I know, I know... almost no one left who's interested in this fan fiction anymore, and NOW I update! On the bright side (and I say this now), Chapter 28 is in the works. Apologies for the hurried writing. I have a lot more writing projects I'm working on.
Disclaimer: Not ever mine... but I would appreciate a chance to vent at Disney!
"Rise and shine, kid." A light shined in Ani's eyes, initiating a reflexive groan of grogginess. She had been in a light enough doze before, almost anticipating the injection. When it hadn't come, her thoughts immediately turned to escaping from this prison. Lab, she corrected herself. It's a lab, and I'm the lab rat. I'm just that specialtoday. At least if I can take her at her word. Which, though unfortunate, seemed to be correct. What she had seen in between sleep and waking, between injections was clean, cold floors. The chest of drawers of various medical gear (everything was neatly labeled, thank the Force) was clean and sterile that she saw. The walls, while dark in color, were steeped in darkness. The lights beyond her cell never lit up fully. The Mandalorian armor that the bounty hunter wore was covered in some sort of paint that absorbed the light. It was pretty cool, and would be cooler if she wasn't her enemy here.
Correction: One of her enemies. The other one had yet to show up. It had been obvious to her that Marana Kiln was not to be trusted, and yet she had allowed herself to be used by the woman. Obviously, during the short fight, Finara had allowed it to happen, so she must have been colluding with Marana at some level. Were the techs brought in? Probably not, she conceded. Their knowledge of her had seem pretty scripted at the time, said to get a rise out of her (which it had), but beyond stating facts, they hadn't interfered or tried to redirect their investigation. The youngest woman seemed the most likely to be devoted to Kiln, even before Daran, whom she had remembered a little of. It was still a possibility that she couldn't ignore.
Sensing the true motivations behind all of this was puzzling. Not entirely surprising given even Jedi Masters now having trouble fully determining the root cause of events and moves made both in politics and in the war. She had heard that it was the Sith Master at fault for the growing darkness, a darkness where it became difficutl to determine whether a person was really dark, or merely surrounded by it. The darkness she had remembered sensing around Marana had lightened, yet not dissipated. Politicians could have the dark side surround them, though, and not be evil, entirely or otherwise. Case in point: The entire Senate building was shrouded in darkness, as so many other areas of the galaxy had due to the war. The dark side had tainted so much that, for the Jedi, it was almost impossible to glimpse the connections and people behind the actions. It was the same here. Marana's request, like so many others, appeared legit on the surface. Only yet another request to be made of a Jedi to return and continue the tradition of her family line. Sometimes there were other motives behind it, and sometimes not. It had been hard to determine before, and it was harder even now. Once the war was done, and the Sith rooted out, everything theoretically should return back to normal.
"Thank you, bounty hunter, for awakening the padawan." Anger interrupted her line of thinking as she recognized the voice. She looked up to focus past the doorway in front of her. Marana Kiln was stepping towards the doorway, hand hovering to the side and out of sight (that's gotto be where the control panel is, Ani thought, filing that away). The bounty hunter was hanging back, helmet on so any reading of her facial expressions couldn't be done. "Young padawan, it is good to see you awake and well."
"Why thank you. It's not anything like the estate, but at least I'm doing well," Ani responded, packing in the sarcasm. With the sarcasm expended, she felt the anger subside some. Sarcasm was a very useful tool. "You know, I'd be so much better if you let me off this table, stretch my legs and all that. Your guard dog isn't going to let me go anywhere."
"Watch it, Jedi," the Mandalorian growled.
"I'm afraid, young padawan, that you're better on the table. Less harm will be done that way." Was it just her, or was there a gleam in that gaze? Freaky.
"If you're referring to physical harm, then yes. It's not like I'm getting constant injections that are probably scrambling my insides and going to kill me!" Ani glared at her stepmother as she spit out that last part, anger levels rising quickly yet again. Was there anything more disappointing than her obvious inability to control herself, especially in the presence of her stepmother?
"Oh please." The woman snickered. "You're not dying. You'd be of no use to me if you died."
"So you're forcing me into the role of politician. Figures," Ani clenched her fists, struggling in releasing her anger. She didn't want to struggle too much, in case they decided to drug her then and there. The adrenaline would only cause the drugs to move faster. Plus, she had found out there were some negative side effects she had suffered, chief being migraines, and adrenaline amplified those effects as well. Swell. Screw the Jedi code, her stepmother's ass was hers.
