Author's Note: Sorry for the absence! College is kickin my butt, so I'll be posting quite a few chapters today. I hope y'all enjoy!
Disclaimer: I obviously do not own Star Wars, just Jana and her story.
"I'm glad your mission was successful." Master Kenobi commented with his hand to his chin. "I wish we could welcome you two back with good news, but it seems as if luck is not on our side today."
"There are troops lead by General Skywalker already deployed to Christophsis. As we were informed, it appears that Whorm is the leader." Windu provided.
"So our information will be useful if given the chance to use it." Plo Koon inferred.
"Correct. We are going to send you and Jana as well as Master Kenobi to assist in defense. However, the troops will be small until we can gather more reinforcements. Since we hadn't expected a full scale attack, we will be short of hand for the time being." Master Windu crossed his arms, and Jana felt an uneasiness settle in the air of the room.
"Is there something more you wish to discuss, Master Windu?" Plo Koon inquired, noticing the shift as well.
"Master Yoda and I have discussed the current growth plan General Skywalker walks currently. We have agreed that Anakin is ready for a challenge, a Padawan." Mace seemed extremely unsure of his suggestion. They don't know how he will react, and I know Anakin will withdrawal. At first, at least.
"Hm, given his rapid growth I must say I agree. However, I don't believe just any Padawan would suit the General." Plo Koon continued to stare into the blue of the hologram.
"Not too long ago you brought back a Togruta called Ahsoka Tano." Mace reminded.
"Yes, I recall, and I have watched her train when possible. She is quite the talent, but impressionable and strong headed. I fear she may clash with Skywalker." Plo Koon analyzed.
"Perhaps," Master Yoda hobbled in, "Or perhaps serve as a challenge to Skywalker, she will. Awaken him to his own faults and stubbornness, she might." As if I haven't told Anakin enough he's more stubborn than a Tatooine market seller.
"I take it you selected Ahsoka specifically for Anakin, Master Yoda." Obi-Wan looked to Yoda who donned his signature smile. "Anakin will most likely retort initially to her. Strongly."
"A direct assignment from me, this is. Accept it, Skywalker will. From there, we shall watch what unfurls." I'm not sure a surprise attack on a planet we may lose is the best time to introduce a Padawan to Anakin, but Master Yoda has his own ways of doing things. Jana bent her knees and rolled her neck around slightly.
"Our apologies, Padawan. We most likely could have sent you to your quarters for rest while we discussed this." Obi-Wan apologized. Jana shook her head slightly and gave a weak but obviously tired smile.
"Stock up on what you need for battle, Young One. I will fetch Ahsoka while you do so. Meet me in the hanger as soon as you can. We will depart with Obi-Wan and what we are able to fit on the ship for the troop already on the planet. It will be a small shuttle." Plo Koon instructed. Jana bowed her head and took off for the armory.
"Hold on!" The Clone pilot's voice yelled, the words echoing off the walls of the ship but being consumed by the sounds of blasters and screeching metal. Jana's fear spiked in spite herself, memories of Geonosis flashing in her brain. A blood stained ship... oil running between the cracks of the floor panels... cries for help from Jedi and Clones alike.
In real time the minuscule shuttle had made it to the main city of Christophsis, but enemy turrets and tanks made the shuttle into sheer target practice for the droids. The ship was being jostled about harshly, but there wasn't too much more distance to cover before they would make it to General Skywalker's temporary camp.
Padawan Jana forced herself out of her the jail of her tormented brain. Live in the moment. The present is the only thing you can control, Jana.
The blonde looked up to see her master towering over her, obviously finding not much more success than Jana in holding to the handles for stability.
"Here! Cut across here!" Kenobi yelled to the pilot but mostly into Jana's ears. She winced slightly at the sound, her ears already ringing like hell. The shuttle steeply cut right into a series of buildings. The variety of sizes and closely bundled quarters allowed cover for the shuttle and the camp just ahead from the enemy's heavy fire.
"Arrived, sir." The Clone pilot reported and slumped in his seat once they landed, out of breath from the frantic flight. Jana could sense his weariness and stress from where she stood. Pity struck her heart- they had said back at the Temple they were low on reinforcements and troops in general. It only made sense that he would be a shiny.
