across the concrete and watching as it passed through the shield. I grinned.
"You got it!" Ahsoka said, helping me to my feet.
"Yeah… Guess I did." I stared at her as she smiled at me. I clenched my hands into fists and warded off all thoughts I had going through my mind. All thoughts of grabbing the wonderful Jedi by the shoulders and hug her so tight... And her lips... Damn it, Lexie! Stop it! You must know... She doesn't need to be involved with you... She's completely fine being alone. Without your messed up life. She has it fantastic as a Jedi, don't mess that up for her.