"The opportunity to defeat your enemy is provided by the enemy himself."

"In truth, I thought you'd yell at us more."

Caz shot a horrified look at Akysa, who looked around the Council room with a neutral expression. Her fearlessness when it came to speaking her thoughts would never not intimidate him. However, the glares of the five Matukai Council members trumped his fear of Akysa's sharp tongue. Not to mention that side glances his clanmates had been giving him since he returned. He'd promised Eilara he'd tell someone other than her about his excursion to Geonosis, but it slipped his mind. And of course he felt bad that they were in the same boat as him.

Sayul laced his hands in his lap, lifting his head up towards Caz. The white blindfold over his empty eye sockets frightened Caz more than any of the other Matukai on Biredai. Something flopped over in Caz's stomach as he looked at the Grandmaster of the Matukai Order. He prayed that Sayul wouldn't resolve to take him off of active duty for breaking the rules. It was the standard punishment, but Caz could still wish.

Jaena pinched the bridge of her nose as she looked over at Caz through her done-up scarlet hair. She was the only one not dressed in Matukai robes, dressed for a diplomatic meeting between several planets planning to join the Separatist Confederacy. She knew that if Caz convinced the Matukai to ally with the Republic, their neutrality would be thrown in the balance.

She looked over at Caz, the man's eyes locked onto Sayul's blindfold. It was common knowledge that Caz was intimidated by Sayul's way of 'seeing', which was peering into the Force to see the real world. She'd almost feel a little bad for him if she wasn't so frustrated with him.

Running headfirst into a heated battle on Geonosis between two sides that Caz wasn't on had been debatably the worst decision the blond-haired Matukai had ever made. It was a near-miracle that her younger clanmate was alive, and she was overjoyed that he came home relatively safe. And, as per her promise to him all those years ago, she wouldn't overstep her bounds when it came to him making his own decisions. He wasn't a kid anymore, and Jaena wasn't around enough to dictate what he did, anyways.

The only member of their clan that had any say in Caz's decisions was Vash Kothari, and at the moment, that Espirion was about as chatty as a rock.

Sayul finally let out a deep sigh, and Caz visibly deflated. The other four Masters had already made their unspoken decisions, each of them knowing the other well enough that they could speak without moving their mouths. The silence often made Council meetings all the more intimidating, and it almost made Caz laugh out of pure fright.

After about three minutes of dead silence and bated breath, Sayul turned to Vash, who was the furthest left on their merry little line.

"Vash," Sayul said in his deep voice. "Do not blame yourself for Caz's brash decisions." Vash opened his mouth to protest, but the Miraluka lifted a finger and the Espirion quieted himself. "His actions are not your own, and as often as we may forget it, he is old enough to make his own decisions in life...even if they threaten him."

Vash could only nod, but he spared a glance at Caz, whose face was red with embarrassment. Sayul figured Kothari had gotten the message, and turned to Akysa, who was in between Caz and Vash, her light brown skin turning a slight pink at the attention of the Grandmaster. Her expression was stern as ever, but the Matukai Grandmaster forced a softness out of her. Sayul had done great things for all of them, and she would be the last to forget it.

"Akysa, you know better," Sayul said softly, and Akysa's eyes went to the floor, the only hint of her shame. "However, you were unaware of Caz's second excursion, and from what I know, you didn't seriously advocate for his going. There is no punishment for you. In fact, I would like to commend you on the Selection. I know you will do well as the Trialmaster's Pupil. I'm proud."

"A little off-topic," the Codru-Ji Watchwoman said from her seat on the far right of the Council room. She had a reputation for being strict, and also fawning over Tyvokk and other quiet children. She'd disliked Akysa and Caz from the moment they opened their wailing mouths.

"My apologies, Kor'ine," Sayul said respectfully, giving her a nod of acknowledgement before turning back to the Matukai Adepts. "Vash, Akysa, you may leave."

As their names were called, the Matukai Adepts gave the Council a sweeping bow before power-walking out of the room. The Council wasn't cruel or cold-hearted, only that all five Adepts felt guilty for betraying the Masters that had taught them everything they knew. Vash spared a glance at Caz, wordlessly wishing him luck in all his endeavors.

"Jaena," Sayul said suddenly, skipping over Caz and moving to his right, where the ginger stood straight with her perfect posture. Jaena looked at Sayul with a neutral expression. "Once again, you are not responsible for Solus' actions. Of that, you are already aware. Judgement is passed and you will face no reprimands. I've notified the Senator of Raxus Secundus that you and a few other Adepts from Mayoshi will be arriving shortly."

"Thank you, Master Sayul," Jaena said respectfully, dipping her head to the elderly Miraluka. She then turned on her heel, gave Caz a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder, and left the Council room.

Now it was just Tyvokk and Caz.

There was a soft thump as the door to the Council room shut behind Jaena. Caz and Tyvokk shared a wordless glance of unbridled anxiety. Sayul steepled his fingers and Caz's stomach dropped into his boots. "Tyvokk, you were the one who spoke to the Council on Caz's excursions, and you did not deliver the truth on his motives or location." The Miraluka paused, and Tyvokk let out a small whimper. "However, you are also the one who came to us when Caz left for a second time." Tyvokk shook his head in shame. "Caz is aware you meant no ill will towards him, only that you were concerned for his safety."

"I am," Caz said, stepping to the side and planting a hand on Tyvokk's shoulder, even though it was far above his head. "He didn't do anything wrong-he was just helping me out, as a friend. He didn't know that I'd...leave again."

Tyvokk looked up at Kor'ine, shame on his furry face. Kor'ine steely expression softened for him, and she offended him a small smile. Sayul continued on. "As such, Tyvokk will face no major punishments. You may leave, Tyvokk."

The Wookie nodded and then lumbered out of the room, leaving Caz alone with the Council members.

"You didn't punish any of them?" Caz asked, sounding surprised.

"Of course not," Honall spoke in a sharp tone. "They didn't do anything wrong, Caz. We will now discuss your punishment."

Silence ensued as the Council convened within their minds. The lone Adept amongst Masters began to fidget with himself, playing with his scratchy replacement robes and looking around the Council room. As the quiet dragged on, Caz debated on flinging himself out one of the floor-to-ceiling windows.

He had studied the architecture of the Matukai Temple by the suggestion of Yan Niedra, one of the Council members. The woman in question looked upon him kindly since then. Plus, it had given Caz a large advantage when it came to Master Kor'ine Tyrnith's stealth exercises. He'd also enjoyed sneaking around the secret passages at night.

