Cody waved to the General, who gave a weak smile as she made her way towards the gunship, but she never made it that far.
Esinon collapsed to the ground face down, Cody ran over, pushing the unconscious General's body over he finally noticed the large gash spanning her side, the blood that had soaked her robes, he silently cursed himself as he pressed his hands over the wound trying to slow the bleeding.
He should have noticed her pained grimaces that she tried to hide, the way she kept adjusting her cloak to cover something up, why didn't he pay better attention?
Drummer came sprinting over, with troopers carrying a stretcher behind him. Cody could hear him cursing under his breath, as he tried to keep their General alive, they couldn't lose their General, not again.
"We move her on the count of three," Drummer said, slowly wedging his hand underneath her side, Cody did the same on the other side, with Anchor and Bean at her head and feet, "One, two, three," they all lifted her, quickly moving her onto the stretcher, which sent her into a fit of coughs, sputtering blood everywhere,
"Hang on General," Bean whispered, as they rushed into the gunship up to the Negotiator.
Esinon groaned and cried out in pain with every slight jostle of the ship, she must have been experiencing hallucinations from the blood loss, Cody tried to ignore the intense vulnerability that the young woman was displaying.
She was usually so full of life, energy, and hope, but she had finally broken, the war and grief finally became too much. They were moving before the ship even finished docking, sprinting down the hallways, as red drops of blood splattered the pristine floor.
Drummer wasted no time, strapping an oxygen mask over the scarcely breathing Jedi, hooking up all kinds of tubes and bags with unnamed liquids inside them, pressing buttons on a control panel to keep the woman who lay there alive.
The medic didn't bother to cover up his looks of exasperation and the swears that kept escaping his lips. Everyone knew that Esinon had something against the medbay, and it made it impossible to treat the patient who refused to be treated.
Soon trainee medics came rushing in to help the exhausted medic save their dying General, all the troopers who were still gathered in the room were quickly ushered outside, all left in their anxious thoughts.
Rex finally clambered onto the last gunship headed for The Negotiator. That was it, they were finally done with this hell-hole of a planet called Umbara. After a week of non-stop fighting, they had finally captured the planet. The gunship pulled up into the sky, he noticed Fives's brow furrowed,
"Fives, you alright?" he asked,
"Something's wrong," he muttered, "Something's wrong with Esinon."
"Like what?"
"She's hurt," he said,
"How do you know?" Rex asked, Fives was starting to sound like a Jedi.
"I don't know how I know, but I do," he said, Rex brushed off the weird explanation as the gunship pulled onto the cruiser.
He was ready for some much-needed rest if no one needed him, he was gonna sleep for a week. He stepped off the gunship into the hanger and the first thing he noticed was a drying pool of blood and a trail of splatters that followed it.
He shared a look with Fives, the same thing on both of their minds. Whose blood was that? They both made their way towards the medbay where a hefty amount of troopers were standing, he could sense the tension among them and Cody was a mess.
"Cody… what's going on?" Rex asked, Cody looked over at the medbay door reluctantly before pushing them away from everyone else. He fidgeted with his armor,
"General Windcaster- Esinon, she got injured." Cody paused, biting his lip. "We're not sure if she's gonna make it," he whispered. The normally stoic soldier looked on the verge of breaking. Rex's heart dropped, after everything, she couldn't die. No, no she was too strong, too stubborn, too brave, too full of hope for the galaxy to take her this way. Rex didn't know what he would do if she didn't make it.
"H-how?" Fives asked,
"There was an explosion, I didn't think she got injured- she looked ok- I thought she was ok," Cody said, starting to spiral downward,
"Hey, hey, hey," Rex grabbed Cody's shoulders,
"It's my fault, it's my fault, I can't lose another General." Rex wrapped Cody in a hug,
"It's not your fault, it's Esinon, she'll pull through. She has to." Rex said, trying to reassure himself as much as Cody. When he released Cody, Fives was already gone, he probably needed to be by himself for a little bit. That's how Fives processed most of the time now, by being alone, so Rex was gonna give him the space to do so.
Twenty minutes later...
The worn medic stepped out, the medbay door closing behind him. Drummer sighed pinching his the bridge of his nose,
"She's going to be fine, but she cut it close. Too close," he said, a sigh of relief fell over the small group of troopers that had been anxiously waiting. "Cody, you should probably go report to the high Generals." Cody nodded his head, starting towards the command center before Rex stopped him.
