'ello, peoples of the earth!

Well, it seems my consistent writing schedule has vanished. *sigh* No worries. I will most likely be able to mark this story as complete by next week sometime. Then I can get back on track during the next story - Order 66 and beyond. I must say, I'm looking forward to that one. Ehehehehe. ;)

Today I get to thank Maleficent-darkgoodwitch2416, Zenkid100, katierosefun, Lux's Sister, and CaylithTheGolden for their reviews. As usual, you guys are awesome sauce. :)

Now, at long last, I present Chapter 8 of Style. Hope y'all enjoy! :)

The next morning did not dawn clear and sunny, but at least it had stopped raining. There would be sticky, gooey mud to trek through, but that didn't top the list of Kira's worries for the morning. She was already rather dirty anyway.

No, the top thing that worried Kira was their mission.

Depa had woken both Padawans early and encouraged them to eat two of the ration bars in their supply bundle. Caleb ate with gusto; Kira could barely swallow the tasteless stuff. She drank some of the water in her canteen to help wash it down.

After their meager breakfast, Depa got right down to business. "So," she said, "our first task is to get in the door. Any ideas?"

Caleb shrugged. "Cut our way in?"

Depa voiced Kira's thoughts regarding Caleb's suggestion out loud, only she was more explanatory and more polite than Kira might have been. "Subtlety is our ally," she explained. "If we cut our way in, we'd have half the droids inside that base waiting for us before we even got in the door. No, we need to lure them out."

"You mean create a distraction?" Caleb asked.

"Perhaps. If it comes to that."

Caleb looked interested. "How could we do it?"

Kira suddenly remembered something Depa had told her yesterday, something about the droid patrols. "Master Billaba," Kira said, "droid patrols are sent out regularly, correct?"

Depa raised an eyebrow. "Yes."

Kira fingered the lightsaber at her hip. "And they'd send out another one if the first one didn't come back," she said slowly, a plan beginning to form in her mind.

"What are you suggesting, Padawan?"

Kira grinned. "I'm suggesting that we take out the first patrol that comes out this evening, wait near the base for the door to open for the next one-"

"-and slip in without them realizing a thing!" Caleb finished Kira's plan excitedly. He threw an arm around her in a celebratory hug. "Kiki, you're a genius!"

Depa smiled in approval. "It is a good plan for getting into the base itself," she said. "But here's the next problem: getting through the droids to the command center. And that doesn't mean cutting down every droid in sight, Caleb."

Caleb looked sheepish at his Master's small scolding.

Depa continued, "We'll have to be quick and we'll have to be silent. It won't be long before the droids in that base discover us."

Kira spoke up once more. "The command center is right over the door. Perhaps there's a way to climb up without running into many droids?"

Depa nodded. "There may be, and let us hope that's the case. But if it is not..." She glanced at both Padawans in turn. "Remember my advice. Be quick and silent."

"Yes, Master Billaba," Kira and Caleb said in unison.

"Good. We'll start tonight."

That night, Depa, Caleb and Kira emerged from the wreckage and headed to the edge of the rise above the enemy base to wait for the patrol. As Kira had predicted, their trek was slowed by mud with the consistency of quicksand. Needless to say, the trio was filthy by the time they reached their destination.

Kira had a feeling she'd be more self-conscious about how dirty she was if her comrades could actually see her. Cloud cover darkened any starlight they might have had, and they could not rely on their eyes to lead them to the enemy base. Instead, they relied on their ears and the noisy complaints of a droid every so often.

At last they reached the rise, where they could see the lights of the base, and stopped. There they would wait for the first patrol. "Do not try to take out the weapon," Depa reminded the Padawans. "Our objective is to get to the command center, call for help and send our coordinates to a nearby ship, and get out. Understood?"

"Yes, Master Billaba," Kira responded.

Caleb didn't respond at all.

After a moment of panic, Kira and Depa found Caleb on his way down the other side of the hill. "What are you doing?" she hissed.

Kira saw the shadow of Caleb's face glance up at her. "What does it look like?"

Sighing, Kira pulled him back up. "We need to wait, remember? The patrol hasn't come out yet."

Caleb's Force signature betrayed his annoyance and impatience, but surprisingly, he didn't argue with Kira. Instead he climbed back up and hid behind the same tree that Depa and Kira had been hiding behind. There, all three of them settled in and prepared for a long wait.