Now, he regretted knowing that the Council windows were sealed with battle-hydra saliva, one of the strongest adherents in the known galaxy. And thanks to Master Iaias Charr and his massive hydra, Achilles, Caz was forced to face the mistakes he'd made over the past two weeks.

Oh, how dare I look at what I did wrong? Caz thought sarcastically, the nerves really getting to him. Ridiculous!

The worst case scenario was that the Council took him off of active duty to work in the archives, and his Advanced Adept Trials were severely delayed. Best case scenario, they let him off with a slap on the wrist like the others, and let him work with the Jedi to his heart's content.

Best-case scenario was not happening, something told him.

"Caz Solus," all five Masters said at the same time, and Caz choked on his inhale. "You have been taken off of active duty by the executive decision of the Matukai Council."

"No," Caz coughed out, rubbing his sore throat. He looked at the five Masters who were looking back at him. "You can't-you can't do that. My actions were justified. I was saving peopl-"

"I deemed it to be necessary, Caz," Sayul said, and Caz's blood ran cold. Sayul...what? Why would you? "After all, we can't be calling you in for missions if you're already working missions for the Jedi Order."

Caz stood there in stunned silence, at least until Honall continued on. "You always were a little slow to the uptake. The verdict is you can work with the Jedi Order as long as you don't bring the Order into your" -he gestured to Caz like he was a pile of waste- "mess. Think of it as a long-term solo mission, if you will."

"Yes, of course, I will," Caz said with a deep bow. "You won't regret this, I promise!"

"Caz, you are dismissed," Sayul murmured, and Caz began to backpedal out of the room, giving them a thumbs-up. "Make sure to pack your bags with all the essentials. One of our shuttles will take you to Coruscant, and Eilara will fly the Javelin over once she's finished the repairs." Caz nodded eagerly, doing his best to pay attention. "And remember-if you get in trouble, I doubt we'll be able to help you without getting involved with the Republic and disrupting our neutrality."

"Basically, your actions are separated from the Order as a whole," Kor'ine said.

"Sounds like you're kicking me out," Caz said jokingly, but no one laughed. "But thank you. You have no idea how much this means to me."

Before any of them could respond, Caz slipped through the doors and out of the Council room.

"This is a terrible idea," Honall said, turning to Sayul with an irritated expression. He got to his feet, and the other Masters stared at the cold-eyed Chalactan. "We're acting like the Jedi Temple isn't sitting right on top of a Sith one. We have seen first-hand what the Dark Side can do, and we're just letting Solus, of all people, go spend his time there?"

"I think you should have more faith in him," Charr said from his seat, smoothing out his periwinkle robes. "Everyone, especially you, Tinis, seems to forget who his father was. We made a promise to Alistair that we'd raise Caz as he would, and...you know the rest. You've been hammering on that kid for a solid decade now, and I'm tired of it."

"Fair enough," Tinis said, his expression softening. "But he's nothing like Alistair."

"No 'buts,'" Yan Niedra lifted a skeletal finger up to Tinis. Everyone, even Sayul, turned to face the oldest member of their order. "Caz Solus was under our protection, and now he can protect himself. We haven't forgotten the lengths we went to in order to make sure Caz stayed alive through his sickness?"

"Which is why I'm so hesitant to let him leave now," Tinis said, shaking his head.

"Do you doubt Seilo's skill?" Sayul asked, and Tinis shook his head. "Good-there's no need to, despite her rather unorthodox attempts to preserve Caz's well-being."

"Not to mention that Caz can take care of himself," Charr said honestly. "We all saw his injuries on the last mission, but he was alive, wasn't he? I have no doubts that his Matukai training will be his greatest tool as he goes into war."

"I agree with you, for once," Tyrnith said bitterly. "That boy is so utterly loyal to the Matukai and the Light. Tinis, I doubt he'd face any temptations by the Dark Side. And you're right-he's different from Alistair. Maybe that's a good thing."
"Maybe," Tinis murmured. "What will happen when Caz sees what we see in the Jedi Order?"

"There is no need to waste our time thinking on the what-wills," Sayul said simply. "We must place our faith in Caz now."

"That, we can agree on," Tinis said firmly.

Though he'd never admit it, Obi-Wan had never been a big fan of Council meetings. They tended to drag on longer than necessary, deliberating on things that didn't exactly matter in the long run. Perhaps Qui-Gon had rubbed off on him more than he had realized.

Obi-Wan cleared his throat and forced himself off the subject of his late Master-he knew all too well what a slippery slope grief was. He took the time at hand to glance around the Data and Planning room, Master Billaba giving him a nod as she slipped her hands into the sleeves of her robes. The young Caleb Dume looked up at him in awe, and Obi-Wan gave him a nod and smile. The room he was in smelled of sanitation-it was hardly used before the rule, and now there was always someone in here-a danger-loving Padawan or a clone trooper with time on their hands.

Yoda had called an emergency meeting-an increasingly common occurrence since the first battle of Geonosis. New things happen in new times, Obi-Wan figured. Padawans, younglings, Knights and Masters were scattered around the room, each wearing a worried or curious expression on their faces.

Anakin was standing in front of the circular comm table, glaring at it as if he could compel it to materialize into a holorecording or a map of a new strike point in the Clone Wars. They'd only been there for ten minutes, and he was already itching for some action. Typical Skywalker.

Ahsoka and Barriss were helping a couple younglings into their seats around the circular room. Both of them had grown closer since their incident with the brain worms, which brought Kenobi around to another topic he wasn't a big fan of.

Caz Solus, the Matukai who had injected himself into Jedi affairs. Obi-Wan appreciated that Caz had saved his grand-Padawan, but the last time he'd had an interaction with a Matukai, he'd nearly lost someone he cared for. It wasn't the Matukai's fault, but Obi-Wan knew that the Force Order was nothing like the Jedi. He was wary, that was all.

Mace Windu and Yoda stood next to Anakin expectantly, as if they were waiting for someone. Obi-Wan did a quick glance around the room, but no one seemed to be missing. Even Shaak Ti and Plo Koon, who were half-way across the galaxy, were here for the meeting.

Obi-Wan realized who was supposed to be here. Caz. The Matukai had sent word a few hours ago, stating that the Matukai Council had allowed Caz, exclusively, to work with the Jedi. Mace had been a little irked that Caz was the only one 'willing to help the Jedi.' Regardless of Windu's opinion, Obi-Wan had to admit that any manpower they could get, they would take. Even if it came in the form of red-faced and excitable Caz Solus, who should've been here by now.

