"What's our briefing?" she asked Jax upon entering the bridge.
"Separatist takeover on Eadu," he said, "They're building some sort of factory, and have enslaved all the locals. Our job is to get rid of the base and free the locals," Esinon hummed,
"Sounds like Ryloth, hope they don't pull another gutarrak stunt," she muttered,
"Sir?"
"Nothing, it's an old mission, let's come up with a plan because landing on that rainy planet will be difficult. We'll have to take small troop transports, I don't know if the gunships will be able to handle those high type winds," Esinon pulled up a map of the structure, it was on a sheer cliff with barely a landing pad. The mountainous faces didn't have much space to land transports anyway, Esinon sighed. "Well, we can't land on the Seppie landing pad, they'll mow us down. Too many heavy artillery guns," She motioned to the holo. "Our best is to land somewhere down in the canyon and scale the rock face to the top. Then we attack the base."
"That'll work, they have the locals down here mining something. We just might need some air support on standby." Esinon frowned,
"I'm not sure we'll be able to get any, small fighters weren't built for this kind of weather. We need to keep it a ground assault." she said, "Our best bet is for some of us to go to the front and draw all of their fire towards us. The back of the cliff has certain sections where security cams won't be able to catch anyone. That team will need to place charges while we handle the outside forces. Once the forces clear we'll have to get out of range fast. The problem is, the droids'll follow after us as we retreat so the fight won't be over as we repel down the face. If at all possible, we need to get the transports to come and get us out as we repel." Jax nodded,
"And I assume you'll be on the infiltration team?" he asked, Esinon shook her head,
"Of course not, I need to be on the front. The droids on their own turf and I'm betting that this structure is a droid factory. There will be two more replacing every one we tear down. Bo can handle the infiltration team, after all, he's an ARC. I think you should be as well," Jax shook his head,
"No, my place is on the front,"
"Jax, I'm pulling all the ARCs for this mission and you're one of them. A captain does not always have to be with his General," she said,
"But…" he trailed off leaving out the 'well who will watch over you, if not me?' Jax considered this his number one priority, to keep his General safe because without her the 221st was nothing. She was the glue that held everything together. Esinon smiled,
"I can look out for myself Jax, I promise I'll be careful," Jax smirked,
"Well, you never are which is why I worry so much,"
"I mean this plan is already a bit insane, how much more reckless can I really get?" she teased, Jax sighed, shaking his head fondly.
"I'll go prepare the infiltration team," he said,
"Pick your best men, Captain," she said, Jax nodded, giving her a salute before ducking out of the bridge. Esinon took a deep breath, this mission would be difficult, but not impossible. She just needed to center herself and focus.
One hour later…
Rain was pouring down in sheets on top of them, Esinon attempted to wipe the rain out of her eyes again on the back of her glove but it was replaced by more rain trickling into her eyes and down her. She was currently laying on top of a cliff not far from the Separatist factory. From here she could see the mines, where people lay below. She flinched, black ash swirled up into her face, coming into her lungs as she choked, her already weak body quivering with dry coughs. Esinon blinked, her fists clenched into the soil, she let out a small sigh, rising to her feet. CRACK! The sound of thunder echoed through the canyon, magnified ten-fold. Crack, crack, crack, the whip kept coming down on her back. She didn't know when the pain was going to end, Esinon stumbled back, she could feel blood trickling down back.
"General?" Esinon blinked, her hands shaking and her eyes wide. She glanced back at Glitch, "Are alright?" she nodded slowly,
"Yeah, I'm fine," she muttered, "Let's get ready to scale the cliff," She said, he nodded,
"Yes sir," he went off to gather the men and Esinon took a deep breath. She couldn't afford to be distracted, she pinched the bridge of her nose letting out a harsh breath. She needed to focus. She got to the front of her men and grabbed her cable off her belt, "Everyone watch your step," she called, "It's gonna be slick," She fired her cable and it was followed by many more as she began her climb. She moved faster and more agile across the slippery rocks, she watched her men carefully as they traversed the rugged terrain. She pulled herself up to another stretch of the cliff, she saw her comlink flash, signaling that the infiltration team was in position.
