Author's Note: Changing gears! I know not everything is cannon, but I want to pull from my own imagination and creativity as well. Please be gentle in your feedback but it's welcomed!
Disclaimer: Jana my baby, but nothin else.
Jana woke up with a jolt to her com's faint beeping. Groggily, she tried to get up from her position leaning against the wall of a bunk. Beside her on the actual mattress a lump kept her from moving, clinging to her arm. Jana finally realized she was on the medical station. I must have fallen asleep while Annie and I meditated on his feelings... seems he did, too. She smiled a little at the boy, but she still had to answer her com.
"Let go, Annie." She said softly and tried to remove her left arm from his grasp. Anakin tugged back and grumbled.
"S'too early, Padmé." Jana had to hold in a laugh. She had known about her friends' relationship for a while- she had sensed it, and she had agreed to keep it a secret. She was still sorting out her thoughts on the Jedi rules of attachments, but she knew Anakin needed that relationship regardless of her opinions. Besides, they were a cute couple.
Reaching over, she flicked the General's temple.
"Ow! Skrog!" He shot up and held his head, and Jana finally busted into peals of laughter. Anakin would have been angry if it had been anyone else, but hearing Jana laugh like that made his morning.
"What was that for, Jana?" He asked with a fake pout on his face, just beginning to come to enough to process the sound of a com.
"You were using my arm as a teddy bear. Now shush for a moment." Anakin's cheeks dusted with a touch of pink but did as she said. Jana stepped to the corner of the quarters and accepted the transmission. Her master appeared.
"Jana, I assume you have been asleep? I couldn't sense you for a while." Her Master asked her. Jana nodded sheepishly. "Ah, just as I thought. We are being sent on another mission and must report to the Council as soon as possible. Meet me in the hanger when you are ready to leave. I will be preparing our ships." He ordered. Jana bowed her head and ended the call.
"Leaving the party already?" Anakin asked jokingly. Jana nodded her head.
"Seems like Plo Koon always has some big mission. And we always have to go back so he can tend to his Council duties." She explained with a bit of a sigh. Don't get her wrong, she enjoyed being his Padawan, but she felt busier than ever when with him.
"I understand." Anakin chuckled. A bit of silence passed as Jana took in the peace of the room. Moments like these were rare- silence, peace, and a friend all in the same room. "I'm glad you're talking again, Jana. You really had us worried for a while there." The blonde turned to her friend with surprise. She knew they were friends, but the amount of genuine emotion in his voice had caught her off guard.
"Padmé had even made preparations to argue your case to the Council, and if things went south she was going to hire you as her personal security." He scratched the back of his head. "She told me not to worry at first, but at the end of the month she was concerned, too. Even argued she could find you a confidential therapist." He chuckled a little. Jana's eyes watered a bit, but not enough for Anakin to notice. Oh Padmé, I'm so sorry. "We didn't know what was going to happen to you, but we weren't going to let you go through that alone.
"And I'm sorry for seeming angry with you before your reassignment to Plo Koon. I just couldn't understand what you were going through- are going through." Jana assumed Anakin was only speaking his mind and spirit since he was still waking up, as her friend had hardly ever spoken this way to her.
"I hope you never have to, Annie." Her voice cracked a little, and he looked up sympathetically. "I don't want pity, but... it is the worst feeling. There's so much fear and anger I can't control some days. The nightmares are awful." Anakin nodded at the last bit- he was familiar with the night terrors. "And I can't even avenge her. I can't kill or capture Douku. The Council won't send me on that mission." Anakin was taken aback by the anger in her voice- Jana was not one to be known for anger. Irritation and sternness maybe, but never anger.
"You asked them?" Anakin asked.
"The first day back. That was the only thing I said, and they shut me down. I didn't know what to do with myself I was so angry. So I meditated for the month." She coughed to the side. "I'm sorry, Anakin. I didn't mean to hurt you or Padmé or anyone when I did that. It was selfish, but I just had so many things on my mind and spirit." Anakin got up with a smile and put a hand on her shoulder in forgiveness. Jana shut her eyes and sighed again.
"Keep a secret?" She asked.