Kenobi doubted the Matukai had somehow run into trouble on his way to the Jedi Temple, but the Force revealed nothing about Caz's location. Yoda looked unconcerned, so Obi-Wan figured that the Matukai was probably just-

"Sorry!" A voice came from the west doorway. Everyone looked over to see Caz Solus standing in the doorway, holding his backpack and looking a little breathless. "I got lost. I thought you guys were hosting the meeting about my alliance in the Council room." He looked around at the amount of people in the room, and his face turned beet red. "There weren't this many people last time."
"There's been a change in plans," Windu said from Anakin's left, the latter of which looked disgruntled to be next to the Korun Jedi Master. "Yoda has called a DEAA meeting. That means-"
"Drop Everything And Attend," Caz said as he made his way down the staircase. He looked around at all the unfamiliar faces, and gave a couple people waves. "The Matukai have those as well." Windu looked like he was taking that fact personally, but Caz didn't seem to take notice. Obi-Wan noticed that Caz's brows were furrowed tight, and was about to ask him what was wrong when the holotable suddenly lit up.

Within the red light of the recording, the droid general Grievous looked down at them. Kenobi's eyes widened and several younglings gasped in horror as they looked at Grievous' taloned feet, where Eeth Koth lay, wincing in pain. Anakin's eyes narrowed in rage, and Caz gave Anakin a concerned glance.

Obi-Wan stepped forwards and put a hand on Anakin's shoulder as Grievous began to speak. "Greetings, Jedi," the droid general hissed out. Caz grimaced at the cyborg's grating voice. "It would seem, once again, one of your order has lost his way. And even better, a leading member of your Jedi Council!"

There was a litany of gasps and whispers all around the room as Grievous pulled Koth up by his long hair, the Zabrak grimacing in pain. Caz cocked his head, narrowing his eyes and staring at Koth with what seemed to be equal parts of curiosity and disgust.

"Listen to me, Jedi," Grievous spat, and a MagnaGuard came into view holding a sparking electrostaff. "I care not for your politics, and I don't care about your war. I only live to see you die." And with that, the MagnaGuard jabbed the electrostaff into Koth's back, reducing the Jedi Master into a writhing sentient form.

"But death will not come so easily for Master Koth," Grievous cackled as Koth's shrieks echoed through the room. Ahsoka and Barriss covered the ears and eyes of nearby younglings, and Kenobi swore he heard Caz mutter something, though it was drowned out by Anakin's bionic hand crumpling the steel table. "I will make him suffer endlessly, because I know that this is more painful for you all!"

Grievous continued to laugh maniacally, overjoyed with the situation. Koth continued to convulse on the ground beneath the general, and the cyborg's laugh turned into a series of violent coughs, followed by the abrupt cut-off of the message.

There was a moment of shocked silence as everyone stared at where Grievous had been taunting them.

"Well, would you look at that," Caz said, breaking the silence. Everyone turned to him again, confused and irked, and Caz added no further information to his seeming revelation.

"Away with the younglings," Yoda said sternly. Ahsoka, Barriss, and Caleb Dume ushered the younger initiates out, and they exited in stumbling single-file lines. "Much there is to discuss."

Obi-Wan spared another glance at Caz, who was staring at the holotable. He felt a little bad for the Matukai. He had come here hoping to cement his alliance with the Jedi Council, and then encountered what Kenobi saw as the largest monster in the Separatist army. At least Dooku had some tact.

"You alright, Caz?" Anakin asked, his hand covering up where he had crushed the table. "You look a little shocked."

"Who was that?" Caz asked, not answering Anakin's question.

"That was General Grievous," Kenobi answered politely. "Leader of the Separatist army. As I'm sure you can tell, he's a rather despicable figure. He's also Count Dooku's right-hand man."

"Oh, right, yeah," Caz said with a non-descript shrug. "Wait, isn't Dooku a Jedi?"

"No," Windu said, offering no more explanation afterwards. Caz gave Windu an unreadable look as the Korun continued to speak. "Solus, I believe you may want to return to your Order. This mission is not for you."

Caz looked up at Windu, his eyebrows creeping into his hairline. "I don't know what you mean."

"Grievous is very powerful, Caz," Anakin said honestly. "He's a match even for Jedi Masters. For your safety, you might need to stay behind. Let someone else take this monster out for good."

"Well, you're saying two different things," Caz said, pointing at Anakin and Windu. "Are we subduing this Grievous guy or are we rescuing Master Koth? Both?" Caz paused. "Oh, right. I forgot to mention, Koth said they were in the Saleucami system."
"What?" Windu asked, and Caz winced at the sharpness in his voice. "There were reports that Grievous had no ships in that sector."

"So often inaccurate, our intelligence is," Yoda said as he gripped his gimer stick. "Find this information, how did you, Caz?"

"Well, he.." Caz trailed off as he began to mimic a series of hand signs. "He signed it. Coordinates and everything. That's the only thing I was paying attention to, so I didn't hear anything Grievous said." Caz bit his lip. "Why not have one team go after Grievous and one of them rescue Koth?"

"That's the plan, Matukai," Windu said sternly, and Caz nodded in agreement, though Obi-Wan could see Caz's face was dusted pink. "However, I can't advocate for you going on either of those teams."

Caz looked at Windu, and then wasted no more time. "If there's someone who needs help, I'm going to help them, Windu. I have complete faith in the skills of the Jedi, so why can't you trust me? Have I not helped you out a lot?" Caz turned to Anakin for help, but Skywalker had nothing to say. Caz's face fell. "Is Grievous that bad?"

"He wields the lightsabers of Jedi he has killed," Anakin replied, and Caz's eyes widened. "He's a beast, Caz. He's lethal, and as skilled as you are, you are no match for him."
"Why are we acting like he's going alone?" Ahsoka piped in,and Anakin turned to him. Caz's face lit up. "There's gonna be other Jedi and Master Kenobi there, right?" Her face was a deeper orange than usual, but Kenobi admired that she was standing up for Caz. "Caz can hold his own, can't he?"

"I can!" Caz jumped in, earning a glower from Windu.

"I have to disagree," Kenobi said, and Caz's face fell. It was clear he felt a little betrayed that both Anakin and Obi-Wan were letting him down here. "Not to mention, you still have to meet with Chancellor Palpatine."

The Matukai was silent, staring at Obi-Wan and Anakin. His jaw set, and his brows furrowed. "I think the Chancellor can wait." Windu raised an eyebrow, and Anakin frowned. "I never said I thought I could hold my own against Grievous, and I understand that you're barring me from the mission for my own well-being. If you want to keep me from the mission, I will continue to understand. However, until I am sworn into the Republic," his eyes lit up, "I think I have the final verdict on my actions."