"It's not just to ensure you claim your inheritance, young one. Your Force powers have been amplified and honed at the Temple. You would bring honor to your house."
"Except I'd refuse," Ani snarled back, "because I'm not anyone's pawn. Not ever again!" She quickly added on, "EVER!" hoping that Marana wouldn't notice the word "again". Then a smirk crawled across Marana's face. Uh-oh…
"Feeling a little constrained by the Jedi Order's rules and regulations, Ani?" she asked.
"No!" Her quick response had no effect on the woman's yet-remaining smirk.
"I think otherwise. You must have been betrayed by the Jedi Council during the past. Why else would you respond the way you did? Perhaps it was a battle?" At this point, Ani realized Kiln was fishing for information, and relaxed. Word about her previous master's… collapse had not spread beyond the Temple walls.
"Yes," she lied. "A battle… too many lives, too many lost."
"Really? Interesting. How did the betrayal come around?" Time to act agitated, although it was less acting and all real on her part.
"YOU DON'T NEED TO KNOW!" she yelled, straining against her bonds. "YOU'RE NOT A JEDI!" Lowering her tone somewhat, she continued, "You can't even pretend that what we do is remotely close."
"Ah, I see I've touched a nerve. Well, young one, rest assured that your role will be much different with my guidance."
"To be used as a pawn in your games?"
"Not as a pawn. As a leader of the future! Queen Breha has no heir, which leaves the throne of Alderaan open for the houses. Bail Organa's adoption will never sit well with half of the houses, who do want actual blood to sit on the throne. Certain houses with fractions of royal blood will look to put their descendants on the throne. This house has the biggest claim of them all, however. Some royal blood, after the Sith Wars, had been mixed into this house. You carry enough of it in your veins to outpace all the other houses. You stay behind, you could rule all of Alderaan!"
"Booooorrrrrrrinnnnnnngggg!" Ani drawled, rolling her eyes. "Why rule an entire world when I can have a lightsaber, a starfighter, and aggressively do real negotiations, plus avoid you?" This didn't appear to faze Marana, however.
"Not after a few sessions with my little toy, you won't. I imagine you'll be much more susceptible to my suggestion, even accepting of my offer when we're done here." Technology that would make her more easily controllable, too. Anger and fear, a powerful concoction, began to stir rapidly within her. Ani clung to her façade as much as possible. She needed to outlast her stepmother and whatever plans that woman had. Toy? Something that would make her susceptible to suggestion? Any kind of technology like that would have been banned on the Core Worlds thousands of years ago. The Mid-Rim and the Outer Rim worlds were less regulated in regards to what they did, so technology coming from there was most likely.
"A toy? Where did you get it? Phindar? Tatooine? Where is it anyway? You'd think I'd be in it already. Besides, I'm a Jedi and reeducation doesn't work on me. And it's probably outdated by now," she taunted, attempting to draw the older woman out. With the gaze on her face, though, she probably was just waiting for this chance to gloat. Not like she could brag about drugging Jedi to mind-wipe them at the various ritzy galas and parties. Although, it would make the Republic's job easier. Why couldn't her stepmother be more like the stupid criminals she had come across elsewhere?"
"Actually, it came from here. It originated here, from Alderaan."
"What? No!" Could it be possible?
"Oh yes. I actually found it – or the ancient, antiquated remnants – here, an old yet serviceable bunker from the civil war here long ago. Actually, what remained here was moved after the Republic confiscated what was left of the Imperial's project to control and direct the Killiks against their enemy. Unfortunately, the Republic did not see the use in keeping or using such technology, especially against the Sith. Neither did the Jedi. That did not stop my ancestors from keeping a piece or two – if only to ensure that the strongest would be directed as told by the wisest and most knowledgeable of our house. Whether it be to guard against danger encroaching upon our house, or whether all of Alderaan is in peril, the dangers will be met in a timely and efficient manner. It is for the latter reason that I will be requiring the use of it on you."
"Really? Is it really for that just and noble purpose?" Ani spat, not bothering to hide her disgust. "Just to use it – me – to help Alderaan with her issues of whom shall sit on the throne? Or is it so you can control the throne at will? Did being in control of a house give you these delusions of grandeur, or does it date back to your ancestors?"
