I have changed a few minor things here. Fair warning.
Reviews;
Godlikelover16: It's going to be a bit of both! I'm definitely going to be including parts of the show, and following it pretty closely for the purpose of my not royally screwing up the timeline, but I am also going to be throwing in a lot of things of my own. It won't be too apparent at first, but later on you'll see a lot.
JaDe In NighT: Easier said than done!
Tatsuki Vermilion: Oh yes. She's missing a lot of things in her educations that she's going to have to learn about fast if she's going to make it long as a Commander. She's not really suited for Military at all, which will make it all the more difficult with her soft heart and fears.
SupremeGeneralJoker: You are very welcome! I finally have some more of it!
romanov16: Thank you! It's not very soon but it is updated!
Chapter 7: Malevolence
Aliette had never encountered something so chaotic, loud, and equally organized as leading an army off of a planet and onto the Negotiator. Crates with legs marched up the ramp, clones scrambled to get any last minute, half-forgotten additions to the packings. The men knew exactly what they were doing, so she did her best to stay out of the way and remained, for the most part, with the medical equipment.
Her new squad stayed with her, and took to the requests she made for assistance very well. Chopper was mostly silent, Punch and Sketch stuck to themselves, and Jester was usually at her elbow, his nerves still high but his willingness to help overriding them.
Gus was different from the others, who obeyed as if she were giving orders. If she was being honest he was, by far, the most helpful, or at least the most informative.
If she did something against the regulations she barely knew he would call her on it, if she did something wrong he would say so, if she said something foolish he would scoff at her.
It raised the ire of the others, who clearly did not get along with him, but Aliette was thankful for the blatant disrespect. It made it easier for her to learn, to improve, when people told her she was wrong.
When she worked within the rules that the clones were taught it made their teamwork far smoother.
Still, she sometimes disliked the tone he used. Like she was somehow worth less due to her lack of knowledge. Which, in reality, she probably was.
The young woman let out a soft sigh when she hoisted up another crate. It was larger than it was actually heavy, and with fortifications of the Force she had little trouble maneuvering it into the ship and the small platform that would race it to the section of the ship that held the Med Bay.
Aliette would be consulting her master on whether or not it would be acceptable to have her room as close to there as possible. There were rooms in the Hall of Healing that were inhabited by those acolytes that were most dedicated to their work, one of which had been assigned to be hers permanently until she was made Padawan. She thought that the same might be said for medics on Cruisers, but she wasn't entirely sure.
She could have asked any of her men, but she felt she had made enough of a fool of herself for that day, proven her inadequacy repeatedly. She would rather not lose any more respect than she already had.
Or perhaps she would.
Was it arrogant to think that? Was it selfish?
Aliette shook off her thoughts to focus on the task at hand, before she ran over Jester with the chest they were tasked with getting into place. It wouldn't do to cause injuries to her own men.
"Commander?" Jester still didn't look her in the eye. Over her right shoulder.
"Yes?" she asked, raising her voice just enough to be heard over the chatter of the other men in the hallway. Ships were always so loud.
Jester turned his eyes further away from her.
"Did you really say it was okay for Punch and Sketch to have shifts together?" he asked. His shoulders were tense in a way that was not needed for lifting.
Aliette's chin dipped in a nod. "Yes, I did. Was there a request you had?" she asked, trying to make sure her voice conveyed an honest desire to help.
"No, Sir," he said immediately. Then added softer, "Thank you."
Aliette smiled at him and tapped the crate lightly with a forefinger, signaling that they should move on. Jester caught her sign quickly and moved backwards, looking over his shoulder to watch for obstacles.
When he wasn't at her he spoke again. "Commander?" He couldn't seem to decide what he liked to call her yet.
"Yes, Jester?"
"Why did you let them go together? Clones like us…" Aliette couldn't tell what he was going to say.
Whatever it was it made her heart hurt for him. Soldiers wounded in ways she could not mend the way she normally did.
Aliette hummed softly, letting him think his own thoughts and giving herself time to think of how to phrase what she wanted to say next.
"I think you're all fine men," she said at last. Jester's chin jerked in her direction before it dipped down and away again. "One traitor does not mean you are as disloyal as he was. It reflects on his character, not yours," Aliette thought that was it. What she wanted to say.
She couldn't hear the material squeak of his gloves but she did see his hands tightened their hold. His voice was too soft, yet his lips moved.
Aliette smiled.
The room was crowded with the light of holograms and moving Bridge Hands. Where tactical illusions usually occupied the main raised platform now stood the congregation of great Jedi Masters, amongst which was her own, listening patiently to the report with her fellows.
