Jenoria stood on the bridge of a republic cruiser, looking out at the fleet. She wished that she could be on the Shadow with her aunt, leading the fleet, but her place was with her master, who was currently discussing their mission with Admiral Tarkin. Jenoria sighed as the other Jedi aboard the cruiser approached her.
"I'm not in the mood for words of wisdom passed on to you by papa's teacher, Master Arch," Jenoria stated without looking, "He died before I was born, so it means less to me than it would to papa."
"I understand that," Metatron Arch, a weird name in Jenoria's opinion, though who was she to judge, stated in a sage like tone that didn't fit his face, "but can you blame me for wanting to keep my master's teachings alive in both my apprentice and a kindred spirit's child?"
"No," Jenoria sighed, "but that doesn't mean I have to like it."
Both of them turned when they sensed that one of the female clones was about to speak to them. It was Q, Jenoria easily recognized the first one her father named. In her four years of service, she had risen to ARC Trooper status.
"Sorry to interrupt General," Q spoke in a formal voice, which everyone had come to accept as her normal speaking voice, "but Captain Starlight has requested Captain Minara's presence in the hanger."
"Oh," Jenoria perked up, "Looks like Padawan duty calls. We'll have to continue this talk later... or never..." Jenoria started to follow Q, "I'm honestly fine with never."
As Q and Jenoria made their way to the hanger, Jenoria sprinted ahead to meet up with Vixen Starlight, Metatron's Padawan and the only girl not in Jenoria's familial circle that she felt close to. Pretty much everything about Vixen could be described as "foxy", with the exception of her expression, which always seemed to be chipper. Vixen's ears twitched as she heard Jenoria's footsteps.
"Jenoria!" Vixen clasped Jenoria's hands when she arrived, "Have you heard? We're gonna be leading the ground troops in the coming battle!"
"Oh," Jenoria was actually used to leading troops on her own, Anakin was very trusting of her, but she understood how exciting this must've been for Vixen, who was actually sheltered from most conflicts by her master. In fact, Jenoria figured that the only way Metatron would allow his apprentice to lead the charge would be if she was there to protect her, but she quickly pushed the all-too-correct thought aside and feigned excitement, "That's amazing!"
It was a little embarrassing for Jenoria, knowing that she, a five year old with a fourteen year old's mindset and body had more on hand battle experience than an eighteen year old, but she was still happy for her friend. The pair approached the waiting troops and Jenoria took a mental note of Metatron obviously following her to the hanger.
"Rex," Jenoria called out to her fellow Captain, "What do we know about our target?"
"They've holed themselves up in a narrow valley," Rex explained as a projection of the stronghold they would be attacking formed on the holo-map, "and equipped themselves with anti-air cannons."
"They're anticipating both a frontal and aerial assault." Jenoria noted.
"Yes, but Q and I have been thinking-"
"There's a network of caves running from a spring beyond the valley right to their location," Q cut Rex off, "If we can find the correct path through the cave,"
"We'll be right at their back door with the Clankers none the wiser." Rex finished.
"Alright," Jenoria looked out the corner of her eye and saw Metatron standing in the bay door, "Vixen, your senses are the best of all of us, I'll be counting on you to get us through the cave while Rex and his team distract them from them front."
"You can count on me," Vixen cupped Jenoria's left hand, and Jenoria pushed her fingers through to pinch Vixen's nose. She wasn't sure when or how it happened, but this had become their secret handshake. Some of the clones snickered at the gesture.
"Q," Jenoria addressed the ARC Trooper, "I'll be watching Vixen's back, so I expect you to watch mine."
"Yes sir!" Q saluted the Jedi.
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Jenoria stood outside the cave along with Vixen, Q and an assortment of seven more clones. As their group was so small, they had to make their move last. Anakin had already called in that he and the fleet had engaged the Separatist fleet over the planet and Mona had just called in to confirm that the Shadow had infiltrated the planet's capital. Now they were just waiting for Rex to call in. Once his attack began, they were free to enter the cave.
It was in these brief moments of silence that Jenoria attempted to sync up with her father again, though not knowing how she did it the first time was no help. There were times when she would get brief flashes, too quick to take note of, but this time she got lucky.
She saw her father, who ditched his armor for some reason, in front of a house with Ghost, as well as a young boy and his parents. Dalkos now wore a white vest over his old undersuit and had a new belt with long pouches for his lightsabers, or so she assumed as they were nowhere in sight. There was a strange gauntlet on his left arm and he still wore bandages on his hands. Strangely enough, he only looked about a year older.