"Do the Jedi teach no control at all to their pupils, or were you just that stubborn?" Marana responded tartly, only sign that she was growing weary of the talking back. "Honestly, you would think you Jedi would be more in favor of this, as it is for the benefit of all. The good of the many outweighs the good of the few – or the one, lonely padawan." A spike of fear pierced the girl's heart then, having snuck in from the cloud of fear that had been surrounding her. Despite the work to conquer her fears, she still had that one key fear, the one that caused her to search out either with her physical senses or through the Force at certain intervals.
She feared being alone, no friends, and no master. She feared the loss of her master. She feared being in trouble, as she was now, with no one there to help her out. Was her spirit strong enough to keep her on the path, or did she always rely too much on others to be her strength and foundation? Even when her first master had turned bad, she hadn't wanted to say anything, since she still had someone who she knew would keep her around. She never thought that anyone would come after her, especially when the abuse had begun with her former master. Then Luminara had cared, and chased after her. That had given her hope. Would that hope be dashed now?
"It…" she paused, collecting her thoughts and willing her voice not to crack. "It does not mean sacrificing the freedoms and individuality of the many. They are not the pawns of the wiser or the more intelligent or the more powerful. The individual should never be sacrificed just so the many can be more easily lead, directed, controlled which is what you're proposing. It doesn't matter if the end result is ultimately achieved. The means have stripped the many of their inalienable, unquestionable rights! That leads down to either being one mass directed as a hive-mind, or to superiority/inferiority complexes being developed among both groups, leading to worse events. No one – and definitely not the inhabitants of Alderaan! – deserve such a fate."
"Please," Marana said, tossing her head. Her hair remained in its tightly woven bun high atop her head. "With the way everyone has been clamoring for the war to end, they will only be the more grateful when the wise, the intellectuals, and the powerful find a way to end it for them, quickly and painlessly." Sadly, as Ani knew all too well, that was the truth at least for the political beings of the Senate. How many times had she heard or experienced the growing hostility the Jedi as a whole faced? Beings everywhere thought they were supposed to have brought about peace by now. Apparently they never heard that for peace to succeed, both parties needed to be willing to compromise. Certain Separatist planets might be willing and daring to attempt to break away, but as a whole the Separatists refused to back down from their plans of warfare and conquest. Judging by the smug look on Marana Kiln's face, however, to argue any further would be pointless. A certain female Kiln had her mind set on her own kind of conquest.
"You will be stopped, Marana!" she yelled, looking brave. Not that she felt brave, but that came later.
"Don't be foolish, Ani. I'm a perfect actor. No one suspects a thing about my intentions. My sector has very little crime, is well-mannered, and have excellent schools. Senator Organa has been regretfully busy with the Senate, what with the Clone Wars, and the Queen here has been likewise kept busy between the obvious rumors and constant threats posed due to the war. As long as things look good for me, no one cares to investigate. The only true obstacle was the citizens, and as long as I redirect their nosiness elsewhere, they were and still remain easy to control and direct. Once I figure out how to use it appropriately publicly, my little device will make my job easier."
"You have used it?!"
"Of course. Time for you to meet the one survivor." One?! Out of how many? Ani thought. "Come on out." The shadows behind her moved, and then a small figure materialized behind the lady. Ani stared in shock.
"Ani," Marana Kiln said, "meet Ani." Except for my tattoos on my face, Ani thought, she looks extremely similar to me. Even the haircut looks similar. From blond hair in a pixie cut-look to the face structure, from the clothes to the stance, there was no doubt. Marana had somehow made a twin of her, and was showing the existence of her to her captive Jedi. Why? Ani could almost anticipate an answer, but held back. Better to let Marana do the honors, since the older woman was obviously dying to tell her.
"According to all records, you've been here on Alderaan recently returned after being found. You're enrolled in classes at a prestigious academy, excelling in your classes, and being primed most excellently to take on the mantle placed on you from birth."
"But I haven't actually been present!" Ani protested.
"She has," Marana gestured to the still girl, who still hadn't moved a muscle. To be sure, she was yet breathing, and her gaze appeared focused, but she hadn't said anything yet. If she had been reprogrammed, wouldn't it be important to include a lesson or two on speaking to one's captive. Well, to the captive of the woman who was... what? Stepmother? Mother? Kidnapper? It wasn't like she had anything else to do at the moment; she might as well be the one to start asking the questions.
"So," Ani addressed the quiet shadow. "How are you related to her? Is she your aunt? Your mother? Kidnapper? Or just your handler?"