She motioned to her men and they jumped over the cliff, Esinon ignited her lightsaber, deflecting bolts back at the preliminary guards. Soon most of her men had made it over the ledge, the rain was still hammering down upon them in sheets. More droids started to flood their way out of the factory, Esinon dug her feet into the dirt beginning to deflect bolts at the droids, and just as she had predicted, for everyone they mowed down, two more appeared to replace it. She flipped over a bolt, rushing the droids head-on, slicing through them at a rapid-fire pace. Thunder rolled overhead, carts rolled along the track, hundreds of pounds being moved by the togruta around her. Esinon wanted to help them, she really did, but for now, all she could do was wait. She hated waiting. Esinon sliced off the head of another droid, using the force to shove down another row of droids.
She leapt up, slashing through another droid as her men pressed forward. She ducked, dodging another blaster bolt that had been heading for her head. She took the opportunity of being lower to the ground and spun around, nailing a droid in the ankle.
She used the force to snap its head off its hinges. She heard someone scream behind her, it seemed the screaming would never stop. At this point in her torture, she couldn't tell if it was her screaming or Rex. All she could feel was the whip coming down upon her back, and the slow trickle of her own wounds as she collected another batch of soon to be scars. Esinon flipped over a droid, grabbing it's head and throwing it over her head.
She threw her lightsaber forward, using it as a boomerang to mow down a good portion of the droids around her. She caught her lightsaber, it sizzled menacingly in the rain. She glanced back taking stock of troopers still left, their numbers were still high from what she could tell. She whipped around at the pounding of more droid feet, she snarled lunging towards the first droid she spotted, and rammed her electrified fist into its head. She grabbed the droid's face and whipped it around, throwing it into another droid.
Thunder cracked and lightning flashed, she was alone and disoriented. She could hear someone yelling at her, questions maybe? All she could remember was being taken away from Rex at the beginning of the night and the knowledge that Dooku knew they were here. She couldn't remember much after that, her mind was fuzzy and she kept drifting in and out of consciousness. She didn't feel good, she was cold and weak. Her head hurt, her everything hurt. She just wanted to be done,
Esinon's comlink blinked signaling it was time to leave. She started her retreat, effectively telling her men it was time to go. The very back of the men quickly started their repel down the mountainside. Esinon continued her fight, soon half of her men were already down the cliffside, only about a squad of them was left, and all of them had started their repel except for one- BOOM!
The factory exploded, and too soon, Esinon fell into flash time as the explosion began to rage in slow motion. Bash was still fighting and hadn't moved to repel down the cliff face. She sprinted towards him just as the explosion was reaching him. She tackled him towards the cliff face, using her body to protect him. The explosion raged over them, sending them flying over the cliff.
Esinon cried out as flames and shrapnel tore through her shoulder and up her cheek. In her pain she let go of Bash, flames still ripping around them. Bash started to plummet towards the ground, Esinon panicked, she had to save him! She tucked her arms to her sides and dove towards Bash, the wind whipping around her face.
She rocketed past him, using her good arm to pull up with the force at the last second and land roughly on the ground, sending cracks into the soil. At the last second, she used the force to catch Bash.
She grunted as her knees crumbled under the weight, sending her down. She collapsed into the dirt as Bash fell down next to her. She blinked blearily as she heard shouting, she could feel mud and blood coating her body. Her shoulder kriffin' hurt, and she could feel rain pouring into the wound. She didn't move from her position on the ground, everything hurt too much. The last thing she saw before she blacked out was the blurry figure of a clone rushing towards her.
A few hours later…
Esinon blinked her eyes, becoming quickly aware that she couldn't see anything out of her right eye. She panicked, jolting out of the bed, groaning at the dull pain that shot through her shoulder and face. Boomer grabbed onto her good shoulder, gently easing her back onto the bed.