"You're saying you're going to sneak onto the mission," Anakin said, dead serious. Caz slumped like a wilted flower, and Anakin smiled. "No need, Caz! You're coming with me, since I'll be going with you, Obi-Wan."

Windu wasn't able to object. As much as he disliked Anakin, he couldn't dismiss the man's strength and capability.

"As will I," Gallia said firmly. No one questioned her, either. Not only was she a skilled duelist, but she was close friends with Eeth Koth, and this definitely wasn't sitting well with her. The Tholothian was taking this very seriously, her dry humor melting away at the sight of Koth's torture.

"I believe that against Grievous and his army, you should take any ally you can get," Luminara said, and Obi-Wan nodded. "However, to Caz Solus, a warning. If you encounter the General and you cannot run, do not let your guard down for a second. According to Barriss, you tend to get distracted rather easily, so ensure that it doesn't happen this time."

Caz looked at Luminara, and then back at Barriss, who gave him a reproachful look. The Matukai turned to Windu, who nodded, albeit reluctantly, silent permission for him to join the mission.

"Thank you," was all Caz could say. "Thank you very much."

"Let's take the general down," Obi-Wan said with a smirk, and Caz's wan-shen popped out of thin air. The man caught it, the butt of the staff hitting the carpeted ground with a muted thunk. "You can put that away, Caz...we're not there yet."

"I knew that," Caz said in a flustered tone, his face turning a luminescent scarlet. "I knew that…"

Adi Gallia was convinced that bringing Caz Solus on the mission had not been one of Luminara's better ideas. She couldn't help but glance at the Matukai as they drifted amongst several star cruisers. Solus seemed to decide that the idea of being entirely focused was to stare at one point on the ground and refuse to look away. Anakin had tried to show Caz how to pilot the ship, but Caz had refused. Gallia half-expected Caz to bore a hole into the floor.

Gallia pinched the bridge of her nose, shaking her head. It was clear Anakin had a soft spot for the Matukai. Probably because Caz's idolization of the Jedi reminded Anakin of when he was younger. She hadn't forgotten Skywalker's awestruck expression as Qui-Gon guided him into the Council room. Caz's had been just the same.

She thought Caz was a little strange, really. In general, she found the Matukai teachings strange. The man was already known for leaving his emotions on his sleeve-happiness, sadness, determination or fright-but he didn't seem to have any anger, any resentment. Perhaps the way he lived made those emotions unnecessary, which only made Gallia more worried for when the man was faced with violent emotions such as those. Would he succumb to the Dark Side?

Would it matter? The man was barely Force-sensitive. If Gallia had come across him on the streets of Coruscant, she wouldn't have even considered bringing him in to be trained. His mental shields were almost nonexistent, though weak shields were pretty typical for humans.

"Are you ready?" Obi-Wan asked from the comms system embedded in the ship. Anakin flicked switches and pressed buttons as they swerved over a couple Venators.

Anakin turned up Obi-Wan's volume, and Gallia tapped Caz on the shoulder. He looked up from the floor and over to Obi-Wan and Skywalker. "Ready and waiting," Anakin said firmly, and Caz nodded, his eyes going back to the floor. With a wide-brimmed hat and a toothpick between his teeth, he'd be the model of a bounty hunter.

"I shall engage the Separatist fleet and send you the coordinates of Grievous' command ship," Obi-Wan stated, fixing his bracers. Anakin looked up at his old Master with a friendly smirk.

"Just make sure you get it right," Anakin teased, and Obi-wan offered a chuckle.

"I always do," Obi-Wan said, fixing his hair. Gallia turned back to Caz, almost out of habit. While he was nothing like a Jedi, she still reminded him of a Padawan-determined, but still in need of teaching. Maybe he would've made a good Jedi, but she would never know. At least he was trying to stay focused.

Gallia glanced back at Obi-Wan. "So, how do you plan on getting General Grievous on your ship?" It was an obvious question with an obvious answer, but Gallia had a feeling that Obi-Wan was going to pull a Skywalker-the Council's name for a plan for a haphazard and reckless idea that had a slim chance of working.

"Not to worry," Obi-Wan said with his signature smirk. "The good general and I have a history." Sounds like a Skywalker to me, Adi thought to herself as Obi-Wan continued on. "I'm sure he'll want to even the score, face-to-face."

"Meanwhile, we'll jump in undetected and board the command ship," Skywalker finished the plan smoothly, giving Rex an affirmative nod. The clone captain dipped his head in acknowledgement and straightened in the co-pilot's seat.

"If Master Koth is alive, we'll find him," Gallia said reassuringly. Far be it for anyone on the ship to be a stone-cold pessimist, but a morale boost couldn't exactly go wrong. Caz nodded silently in agreement, biting his lip in thought.

"Hopefully, by the end of this mission, we'll have rescued Master Koth and captured General Grievous," Obi-Wan added on, before cutting the call.

Anakin turned to Caz, who was still glaring at the floor. "Keep your face like that, and you'll get wrinkles." Adi chuckled as Anakin recited one of Yoda's phrases. The humor came from the hypocrisy of the old creature and his wrinkled face.

Caz finally looked up from the floor, meeting Anakin's gaze. "Am I a problem here?"

Rex let out a laugh, and Caz blushed. His attempt to stay serious was shattered as Rex looked back at Caz. "A little too late to ask, kiddo. It's your mission too, now." Caz looked like he wanted to point out his age, but stayed silent instead. The Venators jumped into hyperspace as Rex stuck out his hand. "I'm Captain Rex, by the way."
"Caz Solus," Caz said, shaking Rex' hand politely, before turning back to Anakin. "Once again, I feel the need to express my gra-"

"Don't talk like a Senator," Anakin said, and Caz looked disappointed. "I don't mean it in a rude way, Caz. Staying focused doesn't mean you need to be totally serious, and all."

"I know that," Caz said, crossing his arms. "I just thought, since we're facing Grievous, who is such a big threat, maybe I should be a little more...stern?"

"You can be stern when the time comes," Rex said, giving Caz an encouraging grin. "I believe General Luminara meant you should take the mission seriously, not everything else."

"Right, yeah," Caz said, running a gloved hand through his hair. "Can I ask you guys something?" The Jedi and Rex nodded, and Caz nodded as well. "Do you guys know why Grievous is killing all these Jedi?"

"Not just Jedi," Rex said, leaning on the armrest. "He's killed hundreds of my brothers, hundreds of civilians and military officers. I reckon he just likes it-destroying things, tearing apart lives."

"Huh," Caz said as he looked out into hyperspace. "I see where you're coming from, then, but...why is he like that? Do you know?"