"Silence! Do not speak to her directly!" Marana Kiln snapped. "I didn't lie when I said I couldn't have children. I was and am still barren. I need an heir, and I knew you were still alive. With the training you had received as a Jedi and that you were the last known heir of this house, you were the obvious choice. Of course, I had to plan how to get you back, but if I could make a copy of you to appear and disappear when need be, then any gaps or disappearances could be explained away. That was when I began my research. I couldn't just ask, for the person could always renege on the deal, or escape or cause other difficulties for me later on. I had to control the person: their identity, their personality, in order to bring the full, rounded character of the heir that is Ani Kiln to life.
"Once I had researched enough, I started my search for the perfect candidate. She couldn't tap into the Force for obvious reasons, and had to be on a backwater planet. Then came down to marking the candidates. Last I had known, with the holos helping my search, you had a full head of blonde hair, blue eyes, a prominent nose, and long fingers. Between my handmaiden, Finara, and I, we found five that best fit the description. Then of course, after that was the initial conditioning -"
"Torture!" Ani interjected, temper finally beginning to boil over her restraint. It had been bad enough to sit through classes going over different torture methods, how to resist them, and how to deal with those who had been tortured. It was even worse to listen about the process in person and with your clone in front of you.
"- process," Marana continued, with only a small pause, "ordering their minds for commands, beginning the separation of their identity in order to create the specific identity chosen - "
"You broke them?!" Ani's anger surged with that shout, her struggling at her restraints. The doll with her face showed no response to the conversation, and it was unnerving to observe.
"Please stop interrupting," Marana sighed. "It really is that distracting. Anyway, after the chosen identity took hold, we would test it to ensure it was firmly rooted. We would finally engage in the final conditioning process, wiping out any residuals of their former memories and identities. Upon completion, we would begin the education process, to make them into the perfect copy of you. The one you see standing before you is the only one to have made it through all the steps intact."
"Okay!" Ani yelled. "I get the point: you wanted me here and not at the Temple! But how could you convince the people here of that? I thought my father told them that I was going to the Jedi Temple." That had been after her mother had died and the Jedi present. She couldn't remember what they had been called for. She remembered trying desperately – and failing epically – to use her mother's lightsaber against the assassin droid. She had been young and stupid, thinking that her mother's preliminary training was going to cause victory to fall into her lap then and there. She had been wrong, and thank the Force the Jedi had arrived then and there. After that, her memory was hazy until her arrival at the Temple. She pushed back at her emotions to concentrate on the conversation at hand, before stopping in surprise. Her emotions were being disposed of, but not by her will alone. Slowly yet surely the Force had reappeared inside herself. Being careful to show nothing on her face, Ani reached out with a pensive touch. The Force came, sluggish and slow, but it came to her call. She didn't have what she needed to break out of here, especially with that Mandalorian staring her in the face, but she could start by sending a message to her master.
"He never did. I begged him not to upon finding out, saying that the rumors spread about the Jedi robbing us of our children, especially you (since your brother had never been officially announced) would bring too much suspicion and fear of our house and our line. He saw reason and agreed. I just never informed him of what else I had intended, and given how far he had sunk in his grief after your mother's death, it was a wise decision on my part. He also wasn't very attentive, even when on his deathbed," Ani smirked at that, trying to anger her stepmother, "which gave me all the freedom I needed.
"I still had to pretend you were around, however. I therefore claimed that 'you' were too sickly to come out and play or to be seen in general, and when your father became reluctant to come out, it made that excuse even more plausible. Word spread of the disease he had, before he died. All in all, I had more than enough time to prepare 'you' for the reveal. I enrolled 'you' in classes at a prestigious boarding school at age seven before providing a private tutor at age eleven. It wasn't until I had made preparations to grab hold of 'you' you when I had your shadow here disappear. A search was started, but sadly no trace of 'you' could be found. Of course, then the Clone Wars began and complicated matters, and for a while I decided to resign myself to finding your shadow and leaving you be. Your clone was brought back and that had been that.
"However, shortly after was when this wonderful break happened. One of my contacts happened upon some interesting plans, who then found and stole some genuine Separatist data, and finally all my preparations fell into place. What better way to lure you here than with legitimate data on the Separatist's movements? You guys have confirmed the data, the Separatists have moved, and your escort has been called away. You saw how I reintroduced you to Organa, who couldn't of course reveal to you then the facts of "your" disappearance. I'm sure you noticed also the staffs' reactions to your presence. I had warned them ahead of time to act normally, in order to help you adjust faster. Of course, even now that I have you, your master and her two clone commanders are still here, and I suspect it won't be easy to chase them away."
