Kara regarded her image for a moment, eyes skimming over her underthings, and dark skin, before settling on her face. Brown eyes filled with fear and grief returned her look for a moment before she looked up, absently checking that her hair was still in place. She'd never favored a long style, finding it got in the way of the kind of fights she'd gotten into with her master. She'd kept only her Padawan braid long. It was still startling to see the brown spikes without the long braid at her temple, but it was an adjustment she'd make in time. Considering her appearance for a moment, Kara wondered if keeping the spikes was an asset or a hindrance in her quest to look older. Then she reminded herself that she didn't have time to fix it. At least the bleach and dye were finally out of her hair, while the bleach had been an interesting accident, the vibrant blue and pink dye had been annoying.
Turning away, Kara regarded what was waiting for her on her bed, the armor her father had arranged for her as a gift upon reaching her knighthood. It was done in the style of the Ilan, which consisted of fitted pants and vest that were scaled in mix of materials that were supposed to diffuse blaster shots. She dressed quickly, wondering how her father had managed to acquire the armor when he supposedly hadn't been back to Ilan since the trip that had resulted in her. Then she shook her head, wondering about Jedi Master Nikolas Saje was an exercise in futility. She'd spoken to him a grand total of five times in her life, and three of those had been her idea.
Kara dressed in the slivery-grey under shirt and pants, tucking the shirt in and fastening the clips that kept the two pieces connected. Then she pulled on the russet colored armored pants and wriggled her hips a bit to make sure they were properly settled. She sat down to pull on the russet boots and laced them tightly. She pulled her pants over the boots, then stood up to stamp her feet and make sure they were properly fitted. Then she put on the black belt and hung her light saber and blaster from it. Most Jedi would have been content with just the light saber, but Kara had experienced losing her light saber before in a fight and knew the value of back up weapons. Finally, she picked up the russet colored armored vest and pulled it on. She tugged the fasteners tight and tugged the vest smooth.
Kara stepped back in front of the mirror and studied her reflection and took a deep breath. Then she swore softly and turned to retrieve the silvery grey and russet pack that held her pad, an emergency kit, and extra power packs. She settled the bag over her head, adjusting the single strap across her shoulder and chest, letting the bag settle on her back. Now she was ready, and she looked the part of a warrior.
Her chrono chimed and Kara allowed herself a grim smile, it was time to go cause trouble for some Separatists.
Captain Zip and most of his troopers were already in the shuttle bay when Kara got there. She scanned the room quickly, noting how many men were already wearing their helmets and who looked to be slacking off. Then she walked over to stand just behind the Captain and the small group of men he was talking to.
"We won't have much time to find our brothers," one of the unknown troopers said, he was completely bald and someone had tattooed stars across his scalp.
"We'll have to work fast then," one of the others said firmly, he had close cut black hair and no identifying markers.
"Can we though?" The first trooper asked.
"I hope so," Kara said pointedly, and bit her lip to hide a grin when the troopers all jumped. "I truly hope you can work in the time limit I've been given, because I'm hoping to at least make it to the third mission before bucking orders." She set her feet and linked her arms behind her back, "Captain Zip, how goes preparations."
"Nearly done, General," Captain Zip replied. He gestured to the only member of the group who hadn't spoken yet, "This is Sergeant Blaze, he'll be leading your squad."
Kara raised her eyebrows and smiled at the man, "Sergeant, I hope this is the beginning of an amazing partnership."
"Sir," Blaze said, clearly uncomfortable.
Kara considered her options for a moment, wondering had made him so uncomfortable, but stopped as she became aware of a conversation behind her. She turned her head to hear properly.
"She's completely green," one of the troopers was saying scornfully, "probably never been in a fight in her life, much less used that blaster she's carrying."
Kara pulled the blaster as she turned, holding up her other hand to stay Zip when the Captain began to move. She didn't even need to aim, simply fired two shots, sending blaster bolts just missing the trooper's ears, close enough for him to know that she could have hit him if she'd wanted. Then she stalked over, holding her blaster pointed to the ceiling to where her doubter knelt with two other troopers and the open packs that they were filling.
The trooper was staring at her in horror as she stopped in front of him. "Trooper," she said calmly, aware that she was again the focus of the area. "I killed my first sentient being when I was fifteen. He was part of a gang of gun runners my master and I were sent to locate. He was a Twi'lek who thought that using mass fire would serve to drive us out of a warehouse, if not kill us. I reflected one of his shots right back at him. Now, I won't claim that at fifteen I was good enough to do that on purpose, but the result was the same. I was sixteen and dealing with spicers when I deliberately used my light saber to kill. Although I was trained in using a blaster from the age of eleven onward, I started using a blaster alongside my 'saber when I was nineteen, after I learned the hard way that trusting to just a light saber was a good way to end up in the Hall of Healing, if not dead. I may be new to the title of Knight, but I am no green fighter."
"Sir," the trooper said, swallowing.
"What's your name?" Kara asked.
"CT-7," the trooper began.