"What, like his origin story?" Anakin asked jokingly, spinning the pilot's chair to face Caz. "I could care less-the people he's killed makes whatever happened to him totally irrelevant. Not to mention that I don't think anyone knows what he used to be-if he was someone before what he was. Why do you ask?"

"It's just…" Caz scratched the back of his head. "Oh, it's nothing really."

"Whatever you say," Anakin said. "You should probably sit down. When we pull out of hyperspace, you'll splat all over the control panels."

"That's incentive enough," Caz said with a soft grin, leaving the cockpit to head into the crew area. Gallia sat down in one of the backseats, the one that wasn't taken up by another clone commander. She watched Caz as he left-she couldn't fathom why he could care about Grievous' past. Hell, Caz's first interaction with the thing was him torturing a Jedi.

She knew one thing, though. The man was not prepared for the horrors of war. While hardly anyone was, she only hoped the young man would be able to adjust to it. Even better would be for him to leave while he could. She didn't want to see another child dying on the battlefield.

"So," Adi pushed the thought out of her mind, turning back to Anakin. "Exactly how close are you going to jump in next to Grievous' ship?"

"Pretty close," Anakin said lightly, leaning back in his seat as he turned on the intercom. "Buckle up, boys."

"Define 'pretty close,'" Gallia said hesitantly, giving Anakin a sly but expectant grin. She had a feeling he wasn't going to give her a satisfactory answer, but it was worth a shot nonetheless.

"Close enough to get the job done," Anakin said, turning back and grinning at her.

Back in the crew section, Caz sat down in the only empty seat between two clones. He shimmied in-between them and clicked his belt on, before turning to one of them with a curious gaze. "Say, have you faced off against Grievous' before?"

"No, sir," one of the clones said, and Caz mouthed 'sir' in confusion. "We're straight from Kamino, sir."

"Kamino?" Caz asked. "That's a little far out. Clone homeworld?"

"Yep," the second clone said. "It's where we're created, trained, given identification numbers, and the like. Flint and I are specialist clones-he's a medic, and I'm Kairi-sniper extraordinaire."

"Never met one of those before," Caz said easily, giving Kairi a quick handshake. "I'm Caz, Matukai Adept." He paused. "So, you've trained for war all your lives? That's pretty cool, I think."

"Not just trained," Flint said earnestly. "Born for it." Caz frowned at that. "Our purpose is to serve the Republic in this war, and that's...about it."

Caz's brows were knit tight. "Seriously?"

"Seriously," Kairi said. "It is what it is, though. If our deaths help spur the Republic to victory, then it wasn't for nothing, right, Flint?" Caz looked at Kairi with a wary expression, as if he had said something highly irregular.

"I don't think I understand your mindset," Caz said as nicely as possible, but the confusion on his face belied his manners. "It sounds like you don't..value your life as much as you should."

"The Republic values us," Kairi said with a questionably positive voice. "I value myself because they value me."

Flint leaned over to Caz and whispered in his ear. "Kairi's a little strange-don't think too hard on it."
"Uh-huh," Caz said slowly, looking in-between the two. "So...if you've been trained for war, what other wars have you been fighting? The Clone Wars have only been going on for a year or so, right?"

"I don't know what you mean," Kairi said with a mirthless smile. "We were made for this war. Developed a decade ago in a lab!"

"A decade ago?"

"We're the Republic's army," Flint came in, silently asking Kairi to shut his mouth. "Don't worry too much about it, though. We were a back-up plan, just in case the Republic did go to war. Us clones don't question it much, sir. Just happy to be helping out."

"I bet," Caz said, suddenly feeling a little uncomfortable. "Doesn't that mean you're only like..ten years old?"

"Well, Kairi and I are seven standard years old," Flint said casually, and Caz's jaw dropped at that. "Captain Rex back there is about ten years old. We clones have accelerated growth."

"Ah, ok," Caz said with a nod, before freezing. "So, you're seven years old, in armor, and wielding weapons?"

"Just another day in the Grand Army of the Republic, sir!" Kairi said proudly, and Flint grimaced.

"That's hor-" Caz was cut off midsentence as the ship pulled out of hyperspace. He leaned onto Flint and Kairi leaned onto Caz, smiling all along the way.

"A warning!" Caz called up to the cockpit. "A warning would've been nice!"

He couldn't hear Anakin's response over the sound of explosions and blaster bolts whirring around them as they pulled out of hyperspace. He could see out a porthole across the ship, red and blue streaks of light smearing the blackness of space with color. Almost artistic if it wasn't trying to kill them.

Anakin maneuvered the shuttle right over the rotating cannons of Grievous' command ship, having received the coordinates from Kenobi a few minutes earlier. He landed the ship on the belly of the command frigate, essentially flipping the shuttle upside-down. Anakin turned to Rex. "Shut off primary power."

As the power was shut off, zero-grav kicked in, and Caz's hair and clothing began to float around like he was submerged in water. Caz unbuckled and slowly landed on the roof of the ship, walking on the ceiling over to Anakin. "Hello!"

Anakin looked over at Gallia. "Was that close enough for you? Also, hey, Caz."

"Any closer and we would've been flying down hallways," Gallia said dryly.

"Maybe that would've worked," Caz said in a friendly tone, and Gallia snorted at that. Caz nearly tripped over a wire hanging from the ceiling, wobbling and bonking Rex on the head. "Oh...Rex, my bad."

Rex clapped Caz on the back of the head and laughed. "No worries. Kairi, open the roof hatch. General says we should be right over the ventilation system."

"Yessir!" Kairi said overenthusiastically, and Caz looked back at him with puzzlement, rubbing the back of his head.

Everyone else unbuckled, floated onto the ceiling, which was now the ground, and walked over to the ventilation shaft. Caz spared a glance back at the cockpit and out the window, watching the battle rage on from underneath the massive Separatist ship.

Caz had to admit to himself, he was more frightened than he needed to be. He knew fear was a healthy emotion-kept one on their toes, developed their sense of what could harm them and what could not-but he was taught not to let it control him.

He hadn't been all that good.

He looked down at his right hand, wiggling the fingers and massaging his palm. This hand now had a nasty scar on it from a glass shard, courtesy of Barriss Offee. Tyvokk said it looked badass, and Caz sort of agreed, but he didn't like it, nonetheless.

Fortunately, he wouldn't have to face off against Grievous, but what other threats would come his way? He didn't want to hold the Jedi back. He knew all too well the feeling of being a burden, and he was not keen on becoming one again.

His hand curled into a fist, and he smiled nervously. Here's to not being dead weight.