"I'll take care of it," he said, Cody nodded, looking for Drummer's approval to enter the medbay, the medic nodded and a worried Cody entered. Rex made his way to the command center, steeling himself. He placed his helmet under his arm and stood at attention as he waited for the Generals to answer. General Windu and Skywalker appeared on the holo with Commander Tano behind him.
"Where is General Windcaster?" Windu asked,
"She is resting sir, she was severely injured during our most recent battle," Rex replied, he noted the glance that Skywalker and Tano shared at the revelation of the information.
"So was the mission a success?" Windu asked,
"Yes sir, Umbara is completely under Republic control, and all Separatist pods have been taken care of," Rex said, Esinon had explained everything about Krell last night when she contacted the council. "Bring Windcaster back to Coruscant and we'll have a Jedi healer look at her." Windu's hologram disappeared leaving only Skywalker and Tano.
"Rex, be ready for our arrival, I'm coming on board," Skywalker said,
"Yes sir," he said, as the transmission ended. Rex heaved a sigh, trying to keep his emotions in check, before walking back off to the medbay, maybe Drummer would let him inside. He was about to step into the medbay when he realized that Fives had been alone for far too long. He needed to find that ARC before he did something stupid.
A few minutes later…
Rex finally tracked Fives down in the barracks, none of Blitz squad was there, they were all busy unloading new supplies. Most of them were probably oblivious to the fact that Esinon had almost died… well they didn't know how she'd hold up overnight. There could always be complications. Rex shook his mind from that unsure place and focused his attention back on Fives. The ARC had his elbows on his knees and his forehead pressed against his fists.
"Fives, are you-" he paused, ok wasn't the right word. Of course he wasn't ok. "How are you holding up?" Fives shrugged, his knee beginning to bounce. "Fives, are you gonna be ok-"
"Do I look ok?" he snapped, rising to his feet, clutching something in his hands. "Esinon is dying, so no. No Rex, I am not ok."
"Fives I didn't mean it like that-"
"Why does she have to be so stubborn? Why can't she just preserve her life for once instead of trying to be everybody's savior? That's not fair!" The ARC ranted, now pacing the room.
"Fives, she's hurting-"
"We're all hurting, alright! But you don't see me running off and almost getting myself kriffing killed! We all went through the nightmare that was Umbara, and I'm not ignoring a serious injury!"
"Fives, she's trying to prove that she can be a General. That she isn't Krell." Rex explained, trying to calm his tyrading brother down.
"We all already know that," Fives said, exasperatedly sliding down against the wall.
"You saw the men last night, they wouldn't get within a klick if they didn't know her as long as we have. We've seen General Windcaster at her worst. We know she's human, they don't." Rex said, motioning the bustle of brothers that lay outside the ship.
"I…" Fives pressed his head to his knees. "I can't lose her," Rex walked over sitting down next to Fives.
"And you won't,"
"You don't know that," Rex sighed, putting an arm around his brother.
"You're right, I don't."
"And that's supposed to make me feel better?" Fives grumbled, Rex finally got a look at what Fives had been holding this whole time. Dog tags. It was a pair of dog tags. How he'd gotten those was beyond him, since they weren't GAR issued. Clones were identified by their number, so tags weren't necessary.
"You didn't let me finish." Rex said, pulling himself back to the moment, "You have her right now. At this moment in time, General Esinon Windcaster is alive, so I would suggest spending as much time with her as possible." Fives glanced down at his armor, where Scipian markings lay over his heart. Hope in the face of adversity. That's what those markings meant to him. Hope. He had to have hope, for Esinon's sake. He needed to be a beacon of hope for her, as she had done so many times for him. Hope that things can and will get better. Hope for a better tomorrow.
Coruscant Prison…
"So Kenobi, another padawan?" Quinlin asked, Obi-Wan nodded, he'd only had Esinon for a few weeks. They'd just finished their mission of setting up Republic bases on Kashyyyk. "I thought after Anakin you'd be all done," Obi-Wan shrugged,
"I'm grateful for the little scamp, although she can be quite the handful sometimes." he said with a chuckle. Quinlin grinned,
"Sounds like Aayla when she was around Little blue's age," Obi-Wan sighed,
"Of course you would have already given her a nickname,"
"Eh, I'll be who I am, war or not." he replied,
"Master Vos! Master Vos!" Esinon came running forward, holding the hand of a wookie. "I can't understand what he's saying," The wookie repeated whatever he said to Esinon,
"Well he says that he was glad you came to visit, and the Republic is welcome here anytime." he translated, Esinon's face lit up.