Aliette had been allowed to stand at his right flank, just within projections range, while Cody occupied the left, out of sight. To her own right, also invisible to the masters, was Gus.
It was a place of honor, beside a Council Member and her Master. Again pride welled in her chest before she let it wash away. She could revel in it later on, before she let it go to the Force and stopped feeling it. Pride was not supposed to be something she indulged in, so she avoided it as much as she could.
Besides that there wasn't a good enough reason for it right now. There was a weapon that no one knew the whereabouts or the specifications of that was hurting the Clone Troopers. That was a risk to her men.
"This mystery weapon has struck in over a dozen systems, and disappeared without a trace," the third member of their party said gravely. Master Windu spoke true too, it had them all worried. No one was safe as long as the weapon remained out where they could not find it.
Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, the most influential of their party, remained ever serene, however disheartened the pinch of his brows was. Aliette wished they were meeting in person, so she might have a better reading of his Center. He was difficult to understand sometimes, like the way his eyes lit visibly when Master Skywalker joined the images on her screen, most likely at the same time he showed up on his, with young Ahsoka at his side. Aliette was impressed that one so young was being allowed in a discussion so important.
"Master Skywalker," there was warmth in the Chancellor's voice, "Have you had any luck in finding the location of General Grievous' secret weapon?"
Grievous. It was a name that sent a sliver of fear darting past her heart, like a comet invading an atmosphere.
Her Master looked back at her curiously and she flushed a few shades, ashamed of the fear. It was not something a Jedi should have. They were not supposed to fear.
Yet, there had been a time when Fear had kept her heart beating.
"Master Plo Koon was in the Abregado System when our communications cut out," he reported. A joint hologram of the systems crimson son appeared in front of them, floating start against the cold blue of the bipedal beings surrounding it. "While we have had no further contact with Plo Koon, the absence of distress beacons indicates that his fleet was… that his fleet was destroyed, like all the others. We were about to mount a rescue mission."
The Chancellor spoke, gesturing mildly as he did so. "Hasn't Clone Intellegence reported that this weapon never leaves any survivors?"
Aliette's heart fell. She knew Plo Koon. She was close with his niece, Sha, and Ahsoka. Little 'Soka's face was twisting into something that Aliette knew all to well to mean stubbornness was ahead.
Master Plo Koon was the one who had brought Ahsoka to her home, had showed her the ways of the Force when all others had looked the prodigy over. She loved him, though Aliette doubted she even knew what love was.
Her master's eyes were down cast. He was thinking Grim Thoughts.
"Based on the timing, the Seperatists don't want any witness's," he observed. Aliette held her tongue. While that was true, surely they were going to go and find their missing Master.
Surely they would at least look.
"Tragic are these losses. But prevent more, we must," Master Yoda intoned.
Aliette's throat closed.
They wouldn't.
Master Windu went on as if there weren't a potentially dead Jedi floating in the darkness of space.
"All our Clone Units will need to be reassigned to guard our supply convoys," which was a truly foolish move in Aliette's opinion, "including yours Skywalker. I'm afraid we can't risk anymore ships with a rescue mission."
Just as she knew she would, Ahsoka lept forwards in defense of her old friend.
"Wait! Just because there haven't been any survivors before, doesn't mean there won't be any this time!" she tried, looking from one man to the other. Aliette's lips thinned into a line. The young Togruta was right. There was always Hope. There had to be. Or without it, there was nothing at all.
The council members disagreed. With just a few exchanged glances.
Palpatine's voice held no bitterness or scolding. Mere observation. "Boldly spoken for one so young. " Still, it set Ahsoka back a step.
"She is learning from Anakin," Master Kenobi pointed out. He was amused, the Padawan realized.
"Excuse my Padawan," Master Skywalker requested. His voice was tighter. "We will deploy, as you have instructed Master."
There was barely a hearts beat before the Holo was gone and the map of the star system they were in had replaced it.
"So, Young One, what did you think?" Master Kenobi asked her, turning from the console. She was very well aware of the Judgement she would receive no matter what she answered.
"The Council knows better than I the makings of War," she said simply, picking her words with care. She had been told before she would make a good politician, and talk circles around her enemies. Master Kenobi was known as The Diplomat, so it was no surprise that he caught on to her attempt.
"That isn't a real answer," he scolded.
The girl lowered her chin. "My apologies, Master."
"Come," he ordered, gesturing her to follow at his heels as he began to stroll away, towards the Commanding Offices. Hers had been placed, kindly, closer to the Med Bay.
