Chapter 13
I.
Their sabers clashed as the fight continued aboard the Republic cruiser. Ron and Cecily taking on the highly skilled assassin. The battle stalemated into a deadlock between the two heroes and the villain. Each one dealt blow after blow and still, the assassin skillfully managed to work both Ron and Cecily's blades at the same time
"I see I was wrong to underestimate the both of you," Katsumi spoke through gritted teeth as Ron and Cecily pushed their sabers against hers. "But you'll utterly fail in your attempt!"
Ron watched as the Sith freed one of her hands from the hilt of her lightsaber, drawing it back. "Cecily!" Ron shouted leaping back. Both were too late, however, as their opponent Force pushed them back into the bridge.
"Now you will face your—" the Sith stopped surprised to find Alex standing back up in front of Ron and Cecily. She fired two shots that the assassin hadn't expected, forcing her back.
"They aren't going to face anything. Not as long as I'm still alive," Alex stated coldly aiming her blaster at the Sith. "As for calling me fodder and a dog. I took that pretty personally, so you can say you're on my shit list," Alex deadpanned aiming her blaster firing again.
"You're a fool as well," the Sith sneered gritting her teeth together as she deflected the shots upward.
"No… you are…" Cecily grimaced standing back up. She had taken the brunt of the blow from the Force Push. "You think that just because we fall, we aren't going to get back up again. But you're wrong."
"Fine three against one. You're all trash in my eyes. Not one of you could hold your own. My master will be pleased to hear that I took down two Jedi younglings and their guard dog," the Sith spat back.
"I think you underestimate us," Ron replied standing up, taking an offensive posture. "You've too focused on us. Have you ever heard of a distraction?" Ron smirked at the frown that drew itself across the Sith's face. Ron watched it all in slow motion. With his words, the assassin's gleaming sick smile had been replaced by fear. Her eyes darted back and forth seeking what he was implying. Ron and Cecily took the opportunity and lurched toward her.
Alex pulled the trigger, watching the bolt of plasma zip toward the Sith. She leaned back, the bolt grazing the tip of her nose. At that moment, another blaster had gone off behind the Sith and that bolt had been aimed directly at the point where the Sith's head had evaded Alex's shot.
Not a second too late, the Sith warrior brought her lightsaber up deflecting the shot into the ceiling. The laser bolts hit the elevator wall next to Sokol-1, who had taken the latter shot.
The Sith landed in a crouch, "Damn you all!" The Sith warrior seethed in anger. She back-flipped back toward Sokol-1 and the other commando droids, all three of them opening fire on her. The Sith deflected the blasts before sliding in between them and down the elevator shaft.
"After her Sokol-1!" Ron ordered the commando droids who back-flipped back over the edge down the shaft. "What the?" Ron mouthed stunned at the commando droids reflexes.
"Come on leader boy!" Alex ordered jumping on Ron's shoulders, "We need to go after her! If we lose her I'm not sure how much Beta will dock my pay."
"She's right. We can't lose her!" Cecily yelled jumping down the elevator shaft after the droid commandos. Ron took after her leaping over the edge. He swerved his body to the left as a deflected blaster bolt narrowly missed his shoulder.
"Watch it metal head! I don't have impervious beskar armor, remember that!" Alex shouted over the air rushing past them. Great, more insults. Ron still wasn't used to Alex and the salty attitude she hurled at him.
"That's not my fault!" Ron yelled back. Ron squinted down the dimly lit shaft only making out Cecily and her saber as the Sith had already landed on the bottom floor where they had cut a large hole in the turbolifts ceiling.
Ron used the Force to slow his descent just before the bottom. Alex leapt off, taking off in the direction of the pursuit. Ron took off on her heels, Alex just in front. Cecily another ten meters ahead with the commando droids, and the Sith assassin who was gaining speed and distance.
It wasn't a fair pursuit. Ron hadn't learned how to use the Force to propel himself faster like the Sith he was chasing had and the heavy Mandalorian armor wasn't helping either. For the majority of his training, he had been forced to wear heavy suits anywhere he went to enhance his stamina with extra weight.
"Use your missile!" Alex shouted back at Ron.
"What missile?!" Ron shouted back. Then it hit him, he had a jet-pack attached to his armor just like Beta and his jet-pack had a missile. The best thing was that his helmet did the work for him as it read his thoughts. Ron lowered his helmet antennae targeting the Sith through his HUD display and fired.
Ron watched the missile screech down the hall toward Cecily and the commando droids first. Cecily leaped onto the wall maintaining her run while Sokol-1 and the other droids used their magnetized feet to run along the other wall letting the missile pass unhindered. Ron was impressed. Cecily was so fluid and natural with her movements. She had to have been training long before him. She was so graceful, it was mesmerizing.
The assassin sneered upon the sight of the missile chasing her down. As it was about to collide, the Sith jumped up in the air arching her back over the missile. Before the missile could divert its angle to re-target, her saber cut it in half separating the booster from the warhead. She smiled down upon the falling warhead knowing that she had averted the danger, or so she thought.
Sokol-1 recognized her movements prior and quickly aimed his blaster in the direction of Ron's missile and fired. His shot hit the warhead dead on, detonating it right underneath the Sith. The explosion propelled her into the ceiling and then the floor.
She lifted her saber in defense just in time to block Ron and Cecily's lightsabers. "Give it up! You're surrounded!" Ron ordered her. She looked up finding Alex and the droid commandos had their blasters trained squarely on her. It did indeed look like an impossible situation, but little did Ron know, this assassin had been trained for the impossible.
"You're all more naive than I thought if you think you have me now," the Sith sneered. She looked above the ceiling and focused.
The creaking and twisted metal quickly alerted the others. They all looked overhead to find the ceiling starting to cave in. At the same moment, Katsumi used her hands to spring herself up, lashing out with her feet and kicking Ron's battle helmet off.
"Oh crap! The ceiling's giving-" Alex shouted. Ron and Cecily quickly used the Force to hold up the ceiling from incapacitating the rest of the team.
The Sith lord quickly disengaged from the grapple as the ceiling collapsed around the others. Scrambling to her feet she continued her escape down the hall. Ron strained with Cecily as he watched the assassin slip away. She managed to disengage from the fight and now it was time to get away as she made a right into another hall. She skidded to a halt. Ron couldn't figure out why.
"BLAST HER!"
Ron heard from come from down the hall. Red blaster fire streaked past the assassin as she was overwhelmed and made her escape the opposite way. Ron instantly knew as he tossed the debris behind him. The assassin had run into one of the squads of battle droids hunting down the last of the clones. They found her instead and opened up with a barrage of fire.
"Sokol-1! After her!" Ron waved his saber forward. The droid commandos charged forward merging with the group of battle droids. Ron reached down and picked up his battle helmet before following Cecily after the assassin.
II.
Aella and Svana's sabers clashed with the elderly Sith's. "You're skills with a saber are impressive!" the Sith mocked.