"Really!"
"Yes little blue, really," Quinlin said, ruffling her hair.
"Esinon, we're packing up to leave, I want you to head back to camp and find Cody. We'll be headed back to the cruiser soon."
"Ok," She headed off in the direction of camp,
"She's a sweet girl," Quinlin murmured,
"I'm glad you agree,"
"At least she'll keep you from becoming an old man," he teased,
"Quinlin,"
A few hours later…
Obi-Wan finally made his way back to camp, noticing his padawan was missing.
"Cody, did Esinon already head back to the cruiser?" he asked, the clone looked up from his datapad,
"I thought she was still with you and General Vos." he said slowly, Obi-Wan's stomach flipped, his padawan was missing on a planet full of dangerous animals. He pressed his comlink,
"Esinon, state your location," he said, trying not to panic. The com only responded with static, "Wherever she is, she doesn't have a signal."
"I'll send out search parties," Cody replied, Obi-Wan nodded,
"I'll go out now, and contact Quinlin to keep an eye out for her as well." And with that Obi-Wan set off to find his padawan. He searched for what felt like hours, probing at their still forming bond. His fear was slowly starting to grow, what if she was injured, or terrified, she probably was so scared. He tried to center himself knowing that panicking wasn't going to help. "Esinon! Esinon!" he turned around another tree to find his padawan, sitting at the base of a tree, trembling. She had her head tucked in her knees and her knees tucked her to her chest. "Esinon, are you alright?" She looked up at him,
"Master?" she asked shakily, at the moment he was busy gently uncurling her body from herself to search for injury. He didn't find any, she just seemed scared, her whole force aura was radiating fear.
"What's wrong? Did you get lost on the way back to camp?" She nodded,
"I- I saw ships leaving. I thought you had… abandoned me." She whispered, Esinon didn't talk about her past often, but it was always with upset and fear. "It's stupid, I know,"
"No, it's not stupid," he assured her, placing a hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him,
"But I thought Jedi weren't supposed to be afraid," She said, Obi-Wan sighed,
"Well what did I say we do when we feel afraid?" he asked,
"We acknowledge it, and then let it go." she said, her force aura starting to calm itself.
"That's right," he praised, "I'll never leave you behind Esinon, I promise."
Obi-Wan thumbed the inside of his sleeve, a habit of Esinon's he had picked up. He felt guilty every day he was away from his… his family. He knew something was wrong with Esinon, he could sense her in distress. He bounced his knee anxiously wishing he could contact someone to ask if she was ok, to go to her, to apologize for everything. But he couldn't, he had to complete this mission. This mission and he would never do something like this again.
"I promise Esinon, this is my last one," he whispered,
Cody didn't say anything he just sat, listening to the quiet beeping of the heart monitor, it was a comforting sound that reminded him his General was still alive. He ran a hand over his face, he felt like a terrible soldier. He couldn't save General Kenobi, and he had barely managed to save his current one. Why did Jedi have to be so stubborn? He was torn from his thoughts at the beeping of his comlink,
"Cody, General Skywalker is here," Rex said,
"Alright, I'll be there in a minute," he sighed, getting up, giving one last glance at his General before heading towards the hanger. The two Jedi fighters landed letting out Commander Tano and General Skywalker,
"How's she doing Cody?" he asked, before he even got out of his fighter.
"She's stable, but resting." Cody responded, as they immediately made their way back to the medbay, Drummer was not gonna like it having Skywalker in his medbay. The clone Commander's comlink buzzed once again, "What now?" he grumbled to himself, before answering.
"Commander Cody," General Fisto said, "I was calling to see about my padawan's condition." Cody flinched slightly at the reminder of the fact that General Kenobi was no longer alive.
"She is going to be fine, General, she is resting. I can call you when she wakes up if you like."
"I would like that very much Commander, thank you." The transmission ended, he hurried towards the medbay, hoping that Skywalker and Drummer hadn't started a full-on brawl.
A few hours later…
Anakin sat in the medbay, bouncing his leg impatiently, waiting for Esinon to wake up. Another injury she had 'forgotten' to treat while in battle, why did she have to be just as stubborn as Obi-Wan was? He was torn from his thoughts when a small grunt came from the bed, Esinon's eyes starting to open,
"Anakin?" she mumbled, "What happened?"