"No it won't," Ani agreed smugly. "My master won't give up on me. She'll never stop searching for me." Despite initial feelings of guilt for not trusting her master with the information she'd gathered, she knew she wouldn't - couldn't - not trust her to come to the rescue. If she would come after her to stand between her abusive master and her in order to protect her, she would rescue her. And Skee would know to give her master the information, hopefully. All she had to do was to send that message. Her Force reserves were painstakingly slow in that regard.
"We'll see, young one. We'll see. Bounty hunter, if you would, inject her again. We need time to set up the machine for her, after all." The Mandalorian turned to her right to rummage around in a nearby cabinet for another sedative. The padawan plastered a frightened look on her face and began fidgeting to distract from what she was going to attempt to do. Ani watched the bounty hunter's every movement, gathering the Force around her, ounce by ounce. She would need as much juice as possible to get this message to her master – there!
Unfortunately, that's when the bounty hunter found her syringe, and now approached the chamber that held the padawan. The… "clone" (she shuddered) and stepmother had gone by now, to only Force-knew-where. Summoning what she had left of her strength, and relying on the Force, Ani prepared the message. Short, sweet, and basically no real information other than to let her master know that she was still on this planet. With one mental equivalent of a heave, she sent the bond-message flying out from her end. In the next three seconds, the needle was inserted.
Ani's head dropped.
Luminara was speechless, and that was impressive considering she was now reviewing the data collected by her padawan and Skee. The aforementioned clone stood in front of the Jedi Master, feeling more uncomfortable with every passing second. No trace, no sign of the padawan. Not even the Jedi Master had caught any glimpse of her trail. He was concerned for her.
"Is... Is this all of it?" Luminara asked. Her eyes were still roving over the datapad surface, looking for what only she knew.
"Yes, General," he said.
"And between you and my padawan, you two compiled this collection?"
"Yes, General." She inhaled deeply, before exhaling it all in one long breath. "Is everything there as you need it?"
"Yes, Captain. However, it's more the fact that both you and my padawan didn't reveal it to me until now." He felt even more guilty now. She sounded frustrated and tired, and he could empathize. To top it off, he noticed a hand going to her forehead to begin massaging it, her gaze becoming that much more intense. He was sure he had the beginning of a headache in the makings as well. It had been a long day of fruitless searching. No leads, no clues, and they'd be asked to leave after the next full day was over.
"I'm... I apologize, General."
"Forgiven, Captain. Whatever reason my padawan had to do such a thing, I must have caused it."
"No, General. She did it because she didn't want to worry you with something potentially unimportant." The General released a choked laugh. He knew he was fudging the truth, but it was worth it to help the General focus on the positive.
"She would think that way, wouldn't she?" Judging by the look on the Jedi General's face, she looked soft, wistful, and Skee felt for a moment the same way. Allowing those emotions to fester, however, wasn't going to help them find the padawan any sooner, and he knew the General knew that well as he did.
"If you will, General," he began as he moved slowly to tap the upper corner of the datapad. "This is the stuff I found when we were decoding the chip." She stiffened suddenly; it startled him, but he ignored it. "This all was extra material, and I didn't think much of it at the time, but some of the project files seemed a little off to me, and... Well, you need to read it for yourself." She frowned as she read the file name aloud.
"'Project Monarch'?"
Ani was staring into space as the wrist and upper arm shackles were snapped together with a click and the bounty hunter moved down to her legs. The fit was snug, tight enough to prevent extraneous movement, but not so tight that her blood flow was constricted. She also hazarded a guess as to the content of the shackles. Likely it was a mixture of durasteel and cortosis, strong enough to be difficult to cut unless you had a lightsaber, and of course insurance against that lightsaber. The drugs recently injected into in her system were effectively maintaining her isolation from the Force. Escaping from here would be no mean feat. Especially without the Force, since she'd have to concentrate harder and rely on the fundamentals her master had taught her.