The wait was thankfully not as long as anticipated. After about ten minutes, the door of the base opened for the patrol, which sped up and over the rise. The squad raced right past the trio's hiding place and headed deeper into the forest.

Depa whispered a command of "Follow them!" that Kira and Caleb were quick to obey. Not yet igniting their lightsabers so as not to call attention to themselves, they began to sprint after the squad, calling on the Force to speed their movements.

When Kira got close enough, she used the Force to leap onto the nearest speeder behind the droid pilot. She couldn't help smirking as she tore the head off of the droid and kicked the rest of it to the ground. Way too easy, she thought to herself.

The two companion droids seemed to not have noticed a thing.

Kira maneuvered the hijacked speeder just behind the other two droids. She unhooked her lightsaber, ignited it, and sliced the head off the droid to her left. The one on her right had just enough time to scream, "Jedi!" before it, too, was sliced in half.

Kira neatly jumped off the speeder and let the three unmanned speeders fly right into the trees, creating an explosion. That should catch their attention.

Caleb jogged to Kira's side. "Next time," he panted, looking with disdain at the burn marks left on the trees, "leave some droids for me."

"No promises, Master Dume," Kira replied, flipping her lightsaber in her hand. "Come on. It won't be long before they send out the next squad."

With that, the Padawans took off once again, this time in the opposite direction. They found Depa waiting for them near the tree, and they stopped to rest for a moment. "Good work," Depa said to them. She let them catch their breath, then she spoke again. "Are you ready? It's going to be a long run."

"I'm ready," Caleb said, straightening.

"Me, too." Kira tightened her hold on her lightsaber, which she had not yet returned to her belt.

"Alright. Get ready to climb down." Depa led them to the peak of the rise. "On three, start climbing. Once you reach the ground, start running and don't stop until you reach the base. One."

Kira licked her dry lips, suddenly wishing she had drank some water before they started.

"Two."

Something squeezed Kira's hand, and she looked up to see Caleb's outline standing near her. Any other time she would've wriggled her hand out of his, but now she squeezed it back, thankful for reassurance from a friend.

"Three."

The race was on. Kira let go of Caleb's hand, scrambled over the edge of the rise, and started to climb. The cliff wasn't as steep or as rocky as the one over the river, but Kira was still grateful when her feet touched solid ground again. Not looking back, she raced across the clearing towards the base. She could hear Caleb's footsteps in front of her.

At last, Kira reached the side of the base and leaned against it to catch her breath. Her heart pounded in her chest after that run, and a stitch in her side made her wince. Her lips and throat were dry and chapped.

Oh yes, Kira wished she'd gotten some water before they started.

Surprisingly, Caleb was next to make it to the side. He was sprinting so fast he nearly slammed headfirst into the wall, but his outstretched hand saved him from an awful headache (although Kira was certain the way his wrist had bent back at the impact had to be uncomfortable).

Depa, of course, was last. She was out of breath just as Kira had been, and she slumped against the wall tiredly. "I must say," she gasped, "the distance didn't look as far from above."

"Agreed, Master," Caleb replied.

Kira's eyes widened when she heard droids approaching on the other side of the wall. "Shh! Get ready!" she hissed. "They're coming!"

All three Jedi pressed themselves flat against the wall just before the door slid open for the next squad. Kira didn't dare to move a muscle, for fear the droids might turn around and see something unusual.

As expected, the droids suspected nothing, and the squad sped into the night. Kira, Caleb and Depa slipped in the door while it was still open. Kira glanced around for any droids that might be ready to ambush them. After a moment, she relaxed. "The coast is clear," she whispered before stepping back to let Depa take the lead.

The Master found a flight of stairs that led to the upper levels of the base. Kira would've rather used the turbolift, but she did have to admit that they would most likely meet fewer droids on the stairs. Still, they did run into a few droids on the way up. Caleb easily took care of them with his lightsaber.

"Hurry, hurry!" Depa urged the Padawans up the stairs after that. "We don't have time to hide them."

Finally, after reaching the top of the stairs, Depa used the Force to unlock the door. Inside, every droid looked up from whatever they were doing and stared right at the intruders.

Caleb shrugged. "So much for secrecy." He ignited his lightsaber and sliced down the nearest droid.