"Come along, Ahsoka. I will show you to your master." The other Jedi left the ship quickly, and the few Clones that had fit on the shuttle began to unload the boxes of supplies they had managed to cram on the ship. Jana walked into the cockpit of the shuttle and sat in the copilot's seat.
"Aye, what can I do for you, Commander?" The Shiny sat up to attention, but Jana did not answer verbally. Instead, she delicately placed her hand on his forearm as if to tell him to relax. The trooper took off his helmet slowly and looked at her for a few curious moments. "Ma'am? I'm not sure I understand." Jana chuckled, coughing slightly once her throat retaliated at the noise.
"Relax. I sense your stress. You have done well." She held her hand in place on the armor and communicated emotions of calmness and serenity. "Thank you." She nodded at the soldier's automatic release of tensed muscles. Although the action drained her, Jana knew the Clones were merely human. They needed consolation and rest just as much as anyone else. She then got up and walked out to where the others were talking. From the looks of it, Anakin seems to be reacting the way we predicted he would. The General appeared to be tossing around language about being assigned a Padawan as young and stubborn as Ahsoka.
"This is like giving Jana a Padawan, and she wouldn't react well to that either!" Aw, is the baby of the Council throwing himself a tantrum? Poor thing. Jana snorted, earning a disapproving look from Plo Koon. The younger Padawan looked at Jana.
"Well I'd much rather be her Padawan, if that's what you're proposing!" THIS ISN'T WHAT I SIGNED UP FOR! Go back, go back, go back, go back. Jana's eyes widened in slight panic, and she shook her hands and head.
"See? She doesn't want a Padawan either." I'm like three years younger than him. Why did I get brought into this?
"Please, Anakin. Calm down and just try for now. It is a direct assignment from Master Yoda, so you'll have to at least attempt to work together." Obi-Wan reasoned. Jana quickly lost interest in the arguing duo and smiled fondly at Rex who had remained silent the whole ordeal. It was best not to get mixed up in the Jedi's disputes, he found.
"Good day, Commander Kinell. I heard your shuttle ride wasn't the smoothest. From the looks of it, too." Jana looked at the smoking and busted shuttle. "Didn't get too shaken up, did ya?" Jana nearly laughed at that considering the recent months, a natural smile lighting up her features.
"The Shiny did well." She managed to get out. Rex seemed a bit taken aback by her words. He'd heard her talk on Geonosis, of course- who hadn't? As soon as the climax of the battle had hit, Jana had taken on the weight of leadership. She had shouted orders left and right. That's when the Clones had warmed up to her and her tactical style. Rex also believed the Clones had seen some of the old Jana that day, because it wasn't until later that she discovered the death of her master. And in the moment that she had, Rex witnessed all life drain from the young Jedi.
Rex and a couple of the other troopers would never forget the day. Jedi were always emotionally closed off for the most part, so Jana still to the moment of the Christophsis battle was the most emotionally vulnerable they had seen a Jedi. They had escorted her to the arena since it was still deemed potentially dangerous, and the young Jedi was in search of her master. Orders from Master Mundi himself were for Rex, an accomplished soldier, and a few other soldiers to escort the adamant Padawan. Looking back, Rex assumed the Jedi Knight had known already that Master Jeng was gone. Rex recalled how startled Jana looked when first setting her eyes on the hundreds of bodies. Her surprise had only lasted for a moment, though, and she dutifully stepped over dead Jedi and scrapped droids. She hardly paid attention to the Geonosian corpses.
When her eyes settled on Master Jeng, all the Clones could hear was muttering. Jana dropped to her knees and hugged the lifeless woman. Rex remembered confusion as to what to do. Only a few medical droids littered the body bowl as they tried to treat survivors, some even beginning the process of relocating the dead. He didn't know if he should say anything to the girl, or if he and his men should face away to allow them privacy. He recalled Jana refusing to let go for a minute. When she had finally risen, Rex assumed a tear had fallen since a single line of the dirt and blood on her face had smeared vertically.
"If they ask, I accepted it with grace. We do not speak of this." Had been her words. "Please." His men had followed her instructions- after all, they were orders from a commander. But that was the most compromised he had ever seen a Jedi. After that, she had gone mostly mute, stoic in the face. She had picked up the body bridal style despite her petite figure and carried it to the ship. The Clones' instinct wanted to offer to help but knew she needed to carry Master Jeng herself no matter the struggle.