"Easy General," he said, she tried to speak but her throat was burning and it was hard to breathe. She couldn't talk, she couldn't see! She could hear her heart monitor shoot into erratic beeping as she struggled. "General! Take a deep breath," Boomer commanded, "It's just a bandage, you're alright!" She stopped struggling, gripping Boomer's vambrace as she tried to calm her breathing. "Breathe with me Esinon, in, out," She followed Boomer's breathing, the beeping starting to slow. "Easy, you're alright, it's just a bandage, your eye is going to be fine."
"Where," she stopped to swallow, her throat still dry from her momentary panic. "Where's Bash?"
"A couple of rooms down," Boomer said, "He's going to be alright, he's a little burnt, but he's gonna be perfectly fine, thanks to you."
"Casualty report?" she asked, her voice hoarse and scared,
"Later, go back to sleep," he said,
"Boomer," she said in a more firm tone,
"It was low, the plan worked very well," he said, Esinon let out a small breath of relief, fogging up her oxygen mask.
"Did you get to talk to Jax?" she asked,
"He's fine as well, now go back to sleep before I give you a sedative,"
"I'll take the sedative," she murmured, Boomer grumbled to himself,
"That was an empty threat, go back to sleep," he flipped off the lights and closed the curtain behind him. Esinon took another deep breath, her throat still raw and her nose burning, dull pain still aching through her body. She finally closed her eyes and surrendered herself to sleep.
"How do you feel?" Dej asked tentatively as Bash ran a hand down his face, grimacing at the tug of stitches across his chest. Bash groaned,
"What happened?" he asked,
"Well, the factory exploded early," Dej began, "and well, General Windcaster tackled you off the edge and saved you." Bash stared at him for a moment,
"She… she what?" he murmured,
"She saved you Bash," Dej repeated, Bash's brow furrowed, flexing his fingers, able to feel the scars on his fingers pulling.
"Jedi don't save people," he muttered,
"That's their whole job Bash," Dej replied, "Jedi save people, especially General WIndcaster, she's selfless. She almost died saving you." Bash stared up at the ceiling,
"Can I talk to Heart please?" Dej nodded, ducking out the room and bringing the younger medic back with him. Dej had noticed ever since he had offered for Bash to go see Heart, the clone had been going to see the medic a lot more. He was glad that Bash was finding someone to talk to if it wasn't going to be him. Dej gave Bash a nod as he ducked back out of the room, Heart pulled up a chair next to Bash's bed, as he sat up a little further.
"Dej said you wanted to talk to me," Heart began, "he said you seemed distressed about the mission,"
"Is it true that General Windcaster…" Bash trailed off, he didn't know if he was ready to acknowledge a Jedi helping him.
"Saved you?" Heart questioned, Bash, gave a small nod, "yes, she tackled you off the cliff because you didn't get to the ropes in time,"
"W-why?" he asked, Heart shrugged,
"General Windcaser is selfless, and would rather die than let you die," he said, "She's going to protect you, us."
"But why? She's a Jedi, Jedi don't do that kind of stuff," Heart stared at Bash for a moment,
"Who did you use to serve under?"
"General Archer," he replied,
"Did she treat you well?" he asked, Bash nodded slowly.
"She was more… distant I suppose." he said, "she seemed to have some sort of underlying issues with clones, but I kept my distance because…"
"Was there someone before General Archer?" Heart asked, Bash nodded feebly,
"Gen… Krell. I served under him before I served under General Archer. She didn't take over until Krell… died. Krell treated us all horribly, I never tried to get closer to any of the… others because I knew that they'd probably be dead by the next mission. All of them were suicide missions and Krell never fought with us." he explained, Heart paused for a moment,
"Have you noticed any differences between Krell and General Windcaster, just by watching?" Bash stared at his feet for a minute,
"She… doesn't yell." he said slowly, "Krell yelled at us a lot."
"Ok, anything else?"