Without any further hesitation she fell in behind him, and the Clones in with her. As her equal in Rank and superior in experience Cody was a pace ahead. As her subordinate and an unseated officer, Gus was three behind.
They ducked into her Masters office, hardly decorated save for a Brew Burner set in by his desk. There were already four chairs, three before the desk and one behind. Each of them positioned themselves accordingly.
"While I appreciate your not arguing with the decisions we made, I would like a truthful response as to what you thought," he told her. For the first few weeks she had been with him he hadn't seemed to realize that unless it was medically important she would not speak out on much of anything, unless it was absolutely necessary. Now, it seemed he was trying to remedy that mistake.
She could not blame him. He would be used to Brazenness of Skywalker, not the Passive Self that belonged to Ansa.
For an instant she considered refusing. It wasn't her place to question what the Council decided. And yet…
"I think it was bad idea, Master. To give up on Master Plo and to redirect so many to protecting supplies," she said at last.
"Why do you doubt Master Windu?" he quizzed, probing further.
Aliette didn't understand why it mattered. She was still going to listen to what she was told.
"With a larger amount of guards, so too will the size of the target increase. It makes it more noticeable, easier to find and in the numbers things will get looked over," she explained slowly. This, at least, she knew to be fact.
Master Kenobi appeared interested, so much so that he pulled out a small Holo Board and set up a group of flags. Black and White. The White held the symbol for the republic upon it.
Aliette understood what he wanted, and set to work for it.
"If the large flags are the supply ships, and the small flags are regular ships, then while the smaller ships can act as buffers in case of attack," she demonstrated, pushing a black piece into the veritable wall that surrounded the large white one, "It would be too easy for something small to be lost within their masts." A little flag, a fraction of the size of the others, disappeared among the white.
"It's only a small one, Sir," Gus said from behind her. Aliette's head bowed instead of snapping up the way Cody's did. He was right. She was being foolish. She didn't know what she was saying, they were more well trained in War Making.
"Small things can be dangerous," her Master said softly. Then her head really did the same as Cody's. Her Master was agreeing with her? On something like this?
"It's not a bad observation," he told her, "In fact, it's a very good one."
He started moving towards the door again, and the other three quickly followed after. "Come," he said again, "Let's go check on Anakin's progress. Then, I will speak with Master Windu."
Aliette was stunned.
She made good observations.
When he said he would speak with Mace he had actually been intending for his Padawan to do it. It was her thoughts, after all, and she needed some experience talking to those of a higher rank than she was. Unlike Anakin or his Grand Padawan, Aliette showed little inclination to outbursts.
After the fiasco that Anakin was about to unleash he thought otherwise. They would think he encouraged rebellious young ones to act however they wanted instead of trying his best to mold them into the best Jedi they could be, and his newest was neither as confident nor outspoken as his last.
So, after Anakin admitted that they were fetching Plo Koon, Obi Wan got to work. He patched through to the council. He always hated explaining these things to them.
It was, naturally, Mace who answered the call. It couldn't have been someone easier than that.
Kenobi didn't give any outward sign of his wishes for another person to converse with. It wouldn't have done any good.
"Kenobi," Mace greeted. He was never very cordial. "Your former Padawan appears to be missing. Again."
Obi Wan sighed to himself. "Yes, I had heard about that. He went after Master Plo Koon and his troops." How word even got to the council so quickly he hadn't the slightest idea, even being a part of it now. He had about given up on trying to figure it out.
"These habits of his were dangerous enough when we weren't at war," Mace stated pointedly.
Obi Wan frowned. Did he honestly think he wasn't aware of that? He had been dealing with Anakin's shenanigans since the boy was still a youngling.
Obi Wan played than his frown was in agreement and not offense, stroking his beard in apparent thought.
"Yes, they are. I'll have a talk with him once he gets back, but for now there was another reason I called you. Something has…occurred, to me," he said slowly. He didn't want to take credit for his Padawan's ideas, but Mace rarely took young ones seriously. As old as Aliette was, she was still a Learner, and he would trust a Master more than that.
"Oh?" it was encouragement enough.
"If we surround our transports completely we only offer a larger target to the weapon the separatists have prepared. It could be more beneficial to split them up into smaller, more easy to maneuver ships," he chose his words with careful fluidity. The Negotiator, indeed.
Mace narrowed his eyes at the younger Jedi. Obi Wan usually followed the lead of other council members in things like this, giving way to their experience and pull.
"And this was your idea?" he pressed.
Obi Wan relented easily enough. "My Padawan had the idea, I thought it held merit."
"While I do see her point, we need more fire power, not more running away," he declared firmly.
