I'm sorry how long this took. I had no idea how to structure this chapter at first, and most attempts I made ended up reading like my earlier stuff. In other words, BAD. But I finally worked it out. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you... Chapter 17!
Disclaimer: Not my sandbox. Just passing through...
"We've just entered hyperspace, General," the clone commander said. The two Jedi had just entered the bridge after taking a tour around the ship Evanescence. She was small, smaller than most of the cruisers. Her size made her ideal for more negotiation-style missions than battle conquests. As this mission first depended more on secrecy than outright strength, the ship was ideal.
"Very good." Luminara replied. "How long until we reach Alderaan?"
"Estimated time of arrival is thirteen-hundred-hours, sir."
"Excellent." She turned to her padawan who was waiting beside her. "We should go rest up before the mission."
"Good idea, Master," the girl responded. "Commander Skee, let us know when we in orbit."
"Yes, sir." The two Jedi nodded and turned to walk out of the cockpit. As soon as the door shut behind them, Ani breathed a sigh of relief.
"I can't wait until this is done," she muttered, slumping against the wall. Luminara smiled at the tired girl.
"I understand," she said. "Which is why I recommended rest back there." Ani raised an eyebrow.
"Come on, Master," she said. "You know as well as I do that going over the mission notes comes first. Rest, if at all possible, comes last. Besides, I got plenty of sleep last night," she said. Her mouth suddenly emitted a yawn, prompting her to put her hand over it. Luminara shook her head.
"Rest is necessary to keep a clear mind and all your senses alert," she said. Her eyes gleamed with amusement. "Remember, I said we were going to rest in front of the pilots." Ani straightened.
"You didn't. Wait – you did." She blew out a frustrated breath. "Now I can't go anywhere without nosy clones following me around and reminding me that I need to rest." She threw a glare at the older woman. "This is so not funny."
"Sleep on it." Luminara gave a small smirk. "Maybe then you'll find your sense of humor." Ani groaned.
"You're not going to rethink this?" she asked hopefully. When her master gave her a look, she sighed.
"Okay, I'm taking a nap." Luminara shook her head.
"No, you're not. You're standing here telling me you're going to take a nap." Deciding this was a losing argument, Ani spun around and headed down the hallway. About halfway she turned around and, while walking backwards, yelled to her master:
"Now I'm walking towards my room while telling you I'm going to take a nap!"
"Just get in there already," Luminara replied. When her padawan disappeared into her quarters, she gave a small sigh of relief and went into her cabin. Her padawan was getting saucier and more stubborn as they got closer to Alderaan. Underneath that sarcasm lay a deep river of worry. Luminara could sense it, and she'd be lying if she said she didn't feel the same thing.
The request for help could be a trap, she thought. Marana Kiln would get a lovely price from the Separatists if she kidnapped either one of us. Of course, there's only one she really wants, and that's my padawan! She fought back a wave of fear. Besides my padawan and I, in three standard days there will be two Jedi Masters in orbit around the planet to ensure no incoming Separatist help. Add in the battalion of clones commanded by Gree, and the odds of something happening are slim. What could possibly happen? She mulled it over in her mind as she lay down and prepared for sleep. Fears flitted around in the back of her mind like a pack of malia*, circling and snapping in anticipation.
Sleep came much too slowly for her liking.
Ani lay on her sleep couch, fear gnawing at her mind. She had given all hope of getting any sleep with the way she felt. They were going back to see her stepmother, possibly give her protection, and for all they knew they could be walking into a trap.
"I should have never said I'd go… I should have refused," she murmured to herself, giving a voice to a few of her doubts floating around in her head. "I should have kept quiet and ignored it all. But what if this will help me grow? I'm scared, okay? I don't like not knowing what will happen. At least if this was a battle the outcome could still be twisted to my favor, but we're coming in on Marana Kiln's territory on her terms." She shivered. "That's never been a good thing."
Worst is, her mind whispered, she's rumored to have dealings with the Separatists. Even if the evidence comes back in her favor, you know she will want you to remain with her on the planet.
I am not even her biological daughter, she rebutted.
No, but you are a Force user, which is useful in tight situations.
Always what is useful for her, Ani shot back with a twinge of anger.
That is how your stepmother thinks, her mind responded. Question is how will you respond to that? Ani sat, stumped. She had no answer.
How am I supposed to respond to that? she thought. An immediate answer came to mind.
"Stupid questions," she muttered, turning on her side and closing her eyes. "Hopefully my master is doing better." Since all her worries had been temporarily whisked away by that one question, sleep came naturally.
Captain Skee stood outside the padawan's door with some misgivings. Usually when asked to deliver the news, he would do so via comlink. He had felt strangely compelled to deliver the news instead.
And see what I get? Padawan wake-up duty. He had gone to wake up Master Unduli first. She had seemed troubled by something, perhaps a nightmare (not that he cared to speculate), but she had given him that don't-you-dare-say-anything look. Acquiescing, he asked if he should wake up the padawan. She had hesitated before verbally agreeing. Now he stood before the youngling's door, hearing muffled talk drift out.
"Commander Laminara?" He called. No answer. "Commander Laminara?" He tried pounding on her door. The fact that it hadn't swished away meant she was keeping it shut, either by switching the settings or using the manual lock. He fervently hoped it was the former.
Pressing the button on the left side of the door, he breathed a sigh of relief as it swished open. He stepped inside the darkened room, eyes locking onto the bunk where a small form was murmuring and moving restlessly. She was probably still asleep, which explained why she hadn't opened the door.