"She sits with us at mealtimes, Krell always was in his office. Someone had to bring meals to him," Heart nodded,
"Can you tell me one more difference you noticed?"
"She fights at the front," Bash said, "Krell always stood in the back and watched us, rarely ever coming to fight with us. General Windcaser is always at the very front…"
"What's she doing by being at the front?" Heart prompted,
"She's… leading," he said,
"And how is that different from Krell,"
"He bossed us around, she leads. We had to do all the heavy lifting for Krell, but with General Windcaster she wants to…"
"Protect us?" Bash nodded slowly, Heart stood up,
"Here, I want to show you something," He helped Bash out of his hospital bed and led him down the hallway. Heart pushed back the curtain to another room, Bash froze. There was General Windcaster, asleep in a hospital bed, wrapping in bandages and bacta, and more wires snaking out from under her hospital gown than he could count. Bash took a step back,
"Heart, we shouldn't be here," he whispered, Heart gripped Bash's arm firmly.
"It's alright, she's not gonna hurt you, I wanted you to see what she's willing to do for you," he said, Bash slowly started closer to General Windcaster's bed. She looked so… small. Helpless almost, he knew she wasn't but she didn't feel so scary anymore. "See? She doesn't want to hurt you Bash, and she doesn't care about your scar either. She has them too, I've seen them,"
"She… she's not like Krell is she?" he asked, Heart shook his head,
"I know it will take more time to trust her fully, and that's perfectly alright, but you've taken some big steps today," Heart said with a wide smile, Bash gave him a small smile.
Dej didn't mind night duty, he only had to patrol the ship for a few hours and it gave him some time alone to his thoughts. Jax was surprised to hear him offer to take night duty tonight because he knew Dej preferred to sleep early, but Dej knew sleep wouldn't come easy tonight. Too much had happened lately, his restless mind couldn't process it.
Fortunately, there wasn't much noise save for the tapping of his boots and the subtle and continuous hum of the Duchess's engines. It was almost comforting. The Duchess felt safer, far safer than sleeping in a trench with a blaster clutched to his chest. Well, he knew a few brothers that still slept with blasters or knives under their pillows, like Bo. Some of them just needed that extra comfort, and he could respect that.
He fell back to his own thoughts. Bash and General Windcaster were going to be alright as well, but Dej was starting to notice a pattern about her. She always throws herself into more dangerous situations when she's… upset about something. After the whole incident on Dantooine, General Windcaster had been feeling extremely guilty and she's continued to put herself in dilemma after dilemma because of that.
He suspected she'd thrown herself in front of that explosion for more than one reason. For one, she was just selfless at her core and she'd sacrifice herself to save any of them; Two, she wanted to prove to Bash that she wasn't Krell and she'd get herself hurt to do it.
Dej wished she had a bit more self-preservation than that; one of these times it won't just be an injury, and who would lead them if she were to fall. Things needed to change soon because General Windcaster had just seemed off this whole mission, she'd been jumpy and disoriented, she almost seemed disassociated with her surroundings. There was definitely something bothering her, he just wasn't sure what yet. His train of thought stopped as he heard a new noise echo through the halls of the Duchess.
At first he thought that maybe his mind was just playing tricks on him but then he heard the continued humming so he headed toward it, blaster trained. He turned the corner and spotted General Windcaster standing in the middle of the hallway, her lightsaber casting a soft green glow over her hospital gown. She looked tiny in the gown that was made for men twice her size.
"General Windcaster?" he asked, she didn't move, "Sir, are you alright?" her grip tightened on her lightsaber, "Sir…" without warning she leapt toward him her lightsaber stopping inches from his face. Her eyes flickered in the green light, they looked wild and scared. Out of focus. Dej stared at her, letting out a shaky breath as Esinon stared back at him.
"Rex go," she murmured,
"General," Dej said slowly, "General, it's me, Dej," Esinon blinked a couple of times, her blurry vision coming back into focus. Her lightsaber clattered to the floor, she slowly sank to the ground as well.