"You're skills are admirable as well. That doesn't change my decision to cut you down," Aella started swinging her saber at his abdomen and then back up trying to strike his shoulder.
The elderly Sith feinted the first strike and evaded the second. Svana made her strike at his knees which he somersaulted over. For an elderly man, he was surprisingly nimble.
He positioned himself in a defensive stance to where he could easily evade or feint a strike. "Really, it has been a long time since I've had the pleasure of facing such a fearsome duo. Allow me the honor of introducing myself. I am Bariss."
"I don't care to hear your name," Svana remarked snidely.
"Contrary to my comrade, I think it's a lovely name. After I defeat you, I'll make sure to carve it into the durasteel where you fall," Aella replied back trying to slash away at his abdomen.
"A fair death term. Perhaps I should match the terms if I should defeat you today," Bariss smiled down at Aella. "Besides, my apprentice should have dealt with your own students by now. She should be down any moment which will even the terms."
"You're implying it hasn't been a fair fight. What happened to all that bravado from before," Svana mocked Bariss.
"I never said it was unfair either. She will merely expedite your end," Bariss smirked closing his eyes, taking in a deep breath. "And here she comes!" he shouted Force pushing Aella toward one of the hanger doors.
"BLAST HER!"
Aella looked up to find the apprentice Bariss had just described fleeing from their battle droids. It seemed that Sokol-1 and two more of his commando droids were in close pursuit too. She could see her sickly orange eyes staring her down, her red saber dragging behind her. As soon as she spotted Aella, a devilish smile drew across her face.
The Sith leapt up into the air with her saber raised high over her shoulder. She was ready to give the final blow to Aella. Aella smirked reaching out her hand, shooting out Force lightning hitting the Sith apprentice, bashing her against a gunship.
Seeing his apprentice in trouble, Bariss frowned dropping his guard. Svana took her opportunity to strike at his torso. He evaded diverting her strike to the ground. Throwing her off balance, he used the Force to throw a dead clone trooper into her, knocking her to the ground. He sprinted toward Aella who was approaching his student.
Aella stood over the smoldering clothes of the Sith. Her eyes now weak, she looked surprised. "But… how?"
"How you ask?" Aella replied raising her blade over her shoulder. "I'm not a Jedi, not a Dark Jedi… I am a Gray Jedi. An Ostari" She brought down her blade upon the flinching Sith. Her saber was intercepted by Bariss's own.
"I can't let you do that," he gritted forcing her saber back away from his own apprentice.
"Really? That's not like the Sith," Aella grinned grinding her lightsaber against his.
"I am not part of the New Order of Sith. I do not believe in the rule of two, I am from the old order. I value my apprentice's life to an extent, they are hard to come by you know."
"Hard to come by? Could that be because you kill each other off?" Aella questioned him. Blaster fire ricocheted off the ground beside him. He and Aella looked back to find that Sokol Four and Five had entered from another entrance. Bariss Force pushed Aella away breaking the fight between them.
"Mock what you'd like. You have no comprehension of what is to come. The Sith are above the morals of this society. Only when you completely submerge yourself in our teachings would you ever understand," Bariss spat.
"I have no wish to understand your sick culture," Aella said unleashing another strike of Force lightning from her hands at Bariss. Bariss redirected the blast of electricity up into the hanger ceiling.
"Foolish child. I have extensive knowledge of the dark side," Bariss shook his head putting away his lightsaber. He helped his hurt apprentice to stand. Bariss used the force to rip off an explosive from a Gunship, flinging it at Aella.
Aella managed to stop the explosive in the air before it reached her, but it exploded throwing her back away from Bariss and his apprentice. The battle droids that chased after his apprentice reentered the hanger firing upon them. More squads also finished their rounds of sweeping the cruiser and began to converge on the fight.
"Blast them! Don't let them escape!" The command droid Unit L23 shouted out. Followed by them were Ron, Alex, and Cecily.
"How annoying. I don't enjoy shooting galleries. It looks as if you have failed to deal with their students my dear. We need to make our escape, we are far outnumbered," Bariss sighed dismally.
"I'm sorry Master. It would seem that I have," his apprentice replied.
"Seemed? No, you have. Now we must take our leave," Bariss said Forcing back the first squad of droids. He turned to Aella, "We will meet again," The floor opened up beneath them revealing a slick black shuttle that rose on a hidden platform. A ramp extended out and Bariss and his apprentice entered the craft.
"Blast that shuttle!" a battle droid shouted. They all directed their fire onto the shuttle. Their shots pinged off as the deflector shields came on. The hanger doors opened and the shuttle zoomed out.
Aella's attention was diverted away from the shuttle by an explosion toward the front of the hanger. "Disable all the charges on the gunships. We need to get out of here now!"
III.
Their shuttle zipped out of the Urnin's hangar into space. "I'm sorry Master for failing you. It won't happen again," Katsumi remarked trying to relax her body from being stimulated by Aella's Force lightning.
Bariss sighed watching his apprentice fly the shuttle away from the Republic cruiser. "Katsumi my dear. Our master will not be pleased with your failure."
"Master…" Katsumi replied weakly.
"Did you rig the reactor with explosives as I asked?" Bariss interrupted her. He didn't want to hear any more excuses from his apprentice. His apprentice may have failed but an early test had revealed that the executive orders the clones had ingrained in their brains were a success. Now he could take the results of the experiment carried out on the Urnin to his master. Once he had them, he could do with the results as he saw fit.
"Yes Master," Katsumi replied dismally. Bariss could see this battle put wear on her. She might have been outnumbered, but that didn't matter. She should have managed to either eliminate her threats or evade them sooner. She had cut off their escape awfully close. She was supposed to have been there when he was forced out of hiding. Maybe then he could have eliminated the other two Gray Jedi he faced.
Bariss watched as a Separatist dreadnought exited hyperspace in front of them. He sighed, "Detonate the explosives. It's time to return home."
Katsumi activated the bomb on the Republic cruiser and then put in the coordinates for the ship to jump into hyperspace. On the monitor she watched the Republic cruiser implode. After a brief pause, it exploded in a brilliant explosion. "Maybe the explosion will take out those Jedi as well," she grinned weakly.
"Don't be a fool. It will take more than that to kill them." Bariss could feel it. They all escaped just moments after they did. They were alive but that's not what mattered. "What matters is we destroyed any evidence of what took place on that ship, and now the disappearance of three Jedi will be blamed on the Separatists."
IV.
They were barely able to escape the exploding Republic cruiser, but they managed. Captain Shinone had arrived just in time with the Asura. Now Ron and the others stood around Beta's hologram in the Asura's communication room. "That is unfortunate that they escaped. However, it is more fortunate that you all survived," Beta turned to Ron and Cecily. "I commend you both on your bravery."
Ron couldn't wait any longer. Now it was his turn to question his mentor. Even though Cecily had managed to console him, the fact he killed still weighed on his mind. Eighteen by his own hands. He had killed eighteen clones with his own blaster, and he could never take that back. These weren't just normal clones that melted at a drop of fizz, they were coherent and real. Made of blood and guts like Ron himself.