"You got injured, and ignored it. Esinon you almost died," he said sternly,
"Nothing you wouldn't have done," she grumbled, scrunching her eyes closed at the bright lights.
"Esinon this isn't about me-"
"That's a first," she mumbled, grimacing at the bandages around her abdomen.
"Excuse me?"
"It's always about you Anakin, everything, everything is always about you. This isn't about me almost dying, this is about you being worried I almost died. I can't spare your precious anxiety for a mission. I did what I needed to do and that's the end of the story." she huffed, still unable to yell from all the pressure in her chest from her broken ribs.
"Esinon, you almost DIED. Don't you get that?!" Anakin shouted, "This isn't about me, it's about you! You've been acting different ever since-"
"Since Obi-Wan died? Yeah, but you haven't even noticed because you haven't been around! You've been so wrapped up in your own grief, you didn't even bother to come to see if I was ok. I was promoted to General of a battalion not even twenty-four hours after Obi-Wan died! I'm sixteen! Everything is about you! Even Obi-Wan's death is about you! It's how Anakin's feeling, what Anakin wants, how Anakin's struggling! I'm struggling!" she burst into a fit of coughs, splattering blood all over her pristine white medical gown, Drummer rushing over, pressing an oxygen mask over her face,
"It's alright, deep breath," he muttered, as Esinon's breathing slowed back to normal, "I'm sorry General Skywalker, but you need to leave." Drummer said, as he wiped the blood away from Esinon's mouth and face.
"It's fine, I was just going anyway," Anakin said, stalking out of the medbay,
A few hours later…
Everything ached, Esinon tilted her head slightly, looking at the wires snaking out from the sleeve of her medical gown. She could feel soft bandages around her abdomen and shoulder, a heart monitor over her finger, and an IV in her arm. Drummer was checking over a few things, taking notes on a datapad. She smiled weakly at him, and he gently squeezed her hand before leaving. There wouldn't be any long rants or reprimands from Drummer today, she heard the blast door whoosh open. She turned her head slowly to see Fives and Rex in the doorway,
"We're not here to yell at you if that's what you're wondering." Fives joked half-heartedly. She would laugh if she had the strength to, but all she could muster was a small smile. After her blow up with Anakin, she didn't feel like doing anything, she just wanted to sleep. Fives's smile faltered for a second,
"We just wanted to see if you needed anything," Rex said, she heaved a sigh, grimacing at the pain she felt in her chest and abdomen,
"Can you just… sit with me?" she asked shyly,
"Of course Taz," Fives said, pulling up a chair next to her bed. She wheedled her hand into his, they didn't come to question her, they didn't come to reprimand her, they just came to sit with her. They were some of the first people to do that since Obi-Wan died. She appreciated the 212th's efforts to help her through this, but they just kept pushing her to open up when she didn't want to open up. She just wanted to sit, like this, this was nice.
Rex didn't show how nervous he was, putting up his mental shields at full capacity so that the Jedi couldn't sense all the turmoil in his mind. A hologram of the still bed-bound Esinon glanced at him, flashing a couple ARC signs,
'Mace Windu only looks scary,' she discreetly signed back,
'Uh-huh, shouldn't you be resting?' she shook her head,
'First day I've been awake since the medbay. Besides, I've got work to do.' Rex sighed, she was really content on working herself to the bone, wasn't she? He knew she was already ticked that she couldn't do anything to help Dogma, but the rumor was that she was trying to get custody of him.
The trooper had already been sent to Kamino, which had sent Esinon in a frustrated rage, except she couldn't yell, or move very much, but it was written all over her face when they had to tell her Dogma had already been convicted.
Dogma didn't even get a trial. Rex didn't need to be a Jedi to know that she was upset about the possibility of him also being convicted. He didn't exactly know what kind of blow-up she would have if he was convicted, but he was preparing for the worst and had told Fives to be on standby if anything happened. Rex knew there would be no amount of temple guards or Jedi that could keep Fives from getting to Esinon if he needed her. He quickly signed again,
'Do the Jedi ever let you rest?' She shrugged her shoulders, she was about to answer when Master Windu came walking in with Master Yoda, waddling not far behind him. Rex stood at attention, Master Yoda quickly made the motion that it was ok for him to fall into parade rest.
The Chancellor entered next his blood-red robes swishing around his ankles. He was followed by two guards who stood by the door, as their leader sat down at his desk, steepling his fingers.
"Captain Rex, Masters Windu and Yoda, Padawan Windcaster, it is so good to see all of you."