"It's not real," she murmured, Dej stared at her small body at his feet for a moment, a little shell shocked to be honest.
"General," he said slowly, he knelt down in front of her, "General, can you hear me?" she didn't answer, she stared at the ground again flinching at something that Dej couldn't see nor hear. It looked like she couldn't figure out what was real and what was fake anymore. Her memories started blurring into one another, her mind was falling apart and she didn't know how to put it back together. Dej would prefer that he didn't have to grab her but she wasn't responding and needed to be resting. He gently tugged on her arm, "General, we need to get you back to the medbay." When she didn't make a move he finally hooked his blaster to his belt, grabbed her lightsaber, and grabbed one of her arms, and placed it around his shoulder.
He stood, but Esinon didn't follow his lead, leaning against him as dead weight. Her legs were shaky and she seemed to refuse to even attempt to stand like she wanted to stay curled up on the floor instead. If she wasn't injured Dej would have just let her stay there, but he could see the red beginning to show from beneath her bandage. He stared up at the ceiling, wondering why it had to be him.
He decided that carrying her was better than trying to unceremoniously drag her back to the medbay so he placed an arm underneath her knees and hefted her into his arms. She whimpered, "Easy General," he murmured, "I've got you," he placed her lightsaber in her lap. She clasped her fingers around it, able to feel the kyber crystal that lay within the weapon. She buried her face in his chest because with her confused mind, Dej felt very similar to Rex and Rex was safe. She was going to be alright. Dej carried her back to the medbay where Heart had awoken to find General Windcaster missing and seemed relieved to see her returned.
The medic led Dej to General Windcaster's room where he deposited the Jedi on the bed, which she didn't seem too happy about seeing as she made a small growling noise and reached for his hands. She instantly rolled over to her uninjured shoulder, keeping her back to the wall. Heart sighed,
"General, you need to roll over," he said, Esinon didn't answer, Heart gently put an arm under her back and lifted her up off the bed so she was in a sitting position and strapped an oxygen mask around her face, which Esinon seemed to like even less by her small whimper. "Yeah, I know you don't like it, but you need it," Heart turned around starting to prep an IV, "Dej, can you get her lightsaber and hold her other arm. She's a little disoriented and I don't want her accidentally hurting herself… or me." Dej nodded and headed over to General Windcaster. She smiled groggily at him, her eyes looked less scared and more dazed. Dej was pretty thankful she thought he was the 501st captain; this would be more awkward for him otherwise.
"General, can I see your lightsaber for a minute?" he asked,
"Sure Rex," she muttered, handing over the weapon, he took, the opportunity of her left hand being out in the open, and locked her hand in his. She shuffled closer, leaning her head against his arm. Dej stiffened uncomfortably, he really, really wished this would pass soon. He just wanted his General to go back to normal, but she needed him right now and he was going to hold still. Heart inserted the IV into her arm and by now Esinon had fallen asleep. Heart gently placed their General back onto the bed and pulled the covers over her.
"Thank you for bringing her back Dej," Heart said gratefully, Dej nodded,
"Do you…" he trailed off and shook his head, "Nevermind," he mumbled, Heart placed a hand on his shoulder,
"We're all worried Dej, but if you want someone to talk to my door is always open," Heart said with a soft smile, Dej nodded,
"I'm going to get back to my duties," Heart nodded,
"Goodnight Dej,"
"Goodnight Heart,"
A few days later...
Esinon stretched,
"Kriffin' scars," She muttered as she felt the gnarled whip scars pull and tighten on her back. Today just wasn't a great scar she guessed, she grabbed her lightsaber off her belt and started to move through her lightsaber katas. They were relaxing, she wasn't overly concerned about having a really intense training session, she was going to take some time to collect herself. She'd really been struggling the last couple of days with varying memories of Zygerria and holding it together was getting harder and harder.