In present time, Rex smiled back. "Glad to hear, Commander." Rex liked that she saw Clones as individual people. When she interacted with them, she always had curious but accepting eyes. She never treated them like children or mysterious creatures.
"Jana, come along. We will be discussing the battle plan." Jana's smile left immediately. She turned to Master Plo Koon and dipped her head in compliance. Why can't we try basic verbal negotiations first? I bet we haven't tried that yet. Always so violent, ironic enough.
"We're not in a good position to say the least. We're substantially outnumbered, and they have energy shields." Kenobi began to report. Numbers have never mattered, but the strength does, and those shields give them too much strength.
"How strong are the shields?" Plo Koon asked.
"Too strong, sir. These are some of the best quality shields I've ever seen." Rex elaborated. How are they run, then? Something has to be powering them. Something bulky and accessible.
"They're run by a series of generators at the center of the shield dome. If we pass through, we can set charges and deactivate the shield." Anakin explained. And that's more than half the battle.
"I assume that the generators are not left unprotected, though." Plo Koon chuckled dryly.
"Correct, General. They've got too many clankers for us to charge through. Even if we took reinforcements along with this whole camp, we'd be blasted to pieces by their turrets." Rex observed.
"Would we be able to hold them off at least? Until reinforcements arrive or we deactivate the shields somehow?" Ahsoka asked.
"Fraid not, Little One. Our men are injured and few. We already took quite the beating to camp out here. If just one troop of clankers shows up, we're chopped liver." And that was with Anakin's help, too.
"Luckily, we know who we're dealing with. Obi Wan said the mission to Krokoidia turned up successful." Anakin crossed his arms with a cocky smirk. He still thinks we can pull through. Always so arrogant.
"Yes, we know somewhat about Whorm's style and culture. He worked on the Krokoidia defense system when they were an independent planet. Our informant said he was aggressive with his defense, and he would destroy everything in sight. He's thorough and cautious."
"Then we have to surrender. There is no use in sacrificing more men to this- Whorm obviously knows how to defend his superior camp." Obi-Wan analyzed.
"We can't just surrender! We're the rescue operation. We can't let Christophsis fall into Seperatist hands. We'll lose too much momentum in the overall war." Anakin retaliated.
"I agree with Master Skywalker. If the Seperatists get ahold of the strategic resources here, we'll suffer more in the end." Ahsoka supported to Anakin's surprise.
"Slow down, Generals and Commander. We also found valuable information in the culture. Information I believe will serve us better." Plo Koon calmed the group. The traditional surrender can be a lengthy process- if we stall finalizing the surrender by reminding Whorm of the old process, then we'll still be playing fair if we get those shields down.
Jana's eyes sparked at the realization of the forming plan, and Plo Koon's eyes would have gleamed with pride if they had been able to see them.
"Exactly, Jana. Well done." The others in the discussion remained confused. "Their culture revolves around honor as well as the ways of old. The only way to make it out alive is to offer surrender."
"But the actual rules of war have an entire process for surrender." Kenobi finished. "So if we extend surrender but stall finalizing it by pulling from the old rules, we may have enough time to take down the shields and win the advantage."
"But how would we get the shields down? We can't just barge in at their front door. We'd get blasted to bits, and it'd be obvious we weren't surrendering with all the racket." Rex expressed concern. He's concerned for his men, as any decent human being should be.
"Someone will have to lead a stealth mission and secretly place charges around the generators." Obi-Wan inferred.
"Then I'll go. Stealth is easy enough, and I can move quicker than you can, Old Man." Anakin said teasingly.
"Yes, I think this will be a good chance for you and Ahsoka to get to know each other." Plo Koon suggested. Of course, Anakin began arguing that he wanted to go alone for stealth reasons, but the plan was set and already in motion.
"Jana and I will stay here with the remaining Clones in case reinforcements come. When those shields come down, we'll be here to disable the turrets and provide them with cover. Obi-Wan is widely hated in the Seperatist realm, so I believe you should have the privilege of negotiating the terms of surrender." Plo-Koon seemingly smirked.
"Oh, lovely. And here I was concerned that I wouldn't get the chance to meet this lovely Whorm fellow." Obi-Wan rolled his eyes.
"Such a lucky day for you. Now go. Time is of the essence." Plo Koon instructed. Jana smiled faintly to herself. He has bought me more time to adjust. But war was just around the corner.