"Of course." He smiled. After all, she kept his biggest secret. But he didn't expect her to hug him. It wasn't romantic at all by any means, but it was that of sibling's. He felt a tear dampen his tunic, and a slight feeling of guilt overcame him. He'd dealt with this guilt in the same time Jana had hermited- he had been part of the reason the 200 had been released on Geonosis. To some extent, that battle had been his fault. Jana's isolation had been his fault.
"Don't feel guilty, Annie." She pulled back from him sheepishly and crossed her arms after wiping her eyes. "S'not your fault. It does not help to dwell on such things." Anakin knew she was right and smiled.
"Didn't know you were a hugger." He teased, and she laughed.
"Well the rules make that kind of impossible, but yes, I'm a hugger. How could I not? I was risen by farmers. Ever heard of Southern culture?" She teased back before coughing severely. Blast, I haven't had my teas today.
"Here, you get ready and packed and I'll get you some tea. Blades harped on that order, and he'll kill me if he finds out I slacked off on making sure you drink them." Anakin left, Jana laughing at the idea.
"Master Plo Koon, with this information we have a different kind of mission planned for you and your Padawan." Mace Windu told Plo Koon in the Council room. Jana had been told to arrive later so the Knights could speak privately.
"Go to Kamino, you shall. Check on all operations and performances, want you we do." Master Yoda informed. He had also previously spoken his opinion on Jana's Force abilities, saying that she was one of the most in touch Padawans so far, and she could be changing as all people in life do. This, he said, was her challenge. She would either slip into the dark side while searching for answers in her meditations, or she would rise as a powerful Jedi Knight. The outcome he knew not.
"We'll explain the mission when your Padawan joins you, but we have other reasons to send you two to Kamino." Mace said. Plo Koon crossed his arms, unsure of whether this would be good or bad.
"On your stay here on Kamino, you shall put Jana through the team testing room. We would like to see the extent of her force's strength. This way, we can record her current skill set and reveal it to the Council." The typical hologram of Shaak Ti explained. Plo Koon hummed in thought.
"We are aware this is an odd request, Master Plo Koon." Obi-Wan comforted. "But we would like to see for ourselves her growth. This may accelerate her down the path to becoming a Knight."
"Additionally, the Chancellor has requested to see the growth of some our strongest Padawans. In particular he mentioned Padawan Kinall." Mundi said. Plo Koon immediately got bad feelings about recording Jana, but nonetheless he nodded his head. They could sense Jana on outside the doors now.
"Greetings, Padawan Kinall. We hope your missions haven't been too taxing?" Master Fisto asked upon her entrance. Jana smiled and nodded her head. The Council all found great comfort in her obvious healing.
"Yes, Masters. They have taught me many lessons as well." She informed them, her voice less raspy than usual.
"Good, as Jedi we should all learn from our missions and especially this war." Mace Windu said with the others in agreement.
"For your mission, Padawan Kinall, you and your master will come to me on Kamino and inspect some things. We've had Clones go missing- not in great numbers, but we still are concerned about their disappearances. I would inspect it myself, but I have the testings to tend to." Master Shaak Ti explained to her.
"You are to go to Kamino immediately and stay however long it takes you to find the source of these disappearances, stop it, and bring our men back." Mace added.
"Yes, masters." Jana dipped her head and walked away with her master. She supposed it was time to take a rain check, anyways.
The first few weeks were simple but irritating to Jana. She adored getting to observe the clones and befriending a portion of them. Many of the Shinies took a liking to someone who looked at them as people while others still thought her strange. Her favorite room by far was the young cadet room. Many of the younger clones found Jana fascinating since she was the first outsider they had seen. Of course, few had yet to form their individual personalities and were growing out of generalized programming still. But that's part of why she loved it- she could help them form their identities.
On the other side of things, the actual mission portion of the trip wasn't going well. This was partly due to the fact that not enough Clones were being taken for enough evaluation. The scanners showed no ships leaving nor entering the planet other than those the Republic authorized. It was irritating Jana how they were failing to find what was going on. Taking a break from the mystery, she stood above the testing room with Master Shaak Ti, watching a passing squad finish up.
"This squad has some exceptionally well. They are ready to be sent to General Secura before she proceeds with her mission. These men will serve her well." Master Shaak Ti commended the group and turned to tell Jana what they looked for in the groups.