Speaking of which, she really hoped her message had gotten through. She had never felt more alone than she did now. Even though she doubted she'd be given another chance to send, let alone receive a message from her master, she had been able to alert her master to what her stepmother had been planning. Too bad she hadn't been forthcoming on the other houses involved in this plot. There was also the possibility that some houses hadn't officially committed their efforts to such a campaign. The Queen, although getting older, wasn't yet old enough to seriously consider the possibility of a successor. Her husband, being such a visible political cog in the machine that was the Senate, would likewise keep such talk on the down low until he was replaced in the Senate. Still, if the houses were beginning to at least talk about and question the lack of an heir to the throne of Alderaan, it was worth at least alerting the royal family to that important political topic.
Her range of topics was getting boring, not to mention too depressing to think about. Yawning, she sluggishly rolled her arms and legs, attempting to get comfortable.
"Those tables are unforgiving, kid." The low light at the entrance of the chamber only helped to add to the bounty hunter's shadowy aura. Either the drugs or the exhaustion were contributing to how hard it was for her to focus. Since that location was where the voice had come from, Ani glared in that direction. "I'd do my best to go back to sleep, if I were you. Less strained muscles that way."
"Yeah, well, you're not me, so screw off," Ani snapped. The shadowy figure shook her head, or that was the guess that made the most sense since that caused the shadows to dance around more fervently before her eyes. Great, now she was nauseous.
"Tsk, tsk. You know, being nice to your captors is a better idea than insulting them. I might actually consider letting you get off that table to stretch your legs before the final process begins." As much as you could when drugged off your rocker, Ani contorted her facial expression to display how much she believed that idea.
"You wouldn't dare, given how uncontrollable Jedi captives are. Your sphere of influence over me down here is better if you don't tempt the Force by trying to expand it."
"Maybe. However, I'm sure you'd appreciate the exercise." Since when was her jailor supposed to be this nice? Where was the bitch from before? This had to be a side effect from the drugs. There could be no other explanation.
"Who are you, and aren't you supposed to be my jailor?" Ani groused, closing her eyes in an effort to stop the nausea from growing. "Isn't there a clause in the contract that specifically states you have to be mean and tough, and not at all considerate of your captive?" She heard the older woman begin to chuckle, much to her annoyance.
"You don't remember anything of your brief past here, do you?"
"Didn't you hear anything of what I said earlier, bounty hunter?"
"You weren't too specific with what you had said. If you remembered something your father had said all those years ago, what else do you remember?" Ani sighed, keeping her eyes closed. She had nothing better to do, except wait. This way her mind at least would be active. She would pay attention, see if this distraction would pay off in the long run. She wanted to go back to her Master already.
"Well there is one other clear memory I have," she said.
"What would that be?" Interest clearly colored the feminine voice.
"My mother's death."
Gree paced around the guest quarters. What the gardener had informed him of had intrigued him, while giving him cause to be even more concerned about the padawan's welfare. The conversation was recorded on his datapad. He also took photos of the path, a bother to find, and where it ended. He didn't feel confident he could go into the woods, at least not yet. Let his General analyze the data he'd gathered to make that decision. The situation was delicate enough where she had to be the one to make that decision.
He started as the doors swooshed open to reveal his brother. "Skee." Once the other clone came inside, they clasped arms briefly in gratitude. In a mansion where few would acknowledge, let alone address their presence, it was a relief to be able to have a private talk with a familiar face. Judging by the look on the captain's face, he had information to share. First things first, however.
"I have some more information for the General, Captain. Where is she?"
"She said she needed some air, and next thing I know she vanished."
"What – really? The General?" Skee nodded in confirmation. Gree sighed in resignation. Apparently General Skywalker had rubbed off on his General, and not in a good way.
"Jedi," he stated grudgingly. "Well, out of all of us, she'll be the most careful in her search and traversing the estates. Anyway, my intel can wait. Anything you've found?"
"Yes, Commander, and," Skee had an intense look on his face, "you're going to want to see this."
"Good idea. Let's trade intel while we're at it." Gree looked over his shoulder towards the window. Given how open it was to the interior courtyard, they'd want to exercise discretion while doing so. No one else, ideally, noticed or realized that the clones had intel that they probably shouldn't have. No need to have that become a huge problem - the next huge problem. As if reading his mind, Skee chose that moment to speak up.
"I'll take the drapes, if you want to secure the door."
"Then we'll move the bed," Gree finished. "You catch on fast, Captain. Let's see how fast we can secure this room. I've got a feeling that the General won't be back until later, which gives us more than enough time to swap notes."