"Good to see you too, it is Chancellor. Although under better circumstances, I wish it was." Master Yoda said, tapping a claw against his cane.
"Indeed, I have read the full mission report of Umbara," the Chancellor said, grabbing a datapad and pulling up the numerous reports on the cataclysm that was Umbara. Palpatine scanned a few lines, frowning. "And, Captain, you were the one who ordered Krell's execution?"
"Yes sir," Rex said quietly, he saw Esinon's brow line furrow ever so slightly.
"Rex had his reasons," Esinon said, trying to sit up a little taller and giving up with a pained grimace. He quickly signed at her,
'Take it easy,' Esinon frowned and signed back,
'Tell it to the Chancellor,'
"And would he care to share those reasons?" Palpatine asked,
"Sirs, at first we believed Krell was just being reckless…" Rex began, his mind swirling in the hellish nightmare of Umbara. "Then as the suicide missions continued, we kept going. We knew that something wasn't right when he turned…" he paused, sucking in a harsh breath, desperately to keep it together. "When he turned the 212th battalion and my battalion against each other. He told us that the enemy had seized weapons and armor, and told the 212th the same. We managed to capture Krell, and General Windcater captured the capital. The remaining Umbarans were heading to the airbase, and if Krell was captured… he would turn over all of our intel, it would have been a crippling blow to the Republic."
"This is troubling," Palpatine said, resting his chin on his hands. "Padawan, were you there at the time this took place?"
"No, I was taking care of some last-minute things at the capital before I… I arrived at the airbase," Esinon replied,
"I acted of my own free will," Rex said, "And you believe Krell aligned himself with the Separatists?" Master Windu asked,
"Yes sir, he told me himself," Rex replied,
"Do you have any proof?" The Chancellor asked, he stopped,
"Other than being there, no…" he mumbled, Esinon shoved herself into a semi-sitting position.
"Then how are we supposed to believe you?" Palpatine inquired,
"I don't know sir," Rex replied, trying to resist the urge to shrink away.
"The charges of ordering the execution of your General are high charges indeed," Rex's stomach flipped, "Until we have proof, we can only assume there is a malfunction in your design."
"A malfunction?" Esinon asked, her voice laced with shock and disgust. "Are you kidding me? A malfunction! Rex is the reason the Republic isn't falling apart, and the Separatists don't have all of our intel!" she shouted, grimacing at the strain that yelling was putting on her chest, but she didn't care. She took a deep breath, centering herself, as Rex stared at her shell-shocked. "If this is how we're going to treat troopers who think for themselves, by saying they have a malfunction, we are going to lose this war. Because we have troopers who can think, who can plan, who can make decisions for themselves, we have the edge in battle. Krell committed treason and sedition against the Republic, any clone trooper who committed such heinous acts would be executed without a trial. Rex does not have a malfunction, we should be celebrating him as a hero of the Republic not a piece of machinery that isn't working right." She finally went quiet, staring down the Chancellor and the two masters.
"Dismissed, both of you are, discuss this we will." Master Yoda said, Esinon ended her transmission in a huff, and Rex left in a hurry from the uncomfortable situation, still too shocked to speak. He made his way back to the barracks where a good portion of the 501st was waiting for him.
"So, how'd it go?" Fives asked tentatively,
"I-uh- I don't know…" he began slowly,
"Is that a good or bad I don't know," Jesse asked,
"Um- Well, General Windcaster yelled at the Chancellor and Generals Windu and Yoda when the Chancellor said I had a malfunction. She uh- negotiates like a Kenobi with the aggressiveness of a Skywalker."
"That's our girl," Fives said, proudly, his chest swelling,
"She really meant that on Umbara, didn't she," Tup murmured,
"If there's one thing I can always guarantee about General Windcaster, she always means what she says," Rex said, finally relaxing a bit. He wondered if he could get into the temple to see her, and thank her. No one had really defended him like that, but she really meant it. She would fight to her last breath to protect all of them.
Back in the Chancellor's office…
"She is just as fiery as her father," Palpatine murmured, Master Windu nodded in agreement. "Do you think we should take the word of General Windcaster? That Krell truly was corrupted,"
"Krell was always different from other Jedi, and had a certain darkness that surrounded him as the war continued."
"Takes time to listen to the clones Esinon does, cares for them deeply she does." Master Yoda remarked, "Loyal, Captain Rex is, proved himself many times he has. If executed Krell he has, good reason he must have."