Anakin Skywalker felt a little bad for Caz-the man must've felt rather betrayed when Anakin hadn't immediately vouched for his abilities, but Anakin knew Caz couldn't take on Grievous, not from what he'd seen. He was only trying to protect Caz. There were a lot of things about the man that Anakin didn't understand, but he just wanted to make sure Caz didn't get himself killed.

Skywalker nearly laughed aloud at his hypocrisy. Obi-Wan would take him off missions in order to protect him, and it had annoyed him beyond comprehension. What was Anakin thinking? He wasn't Caz's master...to be fair, they were hardly friends. He really didn't have a say in what he did, at least until he was sworn into the Republic.

In fact, Caz was dealing with this a lot more maturely than Anakin did. Anakin would never vocally admit it, nor would he continue to think about it, but there was a maturity to Caz, some sense of emotional control. Sure, he was goofy, and he didn't hide his emotions, but they didn't' overpower him. Not Jedi, not Sith. Exactly Matukai, Anakin figured.

He carved out an entry point out of the ventilation cylinder, pushing the thoughts from his mind. He gently pushed the steel upwards, jumping out of the entrance and landing soundlessly on the steel floors. Gallia followed suit, and they quickly canvassed the area for threats. After finding none, Anakin turned back to the grate and whispered, "Coast's clear."

Rex pulled himself out of the entry point, letting out a 'copy that' as Caz scrambled out immediately after. He pulled out his wan-shen, despite Anakin saying there were no enemies, looking around the corridors with a forced glare. Kairi and Flint jumped out as well, their new armor clanking around.

Gallia glanced at Caz, and the Matukai folded his wan-shen in half, clipping it against his back behind the straps of his backpack. Anakin turned to Rex, addressing the clone captain. "Stay here with Kairi and Flint, Rex. This may be our only way out."

The Tholothian Jedi fiddled with her holomap, looking down various corridors with a steely-eyed gaze. "Master Koth is located on the bridge." Caz raised an eyebrow, but Anakin wasn't all that surprised-Grievous was a show-off. "This way."

Anakin, Caz and Adi ran off without another word.

Separatist ships were always cold in order to keep machinery from overheating too easily, and Anakin had long since adjusted to it due to his war campaigns over the past year. Gallia was wearing thermal robes, since Tholothians have a lower natural body temperature, and Caz seemed like he wasn't experiencing too many issues with the chilliness. There was a distinct reason Ahsoka despised these ships-Anakin had told her to get warmer clothing.

"Is this not...a trap?" Caz asked as he jogged alongside Anakin, hair bouncing up and down as they continued to make their way to the front of the ship. "I don't mean to doubt your judgement, but I feel like…" He trailed off, at a loss for words.

"Grievous has an ego," Gallia explained as they skidded to a stop, ducking around a corner just as a few battle droids traipsed past them. "He enjoys torturing his prisoners publicly, in front of all his forces. His idea of a morale booster, I'd like to say."

"Droids don't have morale," Anakin said too sharply, and Caz looked between them, brows furrowed. "Not the Separatist droids, anyways. Grievous is just a sadistic savage."

With that, they continued on their way up to the bridge, making their way through maze-like corridors and having far too many close calls. Caz seemed to relax under the context that they weren't walking into a trap, and began to comment on little things he saw as they passed around. Anakin tolerated it, giving him quick and concise answers. Anakin figured the droids wouldn't hear them over the sounds of machinery, but Gallia put a stop to Caz's questions as they got closer to the bridge.

"Sorry," Caz said to the Tholothian. "Trying to get all the distractions out of the way." Gallia only nodded.

The three of them approached the bridge, two super battle droids lying in wait for them. The droids raised their blasters and fired. Anakin easily deflected the blaster bolts back at the droids, hitting one of them between its eyes and three times in the chest. As it collapsed, Caz looked at Anakin in awe. "That was cool as hell."

Gallia darted past the second droid and opened the bridge door via the control panel, and Anakin slashed the second super-battle droid in half, before Force-pushing it into the bridge.

As the three of them slid into the bridge, Caz unfolded his wan-shen and held it out in front of him, ready for combat.

"Surprise," Anakin said with a grin, pointing his lightsaber at the tactical droid, who was standing next to Eeth Koth, who was suspended in blue electro-chains.

"Not exactly," the droid said, and Caz lowered his wan-shen in confusion.

"What do they me-" Caz stopped talking as commando droids dropped from the ceiling, leapt over the railing, and dropped down from the door frame. They brandished blasters and vibroblades alike, glaring at them through their glowing eyes. Caz turned to Anakin with raised brows and the beginnings of a nervous grin. "You know, this is looking a lot like a trap."

"At least they're not destroyer droids," Anakin said as he glanced around, thoroughly unconcerned. Caz gave him a confused look, and Anakin began to explain. "Rolling droids with portable ray shields. They're pretty hard to deal with. Personally, I really-"

"Skywalker, focus," Gallia said, and Anakin quieted himself. Caz eyed the commando droids, frowning at them.

"The general's description of your tactics has been 100% accurate today," the tactical droid said, latching their arms behind their back. "Very impressive, even by my standards."

The space battle raged outside, visible by all the floor-to-ceiling windows surrounding them. Caz glanced up at the ceiling exhaling slowly. "Anakin, is this a trap?"

"Yeah," Anakin admitted. "Yeah, Caz, this is a trap."

"My facial recognition database does not have your face memorized," the droid said mechanically, narrowing its eyes as it blatantly pointed at Caz. "Who are you?"

"I don't think I want to tell you," Caz said rather cryptically, before looking over at Anakin and dropping his voice. "Do I want to tell them?" Anakin shook his head, and Caz shut his mouth.

"That is acceptable," the droid said, looking down at the control panel on his forearm. They pressed one of the buttons and Eeth Koth began to writhe and thrash in live blue voltage. You could see all the humor melting off of Caz's face as he watched the Zabrak Jedi Master convulsing in agony. "Is this acceptable?"

Anakin stepped forwards, and all the droids raised their weapons and pointed them at him, forcing him to stop.

A few moments later, the droid switched off the shock device, leaving Caz with a hollow expression. The droid then spoke again. "One more step, and your friend will die. One more unanswered question, and your friend will die. Ha. Ha. Ha."

Anakin grit his teeth in frustration, and Caz let out a shaky breath. Anakin Force-pulled the tactical droid towards him, relieving them of their right arm which had the control panel on it. The commando droids launched into action, and Caz decapitated one of them before it could even raise its weapon.

Gallia and Anakin took out the droids guarding the exist, and Caz delivered several kicks to the commando droids, seemingly unaffected by his shin slamming into hardened steel. After he socked a droid in the face, it crumpled to the ground, head smashed in.