"Master…" Ron rose his hand in question. Beta nodded to show his attention was gained, "Why? Why did we have to kill all those clones? What was the point in slaughtering everyone on that ship?" Ron looked around and he could see Alex and even Cecily looking at him in shock. Aella and Svana not so much. He understood this was a war. Mr. Barkin being a former marine, it was hard not to hear about the stories he went through. But to Ron, there still had to be other ways of resolving this conflict.
"Stand down Ron," Aella ordered. Ron looked over to his primary mentor. He could tell she didn't want to hear anymore and was aggravated by the question.
"Not this again." Ron glanced to see Alex rolling her eyes and turning away. "I already varping told you. We are at war! Do you expect just to stand out there and ask for peace and the whole galaxy will drop their arms!"
"No, I won't." Ron ignored Alex and glared toward Aella. "You guys taught me in training that the primary enemy is—" Ron fell to the floor, the wind taken out of him by Aella's knee colliding with his stomach. He felt his helmet lift off his head and before he could react, Aella's fist followed with a punch to the face.
Ron coughed trying to speak. "So this is how you… really treat your apprentice?" Ron gritted wiping the blood from his mouth.
"This is how I treat one that disobeys an order and does dishonor to me by speaking out of turn. Do you not understand we are on an open transmission." Aella stressed the last statement to Ron.
"Do not worry Aella. I assure you this transmission is secure. As for our student…" Beta motioned for Aella to continue her discipline.
"Although our titles are a formality, you will adhere to our traditions. We might be gray Jedi, and we might not have many traditions. But you will respect the ones we have." Aella explained to Ron. He hated how she could keep her composure. "If you wanted to know more, then you should have asked me before the mission."
"I wasn't ready to ask…"
"No, you adhered to your fear of asking me," Aella stared him down. Cecily, standing next to her master, Svana, was horrified by Ron's treatment. Never before had Svana, who was very similar to Aella, punished her in this way. Then again she had never spoken out of turn.
"Those soldiers are clones churned out of a factory on a planet named Kamino. The Republic who uses those clones is building more factories to churn out more. They are the same as the battle droids we produce only that they're alive but still programmed. They have no free will," Beta explained to Ron.
"Is that why..?"
"Is that why I choose to kill them? No. This is a war, Ron. I told you that. And those clones are somehow affiliated..." Beta paused as if to hide something from Ron. "You're just going to have to trust me, Ron."
Ron stood back up on his feet. "We don't like this war any more than you do Ron. However this war will pale in comparison to the tragedies you will probably face," Aella furthered Beta's answer. Ron couldn't tell if it was an omen or something she knew from experience but it rattled him inside.
"Hey, kid!" Ron felt Alex put a gentle hand on his shoulder, something that surprised him coming from a rough person like herself. "Trust me, they know what they're talking about. If they weren't, I wouldn't take their credits, more or less work for them."
Ron sighed. He remembered that Beta had helped him recover. Both he and Aella had trained him ruthlessly the past ten weeks. That training saved him against the Sith warrior on the Republic cruiser. Beta couldn't be the enemy. He must know something about the clones that he just didn't. Maybe it's me he doesn't trust yet.
Ron veered the conversation in another direction. "The Sith assassin I faced mentioned that I fight for a cause… for the Confederacy, that has slaughtered billions. Not clones. Just normal people. So explain that, how are we the good guys here?" Ron wiped the spit from the corner of his mouth. The knee to his gut had done a number on him.
"To believe that one side is absolute is to have the mind of a fool. The Confederacy and Republic have committed a number of atrocities. Many of which my name are involved in," Beta replied.
"So then everything you've said about the Jedi and Sith are irrelevant. It's hopeless!" Ron said back.
Beta hesitated to answer. "I cannot tell you my reasons for my choices… yet. What I can tell you is that the answer you seek is far more complicated than I can ever hope to explain. You will need to find it on your own."
"On my own! You're in charge of this operation! Explain yourself!" Ron shouted angered by Beta beating around the bush.
Beta nodded, "After this operation. I'll answer your questions."
"I hope," Ron answered hesitantly. He still had questions that bogged down any devout loyalty to Beta's cause. He wasn't used to war. He was used to saving people, not killing them. Ron was conflicted. The emotions welling up inside conflicted with each other. For now, he had to trust Beta that he would answer his questions.
"Were Dementor's battle droids a success?" Beta asked Aella and Svana.
"They performed their job proficiently. They suffered a few casualties, but the rest that survived made it back are recharging," Svana answered.
"The commando droids you put under Ron saved our ass back there. They were worth it to bring," Alex input. "You wouldn't happen to have any more of those lying around for sale would you?"
"Unless you want to pay me five million credits?" Beta proposed. "Right now, those are the only ones I can afford you. I will order Dementor to begin full serial production immediately. For your next mission, you'll mostly have to rely on the basic Trade Federation models."
"That's such great news," Alex said sarcastically lighting herself a cigarette.
"Well, at least we have somewhat of a decent fleet. We should be able to break through a moderate defense force," Svana commented. "By the way, what is our target?"
"Your target is the planet Garqi. I need you to eliminate the Republic garrison on the planet. I'll already be drawing much of the Republic forces from other sectors in the Galaxy away from Grievous. The last thing I need is to have reinforcements from nearby systems joining the fray," Beta explained.
"But there is more than just one garrison of Republic forces in the New Territories. Who are you going to have attack those?" Svana replied.
"I have designated the targets to each commander. No one other than I and Admiral Norith has a full scope of the entire operation."
"Understood," Svana nodded her head.
"So are we gonna be grouped together again?" Alex asked referring to Ron and the others.
"Why do you ask?" Beta replied curiously about Alex's question.
"Well, that's a lot of bad-asses to take down a measly Republic world with a few extra clone troopers. I'm just saying," Alex said gnawing on the butt of her cigarette.
"You'll find out when you get there," Beta replied.
"That's not like you Beta, not to give us all the intelligence you have," Alex said with a sly smile. "Is this mission going to be a fun one?"
Beta's image flickered away. Ron frowned rubbing his jaw where Aella had hit him. The Jedi were honorable and were friends but on the opposite side of the war. This war was just too confusing for him. Clones, Jedi, Sith, all the enemy? Next, Aella and Svana could be the enemy. Ron didn't know, but he hoped he would find out sooner before it was too late.
V.
"So…" Aella's purple blade of plasma burst forth from its prison beside her. "It's time to test what you've learned and teach you a lesson in respect." Across her stood a Ron, wearing his suit of Mandalorian armor. The only piece missing was his battle helmet, so Aella could stare into his soft brown eyes.
They were standing in the massive hangar of the Asura that cut through her aft section. Aella, Ron's primary teacher stood firm in her stance, her lightsaber paralleling her side. Ron stood nervously across from her, slowly bringing his blue blade up in front of him. His hands wrangled the hilt in his hands, squeezing it tightly.