"Are you suggesting that we let Captain Rex continue to serve?" Mace asked, Yoda nodded,
"A careful eye on him, we shall keep. If more behavior like this he displays, reassess the situation we will." Yoda replied,
"There is one more problem, we now have an entire legion that is General-less," Palpatine said,
"Thought of this we have, a new knight, recently appointed in the order." Master Yoda said,
"Her name is Jayla Archer, and we think she'd be a good fit for the 673rd, but we are planning to rename the legion to the 818th." Master Windu said,
"Very good, I'll have Commander Uno informed."
A few hours later…
Esinon was not happy at the moment, if one more person called Rex defective, she was gonna lose it. She was surprised that Master Yoda and Master Windu hadn't come to reprimand her after her little blow-up, instead, she found a very uncomfortable Anakin standing in the doorway of her hospital room. He hadn't come to see or talk to her since their blow up on the Negotiator.
"Hey Speeds," he said quietly, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Hi Anakin," He tentatively walked over to her bed and sat down on the edge.
"How you feeling?" he asked,
"Better, everything still hurts though," she mumbled,
"That's good," An awkward silence fell over the two of them, Anakin running his organic hand over his metal one. "I wanted to come to say I'm sorry, about the Negotiator…"
"I'm sorry-"
"Please let me finish." He said, looking up at her, she fell silent again as his gaze fell back into his lap. "You were right. I haven't been there for you, or Ahsoka, and I'm a bad master because of it, and I'm really sorry about that. I-" he paused, Esinon could see his chin quivering a couple of tears trickling down his face. She leaned forward placing her hand over his flesh one, "I really miss him," he whispered,
"Me too,"
"I don't know how he dealt with all of us, we're barely holding together without him." Anakin whimpered, Esinon didn't remember who pulled who into a hug first, but both of them were crying by the end of their talk. Both of them were hugging each other tightly while recounting their favorite memories of Obi-Wan, and from then on out, Obi-Wan's death hurt a little less.
A few days later…
She had been discharged from the halls of healing after the last days in the bacta tank and covered in healing crystals. Master Allie said that she wanted the rest of the wound to heal naturally. But after her episode on Umbara, the council had put her on leave for the next ten weeks, and she wasn't exactly happy about it. She limped down the halls of the temple on crutches towards a waiting speeder. The council was sending her to a psychologist that normally examined clones before she was allowed to leave for Mandalore, which is the place she had chosen to go for the next ten weeks. She didn't want to go to a psychologist, but all of the clones who had been involved in Umbara had to go. She sat down in the speeder, her side aching as she eased herself down.
"How are you feeling today sir?" Thirye asked,
"Better," she said, trying to get into a comfortable position with the bandages still around her abdomen, as she set her crutches down next to her. They rode in silence to the psychology office until Thirye pulled up to the landing deck, she didn't get up for a moment, staring at the building.
"Don't worry General, Doc Bosa is super nice. He won't push too far," he assured her, she sighed, getting out of the speeder and heading inside.
When Master Windu called and said he had another patient, he wasn't expecting to see a Jedi sitting on the couch. She didn't look exactly thrilled to be there either, he recognized her to be Esinon Windcaster. She had been all over the holo-net after the sudden passing of General Kenobi.
"Hello General Windcaster, I'm Dr. Bosa, a psychologist picked by the Republic to examine normally clone troopers, but today… you." he stuck out his hand for her to shake, she shook his hand firmly, "You shake hands like a soldier."
"It's because I shake hands with soldiers," she said, he smiled gently at her, watching her posture. She sat straight with her hands in her lap, she stared at him with a calm expression, but she had dark bags under her eyes and she just looked exhausted and sad. The Zabrak cleared his throat, sitting down,
"Do you know why you're here, General?" he asked, looking over her report.
"You can just call me Esinon, and everyone who was involved in Umbara has to come here." She sounded frustrated,
"Mmhmm, I've talked to many of the troopers who were involved and they spoke about you. Of course, I can't tell you what they said for confidentiality's sake, but a lot of them care for you in the way family cares for one another."
"They are my family," She said, sharply, she folded her arms over her chest defensively.
"Back to Umbara, it must have been tough as General of the 212th, not knowing what Krell was doing," Bosa said, she scrunched her eyes shut seemingly trying to fight off pain... or memories.
"I can't control anyone's actions but my own." she said, her fist clasping the sleeve of a cloak that looked to be too big for her.