Kira and Depa activated their lightsabers as well and followed Caleb's lead. The droids used their blasters, but their laser fire could not stop the Jedi from mowing them down. The tactical droid leading the battle droids was last to go. "Stop!" it droned mechanically. "Don't kill me! No!"

Kira buried her blade in the droid's control panel, silencing it as she turned it to a smoking scrap heap. She retracted her lightsaber and watched the droid slide to the floor. Then she studied the buttons and screens of the control center before her. "It looks standard to me," she called to Depa. "I could figure it out fairly quickly."

"No," Depa said, striding over to stand beside Kira and study the controls. "Don't touch anything, either of you, unless I say otherwise. I don't want to spring a trap."

Caleb tried to protest. "Master, with all due respect, I could-"

"Caleb, we don't have time for you to figure it out at the moment!" Depa replied, visibly growing impatient. "We need to send the signal and get out as soon as possible." She hurriedly tapped the screen in front of her. "All right, Kira, power up the hologram station. Caleb, guard the door. More droids may be on the way."

"Yes, Master Billaba." Kira jumped off the platform on which they were standing and rushed to the station.

"As you say, Master." Caleb obeyed and went to stand watch at the door.

Within seconds, the hologram station flashed to life. From her position at the control center, Depa tapped the screen to send a distress signal. "This is Jedi Master Depa Billaba. We're stranded on an unknown planet and need immediate evac. Does anyone copy?" she said.

Kira bit her lip when no one answered. Depa tried again. "Repeat, this is Jedi Master Depa Billaba. Do you copy?"

A hologram appeared on the station. It was blurred by static, but it was something. Kira tried to boost the signal. Depa tried one more time. "Do you copy?"

"This is General Luminara Unduli, commander of the starship Tranquility. General Billaba, what is your position?"

Kira almost sank to the floor with relief. True, it wasn't the Fist they had been able to contact, but any help was greatly appreciated. Depa's features relaxed as well. "We're not sure of our position, General Unduli. Can you trace this call?"

"That we can, General Billaba. Stand by." The hologram disappeared.

Depa and Kira exchanged a glance as Depa stepped down from the platform and made her way to the hologram station. "Any droids yet, Caleb?" she called.

"Not yet, Master."

"Good."

The blurred hologram reappeared on the station. "We've locked onto your coordinates, General Billaba. You may want to move to a safer position; there is a high amount of radioactivity near you."

"We will. The Separatists have a new weapon," Depa explained. "Keep the Tranquillity out of range so they will be unable to fire."

"Noted, General Billaba. May the Force be with you."

"And with you, General Unduli." Depa deactivated the hologram station.

Caleb spoke from his post near the door. "I guess we'll have to hold out a little longer."

"At least we know help is on the way." Kira went to join him. "I'm surprised they didn't send droids after us the minute they detected the outgoing call."

"The Force was with us," Depa said. She made her way to their side and pressed the button to open the door. "Perhaps now would be a good time to leave."

But when the door opened, the Jedi did not find the clear path they had enjoyed coming in. Instead, they faced several rows of regular droids, with super battle droids and four droidekas backing them up. In the narrow corridor, the best that could happen would be that they escaped with injuries.

At worst, someone would die.

"Kriff," Kira remarked.

Hey, no one can say I didn't warn them. If you don't believe me, check the author's note of the last chapter. *shrugs*

Kira: I hate how nonchalant you are about this. We just got captured, you know!

Me: *inspects fingernails* Of course I know. I wrote it that way.

Kira: WHY!?

Me: Because I can.

Caleb: Hey, look on the bright side. At least we know help is coming.

Kira: Yeah, that's true, but I'll be stuck in a cell with you!

Me: Or you could be separated. Or I could stick you and Caleb in the same cell and leave Depa in another one. There's no end to the possibilities, really.

Kira: Can we just hurry up and end this already? -_-

Me: Fine. You can do the review notice. I'm picking the song today.

Caleb: *uses Force to press button* Or maybe you won't! :D

Tablet: She wants to dance like Uma Thurman, bury me until I confess...

Kira: Review if you liked it, hated it, or wanted to light it up and watch it burn! And don't forget to dance to this song! :)

Me: You two are lucky I like this song, or I would've thrown you into the dark, creepy places in my head.

Kira and Caleb: *cringe*

Me: Good, they're afraid of me again. ;) Thanks for clicking in, you guys, and may the Force be with you always! And, like Kira said, dance to this song!

*dance party continues*