His eyes darted from left to right. Svana, Cecily, and Alex stood to the side watching them. Even the patrolling battle droids and vulture droids and taken interest and walked toward the scene. Sokol One and his team joined them.
"I don't even have to cross blades with you to tell that you're gripping your saber too tightly. The stiffness in your arms and wrists tells me that already," Aella slowly stalked towards Ron. "If you take notice of my body versus yours, I'm more relaxed. You on the other hand are too stiff which will inhibit your ability to react to an enemy."
Ron watched as Aella began to twirl the blade's hilt in her hand. It seemed to come so naturally to his mentor. Ron could tell her body was completely relaxed, almost loose. She was twirling the hilt like it was bola in her hands. It was mesmerizing, almost elegant as the purple blade turned into a purple buzz-saw. Ron began to sweat as she approached him. He took a step back and that's when his teacher made her move.
With Ron's step back, Aella lurched forward twirling her entire body. Ron could barely keep up with the sword as he watched it come towards his head. He pedaled backward as her saber just missed his shoulder. He blocked the next slash that moved down toward his chest.
"What have I told you. Don't let your opponent control your path. Look at you. Now you're off balance and we're barely into this duel. I've only made two strikes against you and the first was a feint." Ron knew his teacher was right. He had given into the fear of the first strike and lost his footing. His whole body was off balance and because of it he needed his whole body just to defend one strike from the strength of Aella's one arm.
Aella broke from her attack and swept out at Ron's legs. He barely managed to block but this time Aella didn't relent as she kept pushing him back. She quickly moved with a swipe to his left side and then again to his right. He was having trouble keeping up and was falling behind. Each of his blocks and parries was falling behind her attacks.
"I told you, Ron. Your body is too stiff. You're reacting too slowly. At this rate, if your enemy was real you would have been cut down," Aella scolded Ron. He reacted to her next swing at his abdomen, but instead, he found it to be a feint as she pulled back and leapt up, somersaulting over his head. He barely blocked the strike from above as she landed behind him. He pivoted on the ball of his feet acting quickly.
If I can just counter her fancy acrobatics, maybe I can throw her off. Ron thought as he made a swipe for her back but to no avail. She had arced her sword over her shoulder, her back still turned to him blocking his strike.
"Most if not all of your enemies will anticipate such obvious opportunities. Just because your enemy has their back turned to you doesn't mean they aren't aware of where you are. In fact, you could say that they lured you into the strike making you more vulnerable…" Ron began to grasp what she was talking about. Ron had thought that her landing with her back to him, that he had gained the upper hand.
He was wrong, dead wrong and that wasn't an exaggeration. By taking the easy opportunity, Ron had fallen for her trick as his saber locked with hers. It was hard to follow her movements, but everything seemed to happen in a flash. His teacher quickly broke from the grapple dropping to the floor. Ron lost his balance from the sudden release of resistance but quickly regained his stance. It wasn't enough. His small loss of balance had cost him any momentum, and the fight.
She had crouched to the floor and using her hands to support her body, with her lightsaber still active beneath her searing the floor. Her lower body moved in a sweeping kick, connecting with Ron's forward leg where all his weight had shifted. Ron lost his balance again and before he could react, the battle droids in the background were replaced by the ceilings of Asura's vast hangar.
Aella's purple saber slowly descended to the nape of Ron's neck. He could hear the plasma vibrate as its hot energy singed the air around it. Ron grimaced at the thought of what had just happened as Aella positioned herself over him, her foot already pinning the wrist of the hand that held his own saber. If this had been an actual opponent. If this had been the assassin that he had encountered earlier. He had no doubt his head would have been severed from his body.
"So now you see the error in your ways. No one forced you on this path. Not myself, not Beta, no one! You chose this path!" Aella grimaced at her apprentice who lay pathetically on the ground before her.
Ron looked away from his Master. He couldn't return her stare, there was nothing to say. She was right, the fight was over before it even began because he didn't have the will to fight. Now here he was beneath his teacher, unable to overcome his own inadequacies. Not because of the lack of training but because he had lost his focus with the introduction of the war.
"Don't tell me that you didn't want this either. You told Beta yourself that you sought to improve," Aella continued.
"I know…" Ron muttered. He didn't know what to say. He wanted to better himself as a person. He wanted to better himself physically. His soul needed to be strengthened. He wanted the better version of himself that he had never stepped up to be. Landing in this despotic galaxy had given him that chance to do so. Yet, he found himself not wanting to use those strengths now when it came to war.
During his time with Kim, they had never done so. They had always managed to save the world without having to push to the extreme. They never had to kill the bad guys, even if they were out to kill them. They had always managed to send the bad guy away, locked up in a cell somewhere in the middle of nowhere. If they got out, they'd go through the whole process over again.
But this was different, this was a war. Ron had not been wholly prepared for such a venture. When he was a child, even a preteen he had seen war movies and documentaries. His family was Jewish, so watching films of the Nazis being destroyed and his people liberated hit a nerve within him. But the movies seemed so distant, and the enemy had been portrayed as purely evil. This war wasn't so, and the motives and reasons seemed so obscure to Ron.
Who were the Sith? Who were the Jedi? Why did Beta explain the Jedi as purveyors of justice? Yet he had also judged them as fallen. Why would they be fighting the good guys? Why not help them? Why were they on the opposing side of the war? Didn't that make them the villain? The Sith? Wouldn't that make the clones, who were clones of a human named Jango Fett be the valiant warriors, and the battle droids the harbingers of death and destruction?
Ron turned back at the sound of his master's lightsaber powering down. Disappointment seemed to replace the frustration strewn across her face, her ponytail falling over her shoulder. Her arms fell to her sides as she sighed in exasperation. Tears started to form at the corners of her eyes.
"I can see that you're greatly confused. I can't force you to believe in a war that you had no place in two months ago. I'm not asking you to believe in it. However, if you can't trust me, then you'll never be able to trust in us to teach you how to fight." Ron looked back at Aella.
"If you can't believe what we're telling you. If you doubt what we say, then you'll doubt what we teach. I have no reason to lie to you about this war. We are not Jedi, we are Ostari. We don't take the side of the light, we don't take the side of the darkness… We're different," Ron felt as if he was back at the synagogue listening to his Rabbi preach.
"When I tell you the clones are the enemy, I'm not saying to hate them or despise them. It's just the facts of war. They are slaves to a system of corruption and decay. The Jedi are so blinded by their service to the Republic that they can't differentiate the problems in the galaxy any longer. They see the Confederacy as just Separatists controlled by the Sith. That isn't the full truth."
"But there is some truth?" Ron asked still laying on the floor.
Aella looked away. "Supposedly… the Sith have manipulated both sides of the war. To what extent, only Beta has a sufficient answer to give you. Whether you deserve those answers is another matter," she replied.
Ron turned away again. The battle droids had lost interest in the fight, walking off to resume whatever duties they had been assigned. Only his personal commando droids still watched as he lay on the floor defeated. This is embarrassing. Dementor gifts me special BX commando droids that are badical and they're watching me lie on my back. I bet Dementor is watching and laughing right now too.
Ron pushed himself up off the floor. Standing up, he waited for his teacher to turn back around. She didn't as she kept her back to him, slowly sheathing her lightsaber. "Master. What do you want me to do?"
Aella or rather Master Xzelas seemed spaced out. "Go to your quarters and get some rest. We'll be facing the war soon again and you should be well-rested for it. You still have to go over your battle plans later."
"Yes, master," Ron walked back awkwardly watching as his master's shoulder sagged and she looked up to the ceilings. What's going on with her? He thought to himself, trying to figure out just what mess he had landed in. I need to figure this out sooner than later.
VI.
Ron sat in his quarters, peering out the port-side windows while the Asura continued its journey through hyperspace toward the Garqi System. Six hours and they would arrive in orbit above another planet Ron had never seen before. Another planet they were being sent to liberate, according to Cecily's master. Liberate or conquer? Who's right?
He let out a sigh of relief standing up and stretching, yawning. He looked over at the Mandalorian battle helmet that he had earned the right to in the fight on Mandalore. The armor was supposed to belong to the man he fought and now it was his by right. He turned away disappointed in himself, cringing at the memories of clones that fell by his blaster rifle. He turned away throwing himself onto the bed.
He put his forearm over his eyes taking in a deep breath. The air inside the Asura felt oddly artificial. Ron wasn't used to air that constantly ran through oxygen and carbon scrubbers. He groaned at the sound of footsteps approaching. I thought I told those B-1's I didn't want to be bothered. The footsteps were too light to be that of B-2 supers or his commandos.
"Go away. I don't need you to stand by the door to guard me constantly!" Ron yelled. Not that I think you could protect me, Ron thought. The B-1's he had passed weren't the ones Dementor had built. Just regular dumb battle droids.
"I didn't come to guard you. But if you really want me to leave, I'll see myself back out…"
Ron's eyes shot open at the feminine voice. "Cecily!" Ron sprang up from his bed. The young red-headed teen stood propped up against the door frame of his room. Ron chuckled nervously, "I'm sorry about that. I thought you were a dumb battle droid," Ron looked down at the floor embarrassed.
Ron looked back up at the sound of Cecily giggling in her hand. When she noticed he was staring at her, she cleared her throat, "I'm sorry, I just can't get enough of you."
Ron rolled his eyes groaning. Right now he wished that he had the armor and helmet on. "If you're just going to make fun of me, could you do it when I'm not trying to relax and get my mind off things," Ron groaned crossing his arms.
"What do you mean, make fun of you?" Ron looked back to Cecily who was smiling back at him. "I'm not making fun of you, I just think you're funny."
"That's what I mean. If you're gonna be like Alex, then could you leave me alone—"
"Has anyone ever told you you're denser than a black-hole?" Cecily smirked, quirking her brow playfully.
Kim, maybe Shego. Yup, that word definitely rings a bell. "Nope, never been called dense in my life," Ron snubbed the notion.
Cecily crossed her arms smirking, "Mm-hmm, sure. Aella hasn't taught you how to hide your feelings and thoughts, has she?"
"What does that matter?" Ron asked.
"Oh, nothing. You're just easy to read," Cecily pushed herself off the door frame and slowly sauntered over to Ron.
"Easy to read?" Ron quirked his own brow.
"Yea," Cecily plopped herself down on the bedside right beside him. "Like you're definitely not fooling me. You're totally fibbing right now."
"I'm not fibbing!" Ron exclaimed.
"You sure you don't want to change your answer," Cecily smiled slyly at Ron.
Ron began to sweat as the girl he met less than a day ago inched closer. "I'm p-positive," Ron stuttered, his hands almost touching hers as she scooted closer.
Her sly smile curved up alluringly, her eyelids lowering in sequence trying to pull Ron toward her. "You know, there is another way," Cecily said her face inching closer to Ron's. Her hand slid closer to his.
Ron couldn't focus, his eyes darting back and forth between her face and her hand as both inched closer. "Oh really! Um, how you gonna do that?" Ron fidgeted. This is bad! She's so badical— gorgeous But what about Kim...
As Ron's mind debated on ethics, loyalty, and morality to his best friend he loved, his eyes wandered again. Her smooth, darker-red, shoulder-length hair against her creamy skin. His eyes wandered farther south toward her curvaceous body. Cecily had removed her upper armor, revealing her tan leather corset and black undershirt that pressed against her body. Ron, bad! You can't think like this!
Cecily leaned in closer, "I think you know…" her face closed the gap between them, her pinky slipping over Ron's.
Ron shot up from the bed at the touch of Cecily's hand. Way too close! I can't think like this! What is she trying to do? Ron's face flushed a bright red, his lip trembling from the closeness he had been to his stunning peer. Stunning. Is that what she is? She's… stunning.
"You're too funny," Cecily giggled into her fist at Ron's antics.
Ron stared down noticing she was staring directly into his eyes. Her soft brown eyes shimmering as she gave him a light-hearted smile. Ron stretched the collar of his shirt beginning to feel hot, "You know, I was gonna take a nap but I don't feel so tired anymore and I am supposed to prepare for this upcoming… you know, battle. So I think I'm gonna go do that?" Ron gulped nervously walking to the door.
"Great! I would love to help you out!" Cecily sprang up to follow Ron out the door.
"No, no, no," Ron waved his hands in protest trying to keep his eyes forward, walking out into the hall and into the foyer of the command spire.
"Oh, why not?" Cecily followed Ron out into the room that joined his quarters, the elevators, and the observation deck.
Ron pulled at his hair. Why does she have to look so drop-dead gorgeous? Why couldn't my partner be a guy! Why am I even thinking like this! "Listen, I just have to do this on my own," Ron protested stepping through the doors to the general's quarters.
"Nothing wrong about accepting help, Ron," Cecily countered as she followed him down the stairs to the briefing table.
Ron stopped just before it crossing his arms and shaking his head. "No, I have to do this myself. If I accept help, how am I suppose to progress?" Ron felt a breath of air against his face. He opened his eyes finding Cecily staring at him just inches away. Ron freaked out jumping back, "Whoa! Personal space!" Why is she so damn gorgeous! Why do I feel this way?
Cecily smirked, quirking her brow at Ron's antics. "I think you answered you're own question there."
"How do you figure?" Ron leaned against one of the two entrenched on the floor at the briefing table.
Cecily giggled, "Well, I'm no teacher. But I'm a student just like you. Master Naltos teaches me new things all the time. If it wasn't for her, I don't think I would have stood a chance in that fight against that assassin."
"Master Naltos? And how far do you have to go until you reach her level?" Ron asked. He had yet to see Cecily's teacher in action. He imagined her to be similar to his own master.
"Reach her level?" Cecily crossed her arms. "I don't know if reaching her level is my goal. I just want to become stronger."
She wants to become stronger? Cecily piqued Ron's interest with her answer. Could she really understand his plight though? He wasn't strong enough… wasn't good enough to win the heart of someone he had known for thirteen years. "Why do you want to become stronger?"
Cecily frowned, turning away and walking to the other side of the table. Her eyes became sullen, "I want to become stronger for the family I couldn't protect. For the small town I grew up in."
Ron cringed. Maybe I should be questioning myself and my goals? "Have you reached that yet? Are you close to your goal?"
"Ha! No! I'm not even close. I probably have years until I get that strong," Cecily scoffed, looking back at Ron with a grin.
Ron stared at her. How can she be so positive? Ron stared at her perplexed. Here was a girl his age, with similarities to Kim. She had skill, not on Kim's level but enough that Ron thought she warranted praise. Yet she saw herself so far off like himself and still kept a positive image of herself.
"At least you'll get there," Ron said hanging his head dejectedly.
Cecily cocked her head curiously at Ron. "Why do you say that?" she asked. Before Ron could answer, she continued, "You know, I watched you the entire time you went through your training."
A stupefied expression drew itself on Ron's face. She watched me… when I was training? "What do you mean you watched me?"
Cecily looked away, her face flushed red. "Well… not at first. But when Master Naltos and I arrived on Ord Canfre, we heard about you from General Beta. So I… uh… kinda snuck off and watched you train from time to time."
Ron blinked speechless unsure of what to say. This girl, the student of Master Naltos, watched him while he trained in those weeks of hell. "I—"
"You may not think it, but you are really strong. So don't talk down about yourself," Cecily held her arm looking down at the floor. It reminded Ron of when Kim was nervous, how she would talk. "I remember when you were training… at first, I thought you were going to fail every time Master Xzelas assigned you a task. Somehow, you always proved me wrong. You never gave up.
I remember the first time I saw you deflect shots from OM-1. I thought for sure you'd fail, but through and through, eventually, you deflected most of the shots he threw at you. I was impressed. It took me months before I could deflect anything from OM-1, and I never thought dodging was a plausible strategy either," Cecily gave a light-hearted laugh.
Ron stood there unsure of what to say next, his mouth partially agape. Cecily was doing what almost no other girl ever did… compliment him. Sure he received compliments from Tara and Monique or support from Kim. But this girl… this girl admired him in a way he never felt before. Ron felt more than appreciated, he felt… respected.
"What I'm saying, Ron. Don't put yourself down because of what happened earlier. The way I see it, you may fall a thousand times but you always get up. And that's something I wish I had."
Ron wanted to take her compliments to heart, but he just couldn't. Cecily was a student so what did her praise matter to him? "Has your master ever hit you the way mine hit me today?" Ron asked.
"No," Cecily admitted sadly. "But, never have I had the courage to stand up to my master like that, nevertheless Master Beta. In all the times I've disagreed with Master Naltos, I've kept my opinions to myself. I was never brave enough like you were. You asked questions that I had to find the answer to myself."
"Have you found those answers? Or did Master Naltos help you?" Ron asked.
Cecily hugged herself tightly as if Ron's questions brought back unwanted memories. "No, I figured everything out on my own. Master Naltos taught me how to channel the Force, how to feel its will. She never gave me guidance on my feelings. That's one area where she wouldn't interfere in my training."
An uneasy silence fell between the two, not something that Ron wanted. What was he supposed to say? Every quip, every rebuttal, every time Ron thought he had her, she always was able to answer with a quick response. She found a way to give him a dose of… of… Cecily-shine?
Giving out Ron-shine was Ron's job and responsibility. He gave people, especially Kim, tons of Ron-shine. It's how he projected his confidence and cheer upon a world in desperate need of it. Yet here, he hadn't been in the mood to necessarily project that. The prospect of training wore him down and shielded his heart from humor. The prospect of war filling him with anxiety, eroding his soul.
Looking up, Ron was surprised to find Cecily not across from him, but right in front of him. Their faces nearly touching as Cecily inched her lips closer to Ron's. Before, Ron tried to escape her advances. He didn't understand her reason other than being coy or contemptuous. Now after everything that had been said, he could see it now.
Cecily liked Ron more than just a friend. She eyed him since the first time he stepped out onto the training field. Cecily admitted to him that he inspired her. Complimenting him on his courage and bravery. Not in battle. Not for facing a threat or the Sith assassin, but for questioning his master.
But as she grew closer to Ron, his mind began to race. Is this okay? I don't know how to feel about this? I still like Kim! But… she looks so much like her. If Kim's happy elsewhere, why can't I be? Ron's feelings and thoughts clashed with each other. Logic fighting emotions. Mixed feelings and reasonings that went in circles.
Her hands now on his chest now, her body beginning to press against his. Without the Mandalorian armor, he felt almost naked. She was shorter than him by a couple of inches which made the situation dire for Ron as her almond eyes stared into his. Her fair cheeks flushed red hiding her freckles, lips parting as they closed toward him. He wasn't prepared for this moment. His battle helmet wasn't donned to protect him.
"It's okay…" she whispered. She sensed his anxiety welling up within him. Her lips lightly brushed against his sending a shock through his heart and soul as if a weight had been lifted.
"Ahem!"
Both Cecily and Ron quickly backed away from each other. They turned to find Aella standing atop the stairs near the turbolift shafts.
"Master Xzelas!" Cecily shouted scratching the back of her head nervously, "Wasn't expecting you to stop by up here."
What are you nervous about!? I'm the one who's going to be in trouble! Ron thought incredulously as Cecily slowly shuffled her way to the stairs, doing a horrible job of being inconspicuous.
Aella crossed her arms grinning like a parent who had just caught their son bringing a girl into their room unannounced. "Cecily, do you mind if I speak to Ron? Alone?"
Cecily looked at Ron nervously as if she didn't want to leave him alone with a master who had just committed an abuse against her student. Before she could speak up, however, Aella beat her to it.
"Cecily!" Aella insisted, nodding her head up the stairs and to the turboshaft. Cecily giggled nervously and jogged her way up the stairs and out of the general's quarters.
Ron sighed as Cecily disappeared with a small wave as the doors to the room closed. Here it is. I'm in trouble and I'm not even the one who started it all. What do I tell her, that Cecily came on to me!
"So… deciding to get touchy-feely in the general quarters with Master Naltos's student? What? Your room wasn't enough?" Aella asked smirking, stepping down the other set of stairs toward Ron.
Ron hung his head. "No." It was the only answer Ron wanted to give to what he believed was his cold-hearted master. "Whatever the punishment is, just get it over with. If you're gonna hit me, then hit me. I get I'm in trouble."
Aella winced at his words, tightening her arms around her as she approached him. "I'm sorry about earlier. I just—"
"I don't want to hear it!" Ron almost shouted. He watched her eyes grow wide like a deer caught in the headlights before they went downcast to the floor, filled with guilt and remorse. Her blue-black hair falling over her shoulders, the ponytail barely to contain its volume. It didn't move Ron. Hitting him over something he felt was important crossed a red line. Sensei never had done that in his time at Yamanuchi.
She rubbed her arms before looking back up at Ron. "Listen, Ron. I'm sorry about what I did earlier. I need you to underst—"
"Understand what! That Beta and you condone hitting your own student. What the heck is with that!? First I find out that the enemy is human clones and—"
"They're clones, Ron! They're clones!" Aella shot back more like a friend trying to reason with him than a mentor.
Ron remembered that he did help Kim nix Drakken's clones. But to Ron, it was different. Those clones melted from just throwing soda all over them. These clones died like people, they bled. But it wasn't just the clones. "There aren't just clones on those ships! Are there?"
"Damn it, Ron! You think we— you think I don't know that!" Aella shook her head in her hands frustrated. This was a side of her Ron hadn't seen before. "Beta told you that this wasn't going to be easy, didn't he? It's a war, what do you think war entailed, Ron? Do you think that you solve everything by punching and kicking down their leaders and we'd call it a day?"
Ron thought for a moment. What his master had said sounded exactly like what he and Kim did on a daily basis. "That's exactly what I thought," Ron crossed his arms. Aella stared at him in disbelief. Ron sighed, "Okay, no but I wasn't prepared for it either. I'll admit that I wasn't remotely ready for what happened back there. Not in the slightest."
Ron watched as Aella's face turned to one of dread and regret again. "I knew you weren't either," she replied just above a whisper. "Believe me, Ron, I never wanted for you to be a part of that mess. If I had a choice, I would have trained you longer. Prepared you for the burden you feel now."
"So why didn't you?" Ron asked curiously for her answer. If she truly didn't want him to be a part of the last mission, then why did he still participate.
"It was Beta's call. If Master Naltos and I had our way, neither of you would have participated. You would have stayed on Ord Canfre, training. Beta was the one who insisted that both of you be baptized in this civil war," Aella provided her answer dismally.
Her answer only made Ron question more. "If you're my teacher, then why does Beta have a say in it at all?"
"He's the headmaster of our order," Aella answered as if it should be obvious to Ron.
To Ron, it was obvious. What still upset him though were her actions earlier. Why hit him for speaking up. "Then what was that earlier? Why hit me?"
Ron could tell the question made her uneasy as once again, she grabbed her arm in that guilty, comforting way. "You truly believe I ever wanted to hit you out of spite. I hit you for your own good. You truly don't understand the fine line we play do you?" Ron didn't answer. Aella shook her head and took a step toward him. "Let me tell you my story…"
Seven years ago, six before this war even broke out, I was your normal girl working on a small, quiet farm on the planet of Ciutric. I was twenty at the time, living with my parents and younger brother. To me, the galaxy at large was a myth. Who needed it? I didn't. I was happy with my quaint life on the farm. Even the city far down the river and through the forests didn't interest me. The small town near us was enough.
We lived a basic life completely removed from the rest of our world. I was happy. I didn't need anything else. My brother and I would take our old swoop bikes sometimes and ride through the trails in the forest for fun whenever we finished with our chores early enough. Sometimes, we'd go at night and look at the stars together, wondering if all the rumors about the rest of the galaxy were true.
My brother was twelve at the time, he looked just like you, just younger. Believe it or not, we all had blond hair at the time. He had a soft face and freckles just like you. He was a spitfire too. Always challenging dad and mom. He had the same messy blond hair you did. He was so kind. One year, we had a bad harvest and we had to ration our food. He would always share some of his plate with me. Even at a young age, he took care of me. He was my light on the hill.
That was until he came. My brother and I had traveled into the forest looking for wild berries that only appeared at a certain time of the year. We traveled on our swoops in the early afternoon when we saw the strange ships fly in over the sky. We saw small ships fly overcoming in from space all the time, but never this. You know them as droid landing ships. Back then, my brother and I didn't know what they were.
Droid ships filled the sky. Most flew past with vulture droids toward the capital. Little did we know that they were welcome guests. The government of Ciutric had secretly seceded from the Republic, they just didn't know it yet and neither did we.
Most on the planet thought that the Trade Federation and Baktoid had shown up to set up factories, which they did. What we didn't know, was that our small town, our farm… was the breaking ground for those factories. Factories meant to churn out millions and millions of battle droids every day. One of the landing craft and a few vulture droids strayed from the main formation, toward our town.
We raced home, even though I had a gut-wrenching feeling we were flying to greet something we weren't prepared for. Thick black smoke began to rise from our homestead in the distance. The sight frightened us so we pushed our swoopers faster than they had ever gone. I still remember the air stinging as it rushed by.
When we got home, we found our house burning, flames twice the height of our house rising to meet the billowing smoke. Outside laying in the mud, I saw two figures lying face down. I knew what it was... rather who they were. At twenty years old, I still had yet to experience the horrors of death. Now death had come to greet us.
We didn't turn over the bodies. We knew they were our parents. Blaster marks peppered their body, their skin chard, and smoldering. The smell was sickening. They were killed in a hail of fire. The image to this day is etched in my brain. But as horrific as the scene was, the anger it stirred in my sibling gave us no time to grieve.
My brother was enraged. I remember his face, darkened with malice, his teeth gritted as he sprinted off toward the town. I ran after him, screaming for him to come back. He didn't listen. I tried in vain to catch up to him but he was faster. It didn't matter as soon enough, we were in the town. And that man stood in the town center, surrounded by corpses.
Too late. We couldn't even warn our neighbors as the battle droids had slaughtered them all. It only enraged my brother further as the battle droids marched out of the town, the older man and what at the moment I assumed was his armored aide, followed close behind.
I remember it all so vividly. My brother saw the blaster of a fallen battle droid and lunged for it. I yelled for him to stop and that's what gave him away. The elder man and his aide turned around. My brother brought up the blaster and fired wildly from his hips, screaming blasphemies in anger at the two men.
The elder man in his brown armorweave cape and vjun tunic stepped forward through the laser fire, lifting his hand out. Back then, the Force was as alien as the galaxy itself. Without moving any other part of his body, the blaster flew out of my brother's hands and into his. He handed it to his aide and proceeded to step toward my brother.
The man's stature and cold eyes made me stop in my tracks, for the time fear overtook me. As he calmly walked toward my seething brother I listened to their words from a few feet behind him.
"Young man. I don't know what you're upset about. But I'm sure your parents raised you with enough decency to never shoot at guests. Especially dignitaries."
The old man's words only stirred my brother's emotions further. "You monster! Your droids killed my parents! Who teaches their own to kill others' parents!" My brother was furious. I slowly crept my way to the side of the square so I could see my brother's face. Tears were streaming down his freckled cheeks as he shook his fist at the man.