"Well, Padawan. Once again I have found nothing out of sorts while watching the security cameras. We're still at a dead end." Master Plo Koon interrupted with a grumpy walk through the doors.
"Master, with all due respect perhaps it is time we go through with inspecting the planet." Jana suggested, bracing herself to be shut down once again. Every time she mentioned roaming the planet the Jedi and Kaminoans would tell her no due to the significant danger. But if they wanted to get to the bottom of this, she didn't know how else they were to go about it.
"I hate to say it, but you... may be correct, Padawan." Plo Koon sighed. Jana's mouth hung open a little as she stared at him. WHAT?!
"It is true- we have come none the more closer to discovering what has happened to these Clones. We have no other choice. However, Kamino has two places they could be hiding: the sky or the water. You will have to split up when you embark." Master Shaak Ti advised. That is true... and if we don't find anything, then we'll have to investigate on Republic ships. It could be a traitor, though I hope it isn't.
"Very wise words. We will depart when the storms are at their lightest." Master Plo Koon said before he and Shaak Ti exchanged glances unknown to Jana. It was time.
"Jana, for your benefit I believe you should go through and experience the testing room." Master Shaak Ti said. Jana looked at her with a puzzled face.
"Hm? Why?" She wasn't scared, but she still held much confusion. What benefit would this bring me?
"You seem to communicate well with the Clones. In the future you may be stationed here on Kamino with me. I would like for you to understand the Clones better if this does happen by any chance. Hence, I would like to see you navigate the course. This way you understand from first hand experience what we expect from the Clone squads." Master Shaak Ti elaborated. Jana found this explanation suitable and dipped her head in conformant. She proceeded to the bottom level with no other hesitancy.
"Hey, Commander! We passed!" A clone from the squad who had just returned from testing exclaimed. If she recalled correctly he was Beam from the Ranger Squad. Jana smiled brightly at him as well as his men.
"I saw. You all did very well. Master Aayla will be lucky to have you all under her command." Jana commended and received many thank-you's in return.
"Where are you going, Commander?" A Clone behind him eyed her oddly. His name was Bully, actually, because Bullseye was already a taken name from another Squad. He was actually quite sweet contrary to the connotation of his name.
"I'm about to run your test, actually. Wish me luck." She winked at them.
"Wait, really? Come on boys, we gotta see this." Another clone called Drummer from the squad enthusiastically raced up the level. Jana sighed mentally- it was going to be a show alright.
Entering she already had one hand on the handle of her saber, ready to bring it out to deflect any shots if they were trying to catch her off guard.
Jana, your test will begin shortly. Master Shaak Ti's voice came over the speakers, and Jana readied herself behind the provided cover. A count down commenced from 3, and before long there was heavy fire raining down. Oh bloody galaxies! This is a realistic test. Jana ignited her blue saber, and looking above she could see the awe in the faces of many of the Clones. She shook her anxiety off- if it were the battlefield they would be watching her back. Same thing in the end.
She analyzed the source of all the shots, peering around the left corner. They rearranged all of the field... they knew I'd remember from watching the Ranger Squad. Jana came to the realization. I have to get moving. Searching ahead she found a few other places for cover. She would have to deflect the shots during her Force jump, and so she did. Time seemed to slow as she watched each shot come at her as she turned in her axel. In the midst of it she ignited her shoto blade in her left hand to help ward off the heavy fire. The moment she landed she noted the droid directly behind her and regrabbed from over to underhand with the shoto so it sliced behind her into it.
Looking around, Jana realized they had released whole fleets of the testing droids around her. The fire had nearly doubled. I have to get rid of at least some of this. She deflected the blasters back to their sources, but Jana knew this wouldn't be enough for long. Taking her shoto blade with her, she jumped to the ledge of each place of cover and flipped mid-air. Before her first jump, though, she had thrown her main blade, and while she continued to move she mentally guided it through each droid. When she landed behind a place of cover, she caught the blade back in her hand. Every droid fell to the ground. Well at least that worked- now for the air time.