Everything was setting her off, after that mission it was all falling apart. She was haunted by memories and scars… all those colonists she couldn't save. She tried to shake her mind clear of any distractions, focusing on only the movements. She heard the blast door to the training room, she turned around to see Bash and Dej standing in the doorway. "Something I can help you with?" she asked, continuing her katas, one graceful move into the other. Granted she was doing them much slower than she normally would but she was trying to relax.
"We can go elsewhere sir," Dej said, she stopped turning to face them.
"It's a big training room," she said with a small chuckle, "You're not bothering me, we can even spar if you want, I'm a little bored, to be honest." Dej glanced at Bash, who gave a small nod.
"Sure we'll spar with you sir if that's what you want,"
"Alright let's do this," she said, taking a stance, both clones glanced at each other.
"Sir… you haven't chosen who you want to go first," Dej replied, Esinon placed her hands on her hips.
"I've heard you two have become quite the tag team, and I want to see how you guys work together," she said, "Trust me, I've taken on more than two people before. Now I always give this option, I won't use the force if you wouldn't like me too. I really don't need it to kick your butt," she said with a grin,
"You can use it, sir," Bash said, Dej stared at his brother in surprise. Not even two days ago, Bash had refused to even believe that General Windcaster had almost given up her life for him, now he was ok with the Jedi using their most powerful weapon.
"Great, take a moment to strategize if you like," she said, stretching her arms over her head, her facing twisting in uncomfortability. Bash recognized that look, it was one he made a lot. There were good days with his scar and bad days. It looked like whatever scars General Windcaster had, they were tight.
"She's quick," Dej muttered, "Especially if she starts using her speed, she can phase too,"
"What does that even mean?" Bash replied,
"She can vibrate at the frequency of air," Dej said,
"Jedi can do that? I'm starting to regret this already,"
"It'll be fine, she's tough to beat but we've got this. We have her in numbers and in size," he said, Bash stared at the small Jedi before following after Dej as they both took position on either side of General Windcaster until they formed a triangle. The spar started out as most did, testing the waters guarding an opponent until General Windcaster did as Dej expected and lunged towards him, he sidestepped sending the Jedi crashing into the ground. Esinon quickly flipped to her feet, rushing Dej head-on and sending quick jabs into his ribs, she spun around, hammering a kick right into his side, sending him stumbling.
Bash tried to make a surprise attack from behind but Esinon sensed it and fell into a phase, causing Bash to fall straight through her and into Dej, sending both clones to the ground. She chuckled, she yelped as she was sent to the ground when Dej swept his leg under her. She jumped to her feet, but the clones were faster and Bash caught her fist right before she was about to send it straight into his nose. Bash rammed his fist into Esinon's diaphragm, leaving the Jedi winded as she gasped for air.
She let out a small growl, sending a kick into his side, wrenching free from Bash's grasp. She launched herself toward him and wrenched his arm behind his back, she sent a force kick into Dej when she tried to attack her. She flipped over Bash's head, putting her fists up, blocking the counter-attacks of the clones at rapid speed. Dej launched at her but Esinon did a flip, in an attempt to catch her arm and bring her to the ground, but instead, his fingers brushed against her back.
Screaming, so much screaming. And blood, sweat, tears, she was broken so broken. And she didn't know if she was ever going to be able to put herself back together again.
Esinon went crashing to the ground, skidding along the mats, until she finally stopped, curled up in the floor. She shuddered, both clones stopped as Esinon slowly pushed herself up, growling what they assumed were very nasty things under her breath in another language.