"That doesn't make his betrayal any easier." he probed,
"No. It doesn't," she said, gritting her teeth.
"You lost a lot of troopers on Umbara, and not the way you were expecting. That must have been hard," he said, trying to get her to open up. Talking to Jedi was a lot harder than the clones,
"Yeah, try having nightmares of their memories," she grumbled, running a hand down her face.
"Is that why you look so tired?"
"What doc? Never had a nightmare?" she shot back,
"I have your medical record here from the past few weeks. There are a lot of nightmares documented here, starting with the night…"
"Obi-Wan died?" she said through clenched teeth,
"Yes, my condolences," he said, he had never known the man personally, but all of the 212th's men had always spoken very highly of him.
"Thanks, I guess," she mumbled,
"Losing your Master, I can't imagine what that's like." he said, rubbing the edge of his datapad.
"Trying not to think about it," she replied, hugging the cloak around her tighter, at that moment he realized why the cloak was too big, it was Obi-Wan's.
"It might be good to think about it here, without anybody watching. It's ok to miss someone," She forced a chuckle,
"I guess you've never been a Jedi then." she replied, slouching back onto the couch.
"So you're feeling like you can't miss Master Kenobi?" he baited,
"Have you ever evaluated any Jedi?" she asked,
"A few," she heaved a sigh, "So, do you feel as if you're not allowed to miss Master Kenobi?"
"This is like Drummer's safety circle," she muttered, "No- I- I don't know! It's… complicated."
"Complicated how?" he probed, she sighed,
"Being a Jedi means no attachment. Of any kind. I can't make it look like I miss Obi-Wan, or I'll be questioned by the council. I have men to lead, and Separatist bases to destroy, I have planets to recapture, and battles to strategize. I don't have the luxurious time to grieve like no Jedi want me to, and every clone is begging me to." she said, throwing her hands up slightly before they collapsed back down on the couch.
He spotted her tunic bulging slightly where bandages must be, she had gotten injured severely on Umbara, and from what Captain Rex had told him, it wasn't completely because of the battle. This next tactic he was going to try to get the young Jedi General in front of him to open up, but he wasn't exactly sure how she was gonna react.
"Now a clone in particular voiced his concerns about you, Captain CT-7567-"
"Rex. His name is Rex." she snapped, her fists balling, "He is a man, he is not a number. He has a name. He is my brother, so I'd appreciate it if you didn't call him by his number." She sat up, glaring at him,
"I see you're very protective of him,"
"He would do the same for me," she growled,
"Is that why you ignored injury on the field, for him?"
"Oh my-" she rubbed her hands over her face, "I don't know! I'm sick of losing people alright? If I have to die to keep Rex, Fives, Cody, any trooper safe, I'm gonna do it! Because I couldn't save Obi-Wan, and as long as I'm breathing, I'm not going to let anyone else die!" she shouted, "I can't, I can't- I can't lose someone again." she whimpered, her hands shaking as her breathing became heavy. He placed a comforting hand on her knee,
"Is that the first time you've admitted any of that?" he asked softly, she nodded, clenching the sleeves of her cloak tightly. "Has anyone at the temple attempted to talk to you about this?"
"They haven't seemed to care until I almost died," she joked gravely,
"It feels good to get some of that out, doesn't it?" he said,
"Yeah, yeah it does." she said, smiling softly, "I've gotta be strong everywhere else."
"No matter how strong you are, everyone needs to let go every once in a while," he said, sitting back,
"So now what?" she asked, sitting back up, "We let that sit there out in the air, or do you pull out a healing crystal and start chanting." she joked, he chuckled to himself,
"Unfortunately it's not that simple," he replied, he was glad she was finally seeming to relax after being so tense. She had probably still been on edge from all the days of battle she had been put through recently. She ran her hands through her tangled dirty-blonde hair.
"Were you trying to tick me off on purpose?" she asked tentatively,
"Yes, I apologize for that, but you weren't opening up, so that was my best option. You don't seem like the type to hold a grudge, not a textbook tactic, but it works from time to time," he replied,
"What now?" she asked again,
"It takes time to heal properly," Bosa admitted, "But you've opened up a little, and that's a good start." She looked down at the ground for a moment, before she began to open up more.
"On Umbara… I wasn't with the 501st. Krell sabotaged the transmitter, and none of them could contact me for help." she began slowly, "I have this power, where I can see memories… and sometimes when someone is in enough distress, they can unknowingly send me their memories."