Looking ahead she saw she could jump between each turret to eventually climb to the highest point to end the test. She quickly began to take action but was stopped by testing droidicas. She knew she couldn't stop dead in her tracks and slid under one, enveloped by its shield. Bantha Fodder! I hate these blasted things. The droidica's brothers automatically started shooting at it, and she tilted her blade straight up and reignited it so it sliced through the center of droid. With the Force she crushed the corpse into one of the others, causing an explosion, while rolling under another and repeating the technique. Glad that's over with, those stupid clankers.
Next she raced toward the turrets, deflecting their heavy blasts and feeling the contraction of her muscles with each hit her blade redirected. With the advantage of haste she flipped between the turrets, being out of range of their fire. As she made her way up, she detected some type of shot traveling toward her. She turned her head to see a sniper droid that had shot at her. How did I miss that? Skrog. They're going to call me reckless if I keep lacking being thorough.
Time slowed again as her eyes locked onto the shot. Closing her eyes, she breathed and controlled the beam of red, holding it in its place until she had reached the top of the ledge. Letting go mentally, she heard it finish its original trajectory and hit where she had been hanging from moments before. Never done that one before, but I'm glad it worked. She finished the test, and the room began to reset itself. She looked to where her Master stood for approval, and he nodded his head at her. Above the room, the gather clones cheered. This performance had helped give them confidence in not just Jana, but their Jedi Generals and Commanders as well.
Above the room Master Shaak Ti and Plo Koon observed her skills. The fact she had controlled the sniper's fire had taken both of them by surprise.
"Your Padawan is growing exponentially, Plo. She will be something to be reckoned with when she re-enters the field. These past weeks she has grown into a more matured state of the girl she was before Sarissa's passing." Master Shaak Ti said.
"Indeed, but I wonder how much further her powers go." He looked at his Padawan who had just hooked her sabers back to her loop. He had to agree with Shaak Ti- Jana had been consistent with her throat treatments and spoke somewhat commonly. She also dedicated time every day to training as well as meditating.
"Will you allow me to test her further?" Shaak Ti asked, and Plo Koon hesitated before permitting her.
"Padawan Kinall, please set down your sabers and proceed to the center of the room." The broken droids had mostly been cleaned up, and the assets of the room had lowered into the ground. Now it was just a plain white grid of a room. Jana unclipped her sabers and set them on the ground gently before proceeding to the center of the floor. What are they gonna do to me now?
"This will be a force test. I need you to bring the assets that just were lowered into the floor back up." Master Shaak Ti ordered. Master Plo ensured that the cameras were continuing to record.
Blazes, these are going to be heavy! And there's so many components to this room. What kinda test is this? Jana mentally cursed but did as instructed. She always said yes. Instead of sitting on the ground she kneeled and pressed one hand to the floor, opening herself up to feeling the mechanics of the room. Mentally she grabbed on to the first few little areas of cover and forced them up. This first task was not very difficult. But next were the larger ledges and columns of turrets. Bracing herself for the struggle, she envisioned wrapping her arms around gears and pulled with all her the might of her brain.
"Her strength is incredible, Plo." Shaak Ti admired the girl who was pulling both the turrets as well as the highest ledge up out of the ground. What she didn't know was the amount of resistance Shaak Ti had ordered on the components. The gears that typically pushed them up and down had been locked- she was lifting nearly twice the weight of the assets.
Eventually she finished rebuilding the room, the final piece setting in place. Sweat trickled down Jana's nose, but she wasn't as tired as she'd usually be. She stood up to look at the masters once more. They both nodded at her, and the speakers announced the test was finished.
"I will send these recordings to the Council as well as the Chancellor." Shaak Ti began to copy them down onto drives for an astromech droid to take back to Coruscant. Plo Koon delayed her.
"If you don't mind, do not send the Force test to the Chancellor. That is of the Jedi's business only, and it is already strange that is he is asking for these." He requested, and Shaak Ti nodded in agreement with no reluctance.
The rest of the afternoon Jana spent her time explaining to the Shinies how the Force worked and how she had passed the test so quickly alone. By the time Plo found her, she was holding a meditation session with more than five squads of clones. Although they couldn't feel what she did by far, it helped calm their minds and spirits. A feeling they wouldn't have for a long time.