"Kriffin' scars," she snarled, sitting down and pressing her fists to her forehead, fighting off memories and trying to take deep breaths. Instead, they came out as more ragged gasps,
"General…" Dej said slowly, she slowly stood up,
"I knew about Krell," she said suddenly, pushing herself to her feet. "If I would have known about the abuse sooner, I would have tried to do something, it might have been in vain though, after all, I was sixteen, and most things that teenagers say fall on deaf ears." Bash stared at her, "I should have assumed that you served under Krell, you look of age for that timeline, and most of the 818th did. Least not till the shinies started cycling through. We've all got scars Bash,"
"Not like mine," he whispered, his fingers brushing over the scarred flesh on his arm. She stared at him for a second, before getting a new idea. Esinon tugged off her tunic and turned around, there were thick, ropy, scars covering every inch of her back, they were deep and curled around her shoulders, arms and into her hairline. She let out a long sigh, turning back around, there were criss-cross scars on the right side of her abdomen. There was a thin line of a scar, stretching from her shoulder and across her collarbone. It looked old. Dej wasn't a medic but he knew that scars like that didn't come from just anything, she'd been whipped. She turned back around, Dej could still see the scars curling around her shoulders. How had he never noticed them before? She fiddled with her tunic for a minute before tugging it back over her head.
"Scars hurt Bash, I understand that, and the memories that come with them I understand even more." She said, "I was a slave for two weeks, a mission gone south when the Separatists captured a colony of togruta on Kiros. It was supposed to be a simple and easy rescue, but I ended up getting captured, so did the rest of my team. It was two weeks before I was rescued, and the damage was done."
"I-I got mine in an explosion," Bash began quietly, "I was… trying to save someone. Krell made me keep my helmet on. He… he didn't like it." Esinon stared at Bash studying his scar,
"I don't think it's ugly at all," she said softly, "You don't have to be afraid around me Bash, I'm here to lead, not to judge."
"Plus, you should be proud, both of you," Dej said, "Your scars, they're marks of bravery and survival. Bash you gained yours in the saving of a brother, and General yours saving the colonists." Esinon flinched, she hadn't saved anyone, she had just slightly lessened their suffering while sitting helpless and waiting for help to arrive. She just nodded and agreed for the moment, and let Dej continue. "Neither of you should be ashamed of your scars because they tell a story, stories of bravery and sacrifice, and I'm sure that the people you saved graining those scars are grateful for you." Bash nodded, smiling softly,
"Thank you Dej," he nodded,
"Of course vod'ika," Esinon smiled,
"You can come to me if you need anything Bash, I'm here for you, both of you," she said, eyeballing Dej, they both offered her a salute as she headed for the door of the training room. She gave one more smile as she ducked out, Dej stared at the spot where she had been standing. Bash nudged his arm,
"Ori'vod, you alright?" he asked, staring at Dej in concern, the older clone swallowed, quickly nodding,
"Yeah, let's finish our session," he said,
Glitch flipped through channel after channel on the holobox, staring boredly at the screen. He groaned,
"There's nothing good to watch," he grumbled, Dej glanced up from his datapad.
"Why don't you read a book, far more educational than any of the holo-dramas you watch,"
"They're supposed to be entertaining, not educational, I do enough reports in a day to fill my educational need, I want to watch people sing and dance, leave me alone," Dej chuckled,
"I see someone's in a bad mood," Glitch's hair recently dyed bright yellow hair flopped down in front of his eyes,
"Jerk," he grumbled,
"Punk," Dej muttered, Glitch flipped the channel again,
"I welcome a most special guest," a female voice said on the box, "Esinon Windcaster, Jedi General,"
"Wait, wait, wait," Dej said, rising from his seat, Glitch's thumb froze on the buttons. A large pair of doors opened and a small figure limped out from them, she was guarding her ribs with her arm, her other hand held up to block the sunlight from her eyes. That was her, the 212th General he'd heard so much about. Dej could hear the audience thundering, they were screaming abuse at her, the camera zoomed in on her face. There was blood dripping down the side of her face, and bruises blooming down the side of her neck. She looked terrified, she struggled to walk forward, slowly but surely she made it up to a platform.
"My friends, my good friends," there was a Zygerrian woman standing up above the arena. "Do not fear the Jedi! They are no different than others we have forced into submission, for have forsaken their ideals to serve a corrupt Senate. The Jedi are all slaves to the Republic." Commander Windcaster bowed her head slightly, "The Jedi Order is weak, and we will help break it," the queen turned to a guard behind her and handed him something. The crowd cried over and over again.