"And this happened on Umbara?" he asked, she nodded,
"Things were starting to look up, we were making ground on the capital, and that's when it happened. The force surged, and it felt like I was being suffocated by darkness, I couldn't see full memories, but I got a whole lot of flashes. I could feel Rex calling out to me, pleading for me to come and save him." she paused, biting the bottom of her lip, "I passed out, and all the darkness… it rattled me more than I'd like to admit. It made me feel weak. I didn't like it, especially when I had learned all of what Krell had done."
"And so you wanted to make a show of strength through toughing out your injury?" he asked,
"After we took the capital, I decided to go look for Waxer and his platoon because no one was responding to me. I ran to their last known position and all I found was… decimation. When Rex found me, all of my senses were scrambled, and the only thought in my mind was that I was Jedi. I can tough these things out in ways that my men can't, and I didn't want to lose anyone more… so I ignored it."
"And evidently it backfired on you," she nodded with a half-hearted chuckle. The room went quiet for a moment as he stared down at the datapad. He was about to ask another question when Esinon's comlink buzzed,
"Blur," she answered,
"General Windcaster," Thorn said, Thorn only called when Boba was acting up. She didn't have time for this, but she was gonna have to make time for it.
"Stop right there, I'll be over in a few minutes," she replied, she ended the transmission, "I'm sorry, but my kid needs me."
"Your kid?" he asked tentatively,
"Oh, yeah, that's what me and the troopers call Boba. They call me whenever he's acting up, we just call him my kid." she said, grabbing her crutches and hoisting herself to her feet, with a few pained grimaces. "I'm sorry we have to cut this short, and I can't come back for a while. I leave for Mandalore tomorrow morning."
"It's alright, my sessions with the troops usually get cut short too. No rest for the weary, but you made great progress today." he said, smiling broadly at her. "If you need anything while you're on leave, don't hesitate to call."
"Thank you Doctor Bosa, I really appreciate it." And with that, the Jedi was gone.
A few minutes later…
"What did Boba do?" She and Thorn walked towards the prison,
"He got into a fight with Rako Hardeen sir," she stopped dead in her tracks, "Sir, are you alright?"
"Yes, I want to see Hardeen as well."
"That can be arranged," Thorn said as they walked into the prison.
"I already know what you're gonna say," Boba said, as she entered the cell, a bruise starting to form on his cheekbone.
"No you don't," he stopped staring at her confused, "I was gonna say good work. Now I'm not condoning fighting with other prisoners, you need to stop doing that, but that sorry excuse for a lifeform, Hardeen deserved it."
"What did he do to you?" Boba asked, with a tint of concern,
"He killed my Master, Obi-Wan Kenobi. Now, no more starting fights with other prisoners, I'm going to talk to Hardeen." she turned around and made her way back onto the pod as gracefully as she could on crutches.
Obi-Wan sat up in his cell hearing the sound of a transport nearing, he could see a woman standing there with the troopers and Commander Thorn. Hang on, not just any woman, Esinon, with a very scary looking scowl on her face. Oh no, this wasn't good. Wait, was she on crutches? What had his padawan done this time to injure herself? The rey shield on the cell fell as she stepped inside. She reached out a hand using the force to drag his orange uniform into her fist, a snarl forming on her face as she socked him in the stomach significantly winding him, she punched like an ARC trooper.
"Listen up you piece of rank weed," she growled, "First you're killing Jedi, and now you're picking fights with children? What kind of sick twisted creature are you?"
"He picked the fight with me," Obi-Wan retorted, after being rudely attacked by Boba Fett in the mess hall. She smacked him across the face, jabbing a finger into his chest,
"I'm doing the talking here, I would love nothing more than to dump you in a cave on Vanqor with a very hungry gundark, and seal the exit but the man you killed would rather you rot in prison." She glared at him with such ferocity, his padawan was very intimidating when she wanted to be, he would be proud if he wasn't on the receiving end of it. "You're lucky there are cameras in here." she whispered in his ear, throwing him roughly to the ground, before walking back towards the transport.
"And you say I'm sick and twisted," he grunted,
"Go to hell," she snapped,
Umbara aftermath, always fun...
Featuring Esinon finally getting the therapy she needs!
Next up on let's make this canon corner: Esinon has an ewok brother, she misses him most out of all the ewok's in her tribe because he brought her food on the night before Master Windu found her. I brought him up a couple chapters ago.
Thank you for reading and make sure to leave a review!