"Might I ask how you're doing that?" Anakin asked as he took the limbs off of a commando droid.

"You can ask!" Caz said with a smile, using his wan-shen like a club to smack a commando droid into one of the walls. "It's like a Force Leap." Caz weaved past Gallia as she dueled with one of the commando droids. "But with your fists." He threw a couple aerial punches before ducking beneath a blaster bolt, attempting to prove his point.

"Yeah, yeah, I got it," Anakin said as he bisected one of the droids. "Not the best time."

Caz jumped into the air and landed on top of the droid battling Gallia. He pulled the vibrosword out of the droid's hands and stabbed it through the droids control panel. Anakin nodded as he thought about Caz's oversimplified explanation. He didn't need to worry all that much about it, though-one of his arms could do the same without the Force.

The tactical droid was trying to crawl its way over to its missing arm and Caz walked over to the droid and picked up the arm. "Do you need this?"

Anakin and Gallia were busy finishing up the commando droids, and the tactical droid looked up at him, eyes flashing white for a moment. "Running facial recognition…" the droid said. Caz glanced down at the droid, and then used his wan-shen to take their head off their body. "Systems...failing…"

"Sorry," Caz said with a frown. "I hope you reboot soon." The droid's eyes went dark, and Anakin finished off the last commando droid. Caz tossed Anakin the droid's arm. "I don't know how to work it, and I don't want to electrocute him again."

"Gotcha," Anakin said as he caught it, pressing a couple buttons. Eeth Koth tumbled out of his chains, and Caz caught him before he went face-first into the floor.

"Uph!" Caz grunted as he picked Koth up by the crooks of his arms. The Jedi Master was breathing heavily, and Caz wrapped Koth's arm around him to hold him up. "You're not looking too good."

Anakin shot him a glare, and Koth looked over at Gallia, before speaking in an extremely hoarse voice, "I see you got my message," he said, his voice cracking from pain. Caz winced with him. "Where's Grievous?"

"If everything's gone to plan," Anakin said, giving one of the droids an experimental kick. "He's aboard Obi-Wan's ship."

"He's been captured?" Koth asked hopefully, and Caz rummaged in his backpack for something. He pulled out a bacta injection and carefully administered it to the Jedi Master. "Thank you, Padawan." The Zabrak did a double-take to Caz. "No, you're the Matukai."

"Yes, hey," Caz said as he pocketed the bacta. "Glad to see you're alive and...not-so-well, but you know what I mean."

Anakin continued with his explanation. "If we can cut off his escape, there's a good chance we can catch him." Suddenly Anakin's comm began to blink and beep, and he answered it to see Obi-Wan's worried face. "Obi-Wan?"

"I do hope you've rescued Master Koth," Obi-Wan said in a worried tone, wiping sweat off of his brow. "Because Grievous is heading back to his ship!"

Koth looked up at Anakin, Caz and Gallia. "You all should go, I can make it back on my own." Gallia was about to object, but the Iridonian Zabrak shook his head. "You need not worry, I will be fine, Adi."

"I may have to disagree with you," Anakin said with an ounce of social tact as he took Koth out of Caz's hands. "I'll take you back to the ship. Caz, you and Master Gallia go." Caz's eyes widened and Gallia looked at him reproachfully. "You wanted a chance to prove yourself to the Council...this is it."

Caz stood there for a moment, processing the information. He then nodded, giving Anakin a shallow bow that was seeped in gratitude. "Thank you, Anakin. I won't fail you."

"May the Force be with you," Gallia said, rubbing Koth's arm reassuringly before she and Caz exited the bridge.

Grievous would dare say that he was ecstatic. His victory was within his grasp-he could practically smell it. As he scrambled up the tilting dock corridor, Kenobi scrambled for ground directly behind him. The Jedi Master had several bruises and lightsaber singes, courtesy of the droid general himself.

Losing Eeth Koth was a disappointment, but he could always find another Jedi to torture and kill off. They were like ants-an infestation on the galaxy, innumerable and puny. And Grievous would clean out this infestation.

Grievous reached the entry port of his command ship, and bent over backwards, getting back onto two feet and leaving Kenobi in the dust. He took a moment to look back and glower at Kenobi. How he wished he could sneer at the man, but his new body wasn't exactly designed for expression.

"Until we meet again, Kenobi," Grievous cackled. He could see Obi-Wan glaring at him, icy blue eyes meeting slit gold. He wondered if the Jedi Master would survive this. After all, his ship's engines were out of commission and Separatist reinforcements would be arriving very soon.

Grievous was about to close the hatch on Kenobi when he heard the sound of a lightsaber igniting, and feet moving across the ground. A blade whistled through the air, and Grievous had enough time to utter a single 'huh' before a blue lightsaber nearly clashed with his face.

Two of his lightsaber blades met the blue one, as Grievous glared at the Tholothian Jedi through his crossguard. "Jedi!" He yelled out, and noticed something green sliding past him. He glanced to the side to see a human skidding down the docking port down to Obi-Wan.

"Your opponent is over here, General," Adi said, instigating a duel. Grievous and the Jedi continued to duel, and Grievous slowly analyzed the woman's moveset. She used Djem So fairly well, integrating acrobatic kicks into her fighting style. She was not as skilled as Kenobi, which is all that mattered. She'd be dead very soon.

They continued to duel, and the green-robed figure began to help Kenobi up the shaft. Grievous knew that if Kenobi got up here, he may soon be overpowered. Grievous attempted to direct the duel closer to his command ship, but the Tholotian was not falling for it.

Suddenly, the docking port snapped away from Kenobi's cruiser, introducing the vacuum of space to the duel. The green robed figure let out an audible yelp, and Kenobi cried out, "Caz!"

"I'm alright!" The figure-Caz said, managing to grab onto Kenobi's boot.

Adi and Grievous both lost their footing, grasping onto opposite sides of the doorway. The droid general managed to snatch the Tholothian's lightsaber, gripping it tight and laughing at the Jedi.

Grievous looked down at Kenobi to mock him, and instead saw the green-robed figure climbing up the tunnel at a questionably fast speed. The figure's fingers seemed to dig into the steel as he scaled the wall with almost no issue. The man's eyes were locked on Gallia's lightsaber.

Grievous pulled himself out of the way and back into the entrance of his ship, beginning to crawl away on all-fours. Suddenly, he heard a soft thump, and he turned around once again to see Gallia and the green-robed figure having a heated discussion. He continued to move away, placing the lightsaber on his hip, before suddenly stopping.