"Commander Laminara?" he asked again, cautiously making his way towards her. As he came closer, he could make out snatches of words: "Master" and "no" were mentioned, as well as "Kiln", but what did she mean by "mom"? I thought all Jedi never knew their birth parents.
"Commander Laminara!" he said, louder this time. No reaction. He would shout, but that would attract attention. Given her status, that was probably not the wisest course of action. He went for the next wisest, placing a hand on her arm. Probably stretching regulations, but it worked well and it wasn't improper.
"Commander Laminara." As soon as he placed a hand on her arm, she whipped over and opened her eyes. Twisting her clasped arm's hand to grasp his forearm as well as bringing her other arm to grasp the upper arm, she leapt out of the bunk and proceeded to tackle and pin him face-down to the ground, using the arm as leverage and a well-placed knee in the back as the weight. "Commander Laminara!"
"How many times do I have to tell you to leave me alone, Marana?" she hissed.
Who the kriff is Marana?
"Commander," he gasped out, "it's me! Commander Skee." He felt the pressure on his lower back ease up slightly.
"Skee?" Both arms were released and he sat back, rubbing his aching joints and back. Damn, that kid had chops. She now stood in front of him, bouncing back and forth on her feet. She looked nervous.
"Are you hurt?" she held out her hand to him. Experience and a number of aching parts told him he should take it.
"I'm okay," he said, using her help and his legs to get him back to standing position. "I'm sorry if I startled you."
"No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have attacked you like I did."
"You were dreaming. It's understandable." Her expression became dark.
"No, it's not. I should have been more aware of my surroundings." She sighed. "Master Unduli will definitely get me on that later." He gave her a puzzled look.
"How do you know whether or not she'll find out?" A smile flitted across her face.
"She's a Jedi Master, and more importantly, my teacher." He lifted an eyebrow; she continued, "We have a bond through the Force that lets us know what's happening with one another."
"Oh." He could somewhat comprehend her meaning, given that he and his brothers had an uncanny ability to "read" one another's thoughts. It must have been an unanticipated side effect of the cloning process. Some batches were closer than others, allowing for more "reading" to be effective. That was mostly based guesswork, trial-and-error, and practice. The Jedi were able to form a real mind link, given their powers.
"May I ask why you woke me up? Usually my Master does."
"I was to tell you we are in orbit around Alderaan and will be landing shortly. General Unduli asked me to wake you," he explained.
"Did she say why?"
"No, but she looked apprehensive for some reason." He looked closely at her. "You feel some apprehension as well." Her cheeks darkened.
"Yes, well some of that came from almost killing you," she responded sheepishly. "I really am sorry for that."
"Don't worry about it, Commander." He watched as one of her hands snaked back behind her head to massage her neck. Her eyes looked weary, even as the rest of her body appeared rested. "With all due respect, Commander, you need more rest."
"As we are in orbit above the planet, Skee, there is no more time to rest," she responded. "Thank you for your concern, though."
"No problem." He nodded. "Can I ask you a question, sir?"
"As long as you don't call me 'sir,' Skee" she responded, grinning at him. "It's 'Ani,' not 'Commander,' not 'ma'am,' and definitely not 'sir.'"
"Yes, Comma – Ani," he corrected himself. "When you had me pinned down, you called me 'Marana.' Who is this person?" The girl sighed while running a hand through her short blond locks. He couldn't understand why she had gotten her hair cut before going on the mission. Hair was hair, and the shorter length seemed less useful than the longer length. Long hair you could tie back; short hair kept whipping you in your face, even if you had a headband.
"I wanted to cut down on shower time," Ani stated. Seeing the incredulous look on his face, she continued, "I noticed where your attention was focused. Short hair can be a nuisance, but I prefer this style for missions as it's low maintenance."
"So is shaving your head," Skee pointed out, moving towards the door. Ani laughed.
"I prefer having some hair to distinguish my gender," she responded.
"Oh."
"And in answer to your earlier question, which I am not avoiding, Marana is my stepmother. Her full name is Marana Kiln, widow of Toron Kiln."
"The one we're supposed to protect?" He stood aside, waiting for her to go through the door.
"That's the one." She sighed again. "I was taken by the Jedi when I was almost four. My biological mother was dead at that point, and my stepmom married my father before I left."
"Why are you concerned, then?"
"She… has a tendency of being vindictive and getting what she wants, even if rules are broken and people get hurt," the padawan responded grimly.
"You know this from experience?"
"You… you could say that." Once they got out into the hallway, she turned to face him. "Look, our job is to offer her protection while she gives us this information. I don't want to bias your view of her. All I ask is that you do your job."
"With respect, Ani, I always do my job."
"I know that, Skee, but…" She hesitated. "I would appreciate it if you wouldn't tell the others what I told you, and for you to act like it's just another mission. I don't want my personal views of her to affect your performance."
"Understood, Commander." They started walking towards the bridge.
"Thank you." He did understand what she unofficially ordered him to do (at least, what he understood to be an unofficial order), and he would follow through. That didn't cover him keeping his eyes and ears open, however. He would watch for possible confirmation or denial of her concerns, and if she was correct (which he didn't doubt because she was a Jedi, after all) then he would not let his guard down around her. There was a lot of things left unsaid in their conversation, and that usually meant she was worried about more than just the woman's character.
The sooner the job was done, the sooner they could go back to the front. At least you knew who the enemy was.
*Malia are ferocious beasts, with red-green eyes, blue-gray fur, and a long, tapered snout with a lean and rangy body. They are territorial, have astounding reflexes, and live on the planet of Ragoon VI, a training planet for Jedi.