Kamino was wet. Much wetter than anywhere Jai had been before, and wetter than she preferred. Master Yoda seemed unfazed by the torrential rain, and gotten out of the ship quickly. He'd left with the other Masters to go in, and they'd left a creche Master in charge of watching the numerous Padawans and younglings still aboard the ship. Jai was sitting between Thad and Ran, and all three were chattering away to each other, excitedly nervous about the coming possible battle.
At the last minute, that morning, the Council had decided to take the older younglings and Padawan/Master pairs to Kamino and then to Geonosis to help. Reserves were always needed, and this was no exception. Jai only hoped that they'd get there in time before Obi-Wan was killed.
"Jai! Jai! Are you excited? 'Cause I am! We're going on a mission! Are you excited?" Ran was obviously very excited, she was repeating herself. Jai grinned and poked Thