Depa Billaba meditated in her quarters on her cruiser as it traveled through hyperspace. The Jedi Master tried to block out all distractions as she focused, but the notion that the Inquisitor might be Ahsoka Tano refused to leave her mind.
She and her apprentice were traveling to the Christophsis system to bring reinforcements to the base there. They wouldn't be staying for long, and in all reality, the clones didn't need the Jedi escort. Still, Master Yoda had insisted that she and Caleb go along with them just in case. Depa could tell that the Inquisitor was beginning to worry Master Yoda, despite her youth. She tried not to fret, but very few things unsettled the Grandmaster. It was concerning that this would be one of them.
The clones on the cruiser were fresh off of Kamino and were not a part of Depa's troop. She hadn't even met most of them, and some of them hadn't even chosen their names yet. She imagined Caleb was helping them decide while he completed his engine checks.
Depa sighed. Engine checks, like many other things, were another silent stand to Ahsoka's friendship with Caleb. She was noticing more and more of them as time passed. The Togruta had taken the liberty of helping Depa teach Caleb when she was busy, and it showed nearly every day. It broke her heart to think that the Padawan that had been so kind to her own might now be the newest threat to the Republic. It didn't make sense to the Jedi Master, but her fellow Council members did not share her views so she tried to stay open to the possibility, as much as it pained her to do so.
Speaking of Caleb, Depa sensed her apprentice approaching her quarters. When he knocked on the door, she spoke softly. "Come in," she told him.
Caleb stood in the doorway. "We have 2 parsecs to go, Master."
Depa stood up. "Thank you, Caleb. Let's go to the bridge, shall we?"
The teenager nodded and followed his master down the hall. Depa sensed an uneasiness in him, and she turned to face him. "What is troubling you?"
Caleb looked up and hesitated before answering. "The troopers were asking about the Inquisitor," he said shortly.
Depa understood immediately. It explained why he was being even quieter than he had grown recently. "What do they say?" She asked.
"They heard the rumors that people think it's Ahsoka," was all he said.
"And you still don't believe them?"
"No, Master. I never would."
Depa smiled. His loyalty to his friend never ceased to impress and inspire Depa.
"I figured as much," she said warmly. "Hopefully, this will all be over soon."
Caleb smiled at her, and his master returned it weakly. She didn't truly believe her words, but it was worth hoping for at the very least.
The Jedi reached the bridge in a couple of minutes. Caleb waved to a pair of clone troopers he had met and talked to earlier during his checks. Depa approached the captain on duty, who went by Static. Only Caleb had heard the story, but during his training, he had accidentally broken a practice coms console. All the other end of the line could hear was static, so it became his name. He would be staying on Christophsis with the new troopers.
"How are we doing, Captain?" Depa asked, and he brought up a screen that showed the space around the Christophsis system.
"Our path is clear, General Billaba," he reported. "The troopers at the base already know we're coming, so it should be a smooth landing."
"Wonderful," she said. "Is the new weaponry ready to be transferred?"
"My men are completing the preparations as we speak, sir."
"I can go see if they're done if you'd like, Captain," offered Caleb.
Static turned to the Padawan and nodded. "They should be in Hangar 4, Commander."
He nodded and turned, his tunic swaying as he made his way to the doors. Depa and Static watched him leave, and Static turned to the Jedi Master. "He's not bad, for such a young one. He gets along well with the men," he commented.
Depa hid her grimace and faced the windshield of the bridge. "There was another Padawan who mentored him," she explained. "She taught him about how to respect you clones. Ever since then, he's learned how to gain their trust quickly. I don't know how he does it."
"Well," said Static, "however he does it, I hope he keeps doing it. They like him already, and it hasn't even been forty minutes."
Caleb walked down the halls of the cruiser and smiled to all of the clones he had met so far, and even some who he hadn't yet. Apparently, these clones liked to spread stories. Namely, stories about him.
He had no trouble navigating his way to Hangar 4. He had learned every path on the cruiser over the better part of the last two years and even knew about a few shortcuts now. He could find his way anywhere on the ship blindfolded, and without the Force. Not that he had tried. He definitely hadn't tried and almost tripped over the tables in the mess hall, and it definitely was not a dare from Captain Styles. Definitely not.
He walked into Hangar 4 and saw the troopers that were finishing the preparations. He recognized them as Fist and Foot, two rambunctious clones that he had met earlier. He walked up to them and knelt beside them as they examined a tank.
"How's it coming, troopers?" He asked them, peering over Foot's elbow at the diagnostic scanner he was holding. He couldn't tell what it said, but he could see that something wasn't right.
"Almost done, Commander," Fist told him. "Just figuring out what's wrong with this last tank, then we're finished."
"We know what's wrong," said Foot, "we just don't know how to fix it." He showed Caleb the screen. "Something's wrong with the cannon."
Caleb took a look at it. The screen had a code on it, 6112. The clones were right, something was wrong with the cannon. The scanner they were using was an older model, though, and wasn't as specific as the newer ones. 6 meant that the weapons system was down, 1 meant that the main cannon was the gun that was wrong, and 12 meant that the activation was compromised.
"Did you check the firing mechanisms already?" He asked them. He didn't know a ton about mechanics, but he knew a few things. He had learned them mainly from Ahsoka, but he tried not to think about that.
"Sure did, Commander," said Foot. "The triggers are fine. Nothing is broken."
"We tried to fire it once, at a target, just to see if the scanner was wrong," explained Fist, "but that didn't work either. Should we just leave it on the ship?"
Caleb scrunched his forehead and looked at the tank. It took a bit of concentrating, but he remembered one of the tips Ahsoka had given him before her trial. 'If you ever see a malfunction code that ends with "12", and you can't figure out what's wrong, check the wires connecting to the weapon. Sometimes, they shake loose and disconnect, but the systems read it as an activation problem instead of a "01", or a fried wire. I can't tell you how many times that's happened.'
Caleb reached out with the Force and check the wires. True to Ahsoka's advice, the wire carrying the trigger command was disconnected from the circuit board. He reattached it and turned to face the troopers. "Try it now," he told them.
Fist and Foot looked at each other, then shrugged and did as told. They ran another scan, but this time, the screen showed the word 'OPERATIONAL'. They looked at him in surprise. "How'd you do that?"
"It's an old trick that...a friend taught me," he said, trying to avoid saying Ahsoka's name. "A wire was loose on the inside."
"I told you we should check the wires," Fist said, jabbing Foot in the side. "Thanks, Commander."
"Anytime," he told them. "Is that the last of them?"
"Yes, sir," said Foot, rubbing his side. "Everything is good to go now."
"Perfect." Caleb stood up and activated his wrist com. "Master, Captain Static, the preparations are complete. All of the gear is ready to go to Christophsis."
"Thank you, Commander," said the Captain. "We are less than 1 parsec out."
"Go ahead and stay in the hangars, Caleb," Master Billaba instructed. "I'll meet you down there."
"Yes, Master," he said, and closed the line.
"Hey, Commander," called Fist. "Who was your friend? The one that taught you."
Caleb froze. He didn't really want to tell them since he had already answered a lot of questions about Ahsoka earlier. Eventually, though, he gave in. "It was another Padawan." He turned to face the troopers. "Have you heard of the 501st Battalion? Under General Skywalker?"
Their faces lit up and they stood. "Everyone's heard of them," said Foot. "They're one of the best troops in the Army. Every clone wants to be good enough to join the 501st!"
"I heard they lost their commander a while ago, though," said Fist. "They all seemed pretty bummed about it, from what I heard."
"My friend was that commander," explained Caleb.
"Oh," Fist said quietly. "Sorry, sir. I didn't know."
"It's all right," said Caleb. "I wish you could have met her. She was one of the best people I had ever met. A great commander, too."
"That's what we heard," Foot told him. "I don't remember who, but someone said that the whole troop missed her. That's how good she was."
Caleb found a laugh inside of him, somewhere. "That sounds like her."
He joined his master in the gunship that would bring them down to the base on Christophsis. The clones started filing in next to them and filled up the rest of the gunships. They would have to make two trips to get everyone on the ground, but Depa and Caleb were going on the first wave.
Fist, Foot, and Captain Static were all in the same gunship as the Jedi. As the hangar doors opened, and the gunships and tank loaders started their way to the base, Static asked "Have either of you been to this base before?"
"I've taken reinforcements here before," answered Depa, "but I didn't stay for long, and Commander Dume wasn't with me."
"I've heard stories, though," said Caleb. "This is one of the strongest Republic bases in the galaxy. The Separatists haven't taken Christophsis in almost four years, since the beginning of the Clone War."
Captain Static, under his helmet, of course, smiled. "Sounds like this is a good place to be, then."
"Especially for shinies, I've heard," Caleb smirked at Fist and Foot.
"You know our slang?" Asked another trooper, one Caleb hadn't met until now.
"A little bit," he answered. "I've been picking it up as I go."
"Awesome," said someone else, before stiffening up once he remembered he was supposed to be acting professional. "...sir."
Caleb laughed along with the rest of the troopers. Depa just smiled. She never understood how Caleb got along with the clones so well, but she loved seeing them so eased. It was almost enough to make her forget that she was fighting a war. Almost.
The gunship landed a few minutes later. By then, Caleb had figured out everyone else's name on the gunship. He probably wouldn't remember them after a day or two but for today, at least, he tried to call as many troopers by name as he could.
The doors opened, and the Jedi stepped out first. More troopers were waiting for them on the landing platforms, and they started directing the shinies into the base. Others of them began manning the new tanks, and piloting them into their spots in storage garages. Still others began unloading crates of rations, medical supplies, spare parts, firearms, and explosives, and taking them into doors that undoubtedly led to storage units.
Caleb looked around at the base. It made sense that this base was so strong. The landscape of the surrounding area worked perfectly to the advantage of the Republic, and the structure was top-notch. It was perfect for defense, or offense, whichever was convenient at the moment. It had everything the Republic might need in a battle.
Depa turned to her apprentice. "I'm going to check in with the leader of the base. Do you mind staying out here and keeping an eye on the transition?"
"Not at all, Master," he replied, and Depa walked towards the door. Caleb jumped to the rooftop and looked out at the coming and going of gunships and tank loaders.
White-armored bodies were running all around the landing platforms, hustling to distribute and organize the reinforcements. The ground was a sea of white and black, with a pop of color here and there. The shinies, Caleb knew, would add their own color to the mix soon. Troopers were on the roof with him, too, as well as on the wall that surrounded the main building, and guarding the shield that protected it, and probably in the gun towers, too. This base really did have everything. Caleb could see why Ahsoka liked it, way back when.
Caleb thought back to last year as the second round of gunships landed. Ahsoka had also gotten a little sentimental, too. Something must have happened while she was here. Maybe it was an important battle or something. He tried to think about what could have been so important to Ahsoka, but his thought got interrupted by a very massive disturbance in the Force. A large ship had just entered Christophsis' orbit.
Caleb looked up and saw a cruiser, but not one that belonged to the Republic. Its body structure was rounder, and it wasn't as big as their cruiser. It had to belong to the Separatists.
A loud wail penetrated the air as Caleb came to this realization. The battle siren. The base was under attack.