The man continued toward him. "Ah. So your the children of those down south of this small village," the man stopped not ten feet from my brother, as if to give him space, a chance. "Let me teach you some valuable advice that your parents sorely lacked. When a golden opportunity of a lift time presents itself to you, take it. Especially if the cost is your life."
An uneasy silence descended between the two, myself and the elder man's aide watched on waiting for what would happen next. My brother seemed shocked by the older man's answer. I stood there, aghast at the words the gray-haired man spoke. I had never met someone so cold in my life.
"Choose your path carefully young man. Today you've earned my sympathy. Take heed and go into the city. In a month's time, come back and ask for a position in the factories that will be erected here. Tell them that Count Dooku spared your life and sent you. They will know what to do. This is your golden opportunity. Take it."
With that, the old man pivoted on his heel and turned back toward his aide. His answer had the opposite intended effect on my brother as his face contorted. I stood in fear, watching my brother push off with his feet sprinting toward the man.
"Screwww You!"
It happened so fast. The red lightsaber blade produced faster than a flash of light as it arced across my brother's chest. I remember running to him as he fell to the ground lifeless. I skidded across the ground, falling to my knees, and held his tear-stained face to my chest. His breathing already stopped. I felt his same rage as I looked up at the elder man, his weapon already put away.
He stared at me as if I was nothing. "Pity. Apparently, you were just like your parents. Unintelligent inbreds." The anger boiled inside me as he talked down to my deceased sibling. He turned to his armored aide. "Do what you wish with the girl. Just don't take too long."
The armored aide, whose face was hidden under a cowl nodded and stepped in front of me, the old man walking away following the path of the battle droids. I didn't care anymore as my fear was replaced by anger and hate. I felt something strange that I had never felt before as some small rocks around me began to shake. I wanted to kill him.
It wouldn't come to pass, however. Electricity shot through my body as the aide shocked me until I forgot it all. How could I fight such power? When he stopped, he squatted down beside me. "I'm going to give you two choices. One. I'll step out of the way and you can join the same fate as your brother. Two, you can stand down, bury your dead and meet me at the southern gate to the city at nightfall. Have patience, and revenge will come in time."
"…at the time, I didn't know that the aide was General Beta. Back then, he didn't wear the Mandalorian battle helmet, just a cowl. But he saved me. At first, I was like you. Disgusted to be fighting on the same side as the battle droids that had slaughtered my parents. But Beta showed me otherwise, a higher path and to remain focused on who was really at fault," Aella finished her story.
Ron stood silent, staring at his master unsure of what to do or think. He was even more surprised when she stepped up closer to him and wrapped him in her embrace. One that a sister would give to a long-lost brother.
"You see Ron, you're more like my second chance at a little brother. You're my family. I didn't hit you out of malice or anger. It was out of fear. "
"Fear?" Ron stated puzzled. You looked angry enough when you hit me.
Aella nodded her head as she pushed Ron away and took a step back. "Fear. Fear that'll you make the same mistake as my brother. I never wanted you here in this war. Not yet. The man General Beta serves is Count Dooku. The same man that took my brother from me, is looking for you."
Count Dooku. Ron hadn't met him. He had met Grievous, not Dooku. "Dooku is looking for me? Why?"
Aella shook her head. "We don't know why? At least, Beta hasn't revealed the reason if he does know. But we can't—" Aella paused before looking back up at Ron, "— I don't want to lose you to that monster."
"Hold up!" Ron waved his hands at her, "Who is Count Dooku again?"
Aella looked at Ron with wide eyes. "He's the leader of the Confederacy. Didn't Beta tell you?"
"He might have. He might not have," Ron shrugged his shoulders. "I don't remember, okay! What's important is now I know he's a guy I have to watch out for. A monster I should say… so all that really happened?"
Aella nodded, a grim expression etched on her face. "Every word of that story. Which is why it so important to keep your identity secret and for you not to stir things up. But just in case, I came up with an idea that will throw the Count off."
"And what's that?" Ron quirked his brow suspiciously.
His master took in a breath, "You'll take my fallen brother's name and we'll put your name in the registry of prisoners of the Confederacy."
"Wouldn't that… wouldn't Count Dooku just figure it out. He is the one who killed… you know. You sure he'll be fooled?" Ron asked.
"He doesn't remember either of us. I don't think you understand how many people that man has killed. It's by the Force he doesn't remember," Aella sighed.
Ron dwelt on the idea. If he didn't take the name, then the Count would find him eventually, and that carried risks. With Aella's story of her past, it wasn't hard for Ron to conclude the Count was a Sith Lord. That conclusion carried more questions than answers.
Ron shook his head. "So let me get this straight, you and Beta work for the man who killed your family all those years ago?" Aella nodded. "But why!? Why would you do that? And don't you hate the battle droids?"
"Over the years, Beta taught me restraint and patience. Working with the droids was hard, especially since they were the very tools that shot down my parents. But Beta taught me not to lash out with all my anger and hate at everything. He taught me control. The droids were merely pawns and could not be blamed for the evil of one man. It was the man who made those decisions and pulled the strings. When I learned to forgive the droids, which was hard… I learned to forgive others who weren't wholly to blame."
His master's answer soothed Ron's soul. For almost three months, Ron saw his master as cold, cruel, and ruthless. Her face was usually stoic and her glare unrelenting. She was harsh in her training, completely cutthroat. This side of her completely took Ron off guard. Now he was starting to see the distinction between Ostari and Sith.
His encounter with the Sith assassin aboard the Urnin had shown Ron what the Sith were like and what they were capable of. Now he just had to understand why Beta had chosen the Confederacy. Beta never answered his questions on the evil's committed. However, both Cecily and Aella had confirmed that atrocities had been committed.
In Ron's mind, he needed to find out who was at the root of it all. If he didn't find that answer or at least a reasonable answer as to why Beta chose this side in the war, then he wouldn't be able to fully commit himself to the cause, and that would only cause trouble down the road.
"So…what's my new name… or your brother's name?" Ron sighed trying to shake all the thoughts from his head. Now that he knew at least Aella was on his side, he had more time to ask and figure out what was going on.
"Kyp. Kyp Xzelas. Don't worry, behind closed doors we'll still call you Ron. But at large, mostly everyone else will know you as Kyp," Aella explained. "I hope it's not too much—"
"Not at all," Ron waved his hands smiling nervously. "I'll try to live up to your brother's name."
Aella crossed her arms and gave Ron a hard glare. "Don't be foolish like him."
Ron gave his teacher a warm smile. "Not the foolish part. He was brave, and that's what I intend to be from now on." Ron meant it and as he and his master continued to talk, Ron felt somewhat relieved that he had people to lean on, who secretly understood what he was going through. But with that relief came a different anxiety. One of a girl who had just left him with a kiss.
A/N: Sorry for this late update. Hope you enjoyed it! Btw, does anyone know anyone who can do cover art? Thought I'd ask.