"I asked your name," Kara cut in, "not your designation."
"He doesn't have one yet," Captain Zip said, cautiously. Kara glanced at him, raising her eyebrows in inquiry. "Not all clones have a name when they're deployed."
Kara nodded, allowing the Captain to fall silent, then looked at the Trooper, "I'll remember you, Trooper. I hope next time we meet, you'll have a far better opinion of me." She turned away, looking for Blaze, unsurprised to find him just behind the Captain. "Sergeant Blaze, please introduce me to your squad. I'd like to meet the men who will be watching my back before we have to head planetside."
"Of course General," Blaze said nervously, "Actually, these three are part of the squad."
Kara looked at the Trooper and cocked her head, "It's one thing to have a chip on your shoulder, Trooper, but are you going to be able to follow your orders?"
"I- I'll follow them, sir," the Trooper said.
"This is Bones, our field medic," Blaze said, indicating a Trooper who had the symbol for the medics under his left eye, "and Mash." Mash had a shock of blond hair that he had cut regulation style, and a scar on his right cheek that ran horizontally from his nose to his ear.
Kara nodded quickly at their salutes and glanced at Blaze. "The rest of the squad is over here."
The rest of the men in her squad were also checking over their gear, and she took the time to seek out the differences between each of them and to remember their names. Fallback, Shy, Tiny, Hopper, Rusty, and Bounce, each with a unique identifier, like their hair cut or tattoos. All of them met her eyes fearlessly, their confidence in themselves almost a tangible entity in the Force as much as their reserve at their new General.
"Captain," Kara said turning and looking for Zip.
"Sir?" Zip asked.
"When we get back, I want to arrange to meet with each squad in person," Kara said, "all of them."
"Yes sir," Zip said as the ship shuddered.
Kara glanced up quickly, and then the all-call came on with a soft squeal, "General Saje, please report to the bridge, General Saje, please report to the bridge."
Kara looked at the Captain, "With me, Captain Zip," she said and headed for the door at as fast, but calm walk. There would be times when running was necessary, but she could tell, just by the feel of the Force, that this was more of a watchful tension than the excited panic that would have come from a surprise attack.
Sure enough, they arrived on the Bridge to find Iego in the view screen, with a moon half visible and two Separatist capital ships waiting for them. "General, we're here," Captain Sei'lar said.
Kara nodded, "All right Captain, have we tripped their sensors, do you believe?"
"Not that we can tell," Sei'lar said. "We can get closer before we run that risk."
Kara crossed her arms and stared at Iego, considering, "If you were in charge, Captain, how would you do this? I need to get my company on that planet, but I also need to make sure we have a ride out of here."
"Me?" Sei'lar said, "I'd bring the Retrieval in as close as I can and let the shuttles out fast, then pull back, maybe micro jump back to the edge of the system to throw them off. When you're ready for extraction, we reverse the run, micro-jump in when you lift off the planet, hold under the pounding until all the shuttles are back and then run like hell."
Kara nodded, eyeing the viewscreen for a moment, then looked at Zip, "Get your men on those gunships, Captain. This is going to be messy and fast." She acknowledged his salute and turned to Sei'lar as Zip left, "Do you have fighters?"
"One squad," Sei'lar said.
"I want them in the air to cover the gunships as long as possible," Kara said, "both runs."
"Right," Sei'lar said.
Kara hesitated, "Captain, after this mission, would you be willing to assign me someone to go over military protocols? I keep thinking I'm doing something wrong here."
Sei'lar inclined his head slightly, "I will see it done, General."
"Thank you," Kara said, "I'll be on the gunship with my people, awaiting your signal. May the Force be with you, Captain."
"And with you, General," Sei'lar replied.
Kara kept her pace steady and her face impassive as she left the bridge, hoping that she was keeping her growing nervousness from showing to the people around her. They needed to be confident, even if she wasn't yet.
The hanger was quieting down, Kara noticed as she entered. Most of the gunships had their doors closed and their engines were cycling on. There was some commotion around the fighters as those pilots started their engines for the short fight. Zip and Blaze were standing by one of the gunships and Kara headed for them, picking her pace up to a light jog.
"Captain, Sergeant," Kara said, "are we ready?"
"Yes sir," Zip said with a salute.
"Our ship is over here," Blaze said, gesturing to the side.
"Lead the way," Kara said, she turned slightly and pitched her voice for those who would hear, trusting at least Blaze's comm to also pick up her voice. "There's a possibility that we'll come under fire on the way down, the Retrieval will do their best to provide cover, but since I'm sure we all want a ride home when this is over, they won't stick around to be pounded, but will wait at the edge of the system for us to be ready to leave. We're going in and out as fast as possible. May the Force be with us all."
Then she followed Blaze onto their gunship and latched onto a handhold as the door shut. Kara rested her head against her arm for a moment, and then realized she could hear her voice being played from the cockpit. She closed her eyes and shuddered, for a first speech it wasn't bad. Next time, she'd have to do better.