The green-robed figure landed right in front of him, wielding a strange polearm blade. "Give the lightsaber back," he said firmly.

Grievous got on two feet, igniting two lightsabers and leaving Gallia's on his hip. "Take it."

The man clearly wasn't a Jedi-his weapon spoke volumes. Grievous just wanted the man out of the way-he didn't have time for this. He launched himself towards the warrior, and the man ducked out of the way, launching off of the wall and aiming for Grievous' head. The droid general easily blocked the attack, but the individual used the block to plant himself on the ceiling, before spiraling down towards Grievous like a blaster bolt.

Grievous shoved the man away easily, sending him slamming into the door across the hallway.

Grievous felt a slight pull on his waist, and looked down to see that both the figure and the lightsaber had suddenly disappeared from where Grievous had shoved him. He looked around, bewildered, and saw the blond man over by Gallia, helping her pull Kenobi and a couple clones back to safe ground.

His hand went to where his lightsaber was, utterly perplexed. What had happened? Was the man Force-sensitive?

Now is not the time for this, Grievous thought to himself. They'll be on your ship very soon. Get out of here!

Grievous gave the warrior one last glance, before making his escape. He would not be telling Dooku about this.

Caz had been given a look at his own incompetence. It wasn't a rare occurrence, but Caz didn't like having to realize it all the same.

He'd stood up to Grievous for about three seconds. Three seconds. Of course, there were combat variables that he couldn't control, but it really wasn't a viable excuse. What was he expecting? Everyone had warned him of Grievous' skill, and the Matukai had taught him that his wan-shen wouldn't fight well against a lightsaber. The hilt was wooden-Caz was lucky to not have gotten sliced in half.

He'd never fought against someone with a lightsaber before-really, what had he been thinking? He looked down at himself, rubbing his lower back as he took a seat in Anakin's shuttle. Grievous was ridiculously strong. And Caz had fought a Wookie before.

Caz would take the small victory-he did manage to grab Adi Gallia's lightsaber by Force-pulling it to his hand. It had taken more effort than he would've liked, but Grievous must not have known that Caz was Force-sensitive. He'd caught Grievous off-guard, that was all.

Gallia had assured him that he wouldn't be fighting many blade-wielding foes, unless he was unfortunate enough to run into one of Dooku's Acolytes. Her reassurance didn't do all that much to help Caz. He needed to learn how to fight someone who wielded a lightsaber-maybe he'd take Anakin up on those sparring matches sooner than expected.

The Matukai heaved a sigh as he sat down behind Obi-Wan, who was piloting the shuttle away alongside Anakin. Kenobi craned his neck and looked back at him, Caz put his head in his hands. "Caz, you did well for your first time. Don't be too hard on yourself."

"Grievous wasn't apprehended," Caz said with a groan. "I didn't exactly prove myself to the Council today, did I?"

"The fact that you lived was proof enough," Gallia said, clipping her lightsaber to her belt. "And the fact that you went after him in order to get my lightsaber was very kind of you, Caz."

"And we didn't expect you to apprehend Grievous," Anakin said from the pilot's seat. Caz's face fell. "No, I didn't mean it like that, Caz. All I'm saying is that it was a hope, not a plan. If it had happened, we'd have been well-off. But since it didn't, we'll catch him some other time."

"Sounds alright," Caz said, managing a smile as he sat up. "And...well, I did complete my job. Master Koth is doing alright...right?"

"He's a little worse for wear, but he's alive," Obi-Wan said honestly. "He's still grateful, either way. Once again, there really is no need for you to be so hard on yourself. Most Jedi Masters can't hold their own against Grievous, as we've said before."

"Got yourself a bit of a savior's complex, huh?" Gallia asked, and Caz flushed red. "I strongly advise you to get over it, Caz. Everyone here has the competency to fix themselves, save themselves, et cetera." Caz nodded. "Have you ever heard the story of Icarus?"

Anakin chuckled, having heard this one from Obi-Wan before.

"No," Caz said, turning to face Gallia.

"It's about a boy who flew too close to the sun," Gallia said, leaning forwards and lacing her hands. "Your ambitions overstep your capabilities-you have to watch yourself, and grow into your goals, Caz."

Caz stared at Gallia, and nodded. "I understand. You're saying I need to know my potential and work to grow it, and until I can increase my capabilities, only work within what I know can succeed."

"Yes, actually," Anakin said, a little perplexed. "You caught on pretty fast, dude."

"But if you never take a chance," Caz continued on, tone genuine and frown truly perplexed. "How can you discover your full potential?"

"You'll never discover your potential if you're dead," Kenobi said, and Caz understood. He nodded and leaned back in his chair. "I see where you're coming from, Caz. You and Anakin are alike in such a way-but, and I say this to both of you-you have to temper yourself. Most of the time, there is another way other than the obvious. You simply have to look for it."

Caz was silent, taking in the information and processing it. "Thank you, Master Gallia, Master Kenobi." He then smiled softly. "Do you guys mind sparring with me? I want to learn how to fight against someone with a blade, just in case I do run into...what did you call it? An Acolyte."

"It'd be my pleasure," Gallia said politely. "Don't let our criticism get to you, Caz. You're a good man at heart, and that's what matters."

Caz smiled, unsure of what to say. He then muttered his thanks and looked down at his lap, hesitant to accept the compliment in the face of his mess-up.

"Oh, yes, one more thing," Kenobi said as he passed something back to Caz. The Matukai took it, recognizing it as a holorecorder, and turned it on. Yoda's small form popped up, and Kenobi looked back with a smile. "Go on, play it."
Caz hit the start button, and the small Jedi Master began to speak. "Caz Solus, doing well, I hope you are. Convened, the Jedi Council has. Reports of your successes in recent missions, read, we have. Decided, we have, that you are now part of the Republic." Caz's eyes widened. "Appointment with Chancellor Palpatine, tomorrow it will be. To Coruscant, come quickly, you must."

"I am going to go and arrive there so quickly," Caz said eagerly, somehow forgetting to speak normally as Yoda disappeared and the holorecorder switched off. "Anakin, did you hear that?"

"Loud and clear," Anakin said with a smile. "Welcome to the Republic, Caz."

Caz's smile was contagious. After years of dreaming about it, his goal was finally realized-being able to work alongside the Jedi. Obi-Wan and Gallia couldn't help but grin at the man's happiness radiating through the Force. Even in the darkness surrounding the war, the Light still had a stake to claim in this galaxy.

And Caz Solus would be the man to claim it.

So...first interactions with Grievous down, and Caz gets a little scolding from Adi Gallia. She's always been a favorite Jedi of mine, and I can only hope to replicate her personality.