Ghost wore a skin tight flight suit and, astonishingly, a high velocity jet pack. The Republic was still in the developmental stages for making those... Could they be in the future? Then why did everything look so primitive?
The boy, who Dalkos was clearly there for, was wearing a white and black shirt, baggy green pants, the strangest footwear Jenoria had ever seen and a strange device fastened, permanently by the looks of it, to his left wrist. His parents looked plain enough.
"You have to understand," Dalkos explained to the parents, "Your son is more special than you realize. He'd be of great use to NEOCROSS." NEOCROSS?
"He's ten," The father shot back, "I don't know what kind of show you think you're running, but Ben isn't going to be a part of it!"
"He's more capable than you know! I owe him my life! Believe it or not, this is the least I can do to repay him."
"Absolutely not!"
"Ben," Dalkos turned to the boy, "I know you think keeping this a secret will protect them, but you have to consider the bigger picture. We need you Ben, and if showing them is the only way to get them to listen, then you have to do-" Dalkos suddenly stopped and looked over his shoulder, directly at Jenoria. He scanned the area, as if trying to find exactly what he was looking at. Ghost put a concerned hand on his shoulder, snapping him back into reality, "I'm fine... I just sensed something... familiar."
Vixen shook Jenoria out of her vision.
"Rex just called in," Vixen explained, "They've begun the attack."
"Right," Jenoria got up, "Let's move out!"
The ten person group began their trek through the cave and Jenoria uncharacteristically lagged behind. Vixen noticed and pulled back.
"You OK?" She asked.
"He could sense me," Jenoria spoke her mind without meaning to, "Papa could sense me."
"That's amazing!" Jenoria cheered, but quickly remembered where they were, "But, don't you think we should be focused on the mission?"
Jenoria then realized what she was doing and shook some sense back into herself. She pushed on to the head of the pack and Vixen had to catch up. After a few minutes of walking, with only a couple moments of backtracking when Vixen got confused, they saw a light ahead. Jenoria and the clones immediately dove to the walls for cover, with only Q and herself able to see out the opening. They had made remarkable time, as shown from Jenoria looking back to give Vixen a thumbs up. Jenoria took a deep breath and reached back for her lightsaber.
"On my mark," Jenoria ordered, "give 'em hell."
In an instant, she vanished, using her speed to sneak through enemy lines to take out the cannons. If the droids knew where to look, all they would have seen was the air rippling around them. Before they knew what hit them, the cannons collapsed, rose into the air, and made a beeline for the artillery. Then out of nowhere, eight Clone Troopers and a green saber wielding Jedi broke in through the back. A droid commander was about to call it in, only to find a purple blade protruding from it's chest. It was pure chaos. Droid parts flying everywhere, sabers swinging, blaster bolts ring through the air. Then the front doors came crashing down and even more Clone Troopers filed in. It quickly became a one-sided battle after that. Nothing could seem to go wrong for the Republic... until.
"...ria..." The com crackled, "Jenoria, can you hear me?"
"Master Arch?" Jenoria asked amidst the chaos, "What is it?"
"Skywalker's been captured! He's aboard the flagship and... wait... WHAT IS HE DOING!?"
The com cut out and, in a moment of panic, Jenoria rushed out of the base. Once she was outside, she scanned the sky for the battle but was horrified at the sight. The Separatist flagship was in a forced nosedive, headed straight for a mountain. Jenoria could only watch as the ship gained speed and became engulfed in flames as it entered the atmosphere. Vixen caught up with Jenoria as the flagship impacted, causing the ground to shake as an explosion engulfed the horizon. Jenoria dropped to her knees as she watched the smoke rise. After a while, the Shadow could be seen approaching the wreckage as the Shadow Runner drove through the valley, coming to a stop in front of the girls. The cockpit opened and Mona jumped out, running to her niece.
"Jenoria," Mona shook her, "Jenoria, can you hear me?"
She had no idea that the rest of the group had come out and had been trying to get her attention. She didn't even know how much time had passed, she was so focused on the ship, the crash, but most importantly...
"M..." Tears welled in her eyes as she broke down, shocking everyone as she looked to the sky and screamed at the top of her lungs, "MASTER!"
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Many thanks to Noble Six for allowing me to use his OC's. If you're wondering, yes, this is where the real story begins.