Obi Wan had figured he would say something to that effect, but it had been worth a try. It made sense to him, that larger numbers and smaller ships would make more effective transportation. He had to wonder why his Padawan was so sure of herself in this matter of all things.
"Very well. I shall contact Anakin again and see if he's had any luck finding the others."
When he wasn't ordered otherwise Obi Wan cut the connection.
Cody stepped up from where he'd been waiting in the wings. His helmet was tucked in the crook of his elbow, showing off the triple scars above his temple.
"What did you think of Aliette's idea?" Obi Wan questioned.
Cody was a smart soldier, he had been trained well and he knew what to do. He could recognize strategies that could work and those that didn't have a chance. In some ways he was better at it than the Jedi himself.
"I thought the Commander had a point," Cody admitted. "It's easier to track and take down one big target than it is a bunch of smaller ones that can slip through the cracks. It's happened to us before, and we used it a few times on Christophsis. I can't say how well it would work against this weapon, since we don't know what it is."
Obi Wan inclined his head. He had thought along those lines as well.
"I suppose we shall have to see what happens next, to determine whether or not my Padawan was correct. "
The entire situation had Aliette so stressed she thought her head might explode from it all.
How she missed the days when all she needed to worry about was which Youngling had scalded themselves in practice or how low they were running on antibiotics. How far gone had they become in such a short time since she watched 112 Jedi leave to the jaws of death?
How long?
The girl sighed softly to herself and pulled the mug of tea closer to herself. The mess was empty by that time, everyone either sleeping or on their walk abouts. She had tucked herself into a corner, a table hidden predominantly by a support beam. It was small and secluded, perfect for her to wallow in her own thoughts until she had calmed enough to go and rest.
The smallest spark of irritation flickered through her when the door slid open. It fell apart as soon as she felt who it was that had come thought.
Chopper.
He had turned in over an hour before, her entire squad freed from duty for the 'evening'. So what was he doing in the mess?
She didn't have to wait long to find out. He turned the corner that hid her a few minutes after coming in, a steaming cup of what smelled like Caf held in one hand. The other gripped his helmet.
When he saw her sitting there he stopped short. She felt his surprise before it turned into bitter weariness and something akin to guilt. His face turned one way, obscuring the spider-web scar from her view.
She still needed to find out what that had come from.
The Pantoran gestured to the seats around, five sealed to the floor around the table on hard magnets.
"Will you join me?"
She didn't know if he took it to be an order or if he truly wanted company. Either way he took a seat where he could see out of the windows of the ship, into the passing stars of galaxy. Aliette had been staring at the same thing for over half an hour.
The silence they sat in was not comfortable, something the girl mourned. Chopper didn't seem to like her very much. Anyone, really, so that was some comfort. Every now and again the quiet was interrupted by one of them taking a drink.
In the end, it was Chopper who broke the tensions.
"How, ah, how are you settling in, Commander?" he asked. His questioned was faltering.
She took it up anyways.
"I'm doing alright, thank you. There is still much for me to learn, but I believe that that will come with time."
He head tilted to hers, showing he was listening to what she said.
"It's weird to think you Jedi weren't raised for this," he said. A moment after his shoulders tensed. Weariness increased.
Aliette ignored it and tried to abate his fears.
"No, we were. In some ways. There are classes that we take at the Temple, ones that teach us the basics, and sometimes more advanced, combat styles and strategies. Mostly that is left for the Masters to teach Padawans. The rest is merely the skeletal work for what may or may not come later in life," she explained. When he didn't cut her off, and when his eyes finally drifted to her, she took it for curiosity and continued.
"I know the beginnings of how to plan an attack, and now I know how to execute it. But really, I was taught how to heal and act as a doctor, on the field or off, so my knowledge is mixed around some. I'm trying to learn and unlearn a lot at once."
Her teeth tapped together again. She hadn't meant to go blathering on so long.
"How are you doing?" she asked, "Now that you're cleared?"
His jaw worked noticeably before it dropped open for a single, ''fine."
Aliette tried not to be too disappointed. Chopper didn't strike her as much of a talkative person. There was a sort of sigh from him.
"Sorry Commander. Things are going alright. Tense, is all," he said.
She wondered, "Is that why you're here?"
His head shook. "I couldn't get to sleep. Too much excitement today, I guess."
Aliette understood. A hum rose from the back of her mouth as it curved into a sympathetic smile. "I know what you mean. I've been trying to sleep for sometime now."
Chopper nodded then before he looked back at the stars.
His shoulders were less tense now. Their quiet beats were more familiar.
Aliette had a feeling this would be a regular occurance.