"Whip the Jedi! Whip the Jedi! Whip the Jedi!" It made Dej's burn with anger, he was supposed to be there. To protect the Jedi, no matter what legion they led. He clenched his fist as the butt of an electro-staff was jabbed into her back and she fell to her knees, the guard came up behind her holding an electro whip. The Queen called from above,
"Prove to me you are a slaver," she demanded, "Swing that whip, or die beside her," Dej grit his teeth, he was going crazy just standing here, watching it happen, but he couldn't take his eyes away. He felt so helpless, all he could do was watch. Just as he thought he was about to watch a whip fall down on her back, the whip cracked and snatched a guard's blaster away. Commander Windcaster rolled out of the way, throwing a guard with the force, Dej watched as two lightsabers were cast into the arena. Now Dej recognized the guard, it was General Skywalker. He glanced over at the sound of new footsteps entering the room, it was Commander Offee. She stood in the doorway, staring at the screen. The fight ensued, and it wasn't long until Commander Windcaster fell under the whips with a broken cry. The feed finally cut out, leaving a buzzing screen, Dej glanced over at Commander Offee who had her eyes still glued to the screen. She looked terrified, she finally moved, quickly darting back out of the common room.
Dej felt helpless and now a Jedi was suffering because he wasn't there.
Dej had arrived at dinner late, knowing that by the time he arrived Glitch and his other batchmates would be gone. It was a calculated decision, and he wanted to ensure he'd be alone. He didn't feel like joking around or the normal comradery that was met with mealtimes, he wanted time to think. He let out a breath, scrubbing his hands down his face. He stared down at his untouched food, he hoped that in some way he was able to make General Windcaster proud of her scars. She'd survived so much, just another reminder to him that she was selfless. He didn't want her to feel ashamed or sad about her scars, because there were far too many things to be sad about during wartime.
But then he thought, she doesn't want those scars. There had been a reason he'd never seen them before, because she took care to cover them up. Something like that shouldn't have happened to her, but this was war. Good people got hurt. He pinched the bridge of his nose, rubbing at his eyes. He had always felt conflicted about the war, without it he wouldn't exist, but terrible things had happened because of it. Dej glanced up from his meal as voices tugged him from his thoughts,
"What age are padawan's even supposed to start training?" Byte asked, Jeho glanced at his brother.
"Well they begin temple training when they're around thirteen," he began, "They don't normally begin combat training out in the field till they're eighteen. Although with the war, padawans like Commander Windcaster, Tano, and Offee all started far younger than they were supposed to." Dej's mind flashed back to Commander Offee standing in that doorway, the fear in her eyes.
'They're being forced into war too young,' was the last thought that drifted through his mind.
Hey yall! Sorry I'm so late with this chapter, things have been a little chaotic.
So, as much as I really don't want to do this, I need to take an extended hiatus on this story until at least my Christmas Break, maybe more. I don't have chapters prewritten, and I don't have them done on time, like ever. This is leading to me rushing and not producing the best content I can. My Christmas Break starts 21st, that's two weeks from now, and I'll have plenty of time to write during that. I'm hoping. I hope you guys understand. I have been writing various little drabbles and AU things from time to help keep from becoming stressed out, another reason why I'm taking the hiatus because I do this to relax, and well I don't feel that relaxed at the moment. Just a lot of stressors right now, and I don't want another deadline. Anyways, the tornado trio side story may be getting updated from time to time.
Do NOT take this in any way as I'm abandoning this story. I'm not, I really enjoy writing about Esinon, and I have a lot of stuff planned that I'm very excited about
Thank you for understanding, and thank you for the continued support.
Next up on let's make this canon corner:
the Zygerrians: Ms. Windcaster I don't want to continue torturing you,
Esinon, with an annoyed look on her face: yeah yah do
the Zygerrians: Yes! YES I DO!
Thank you for reading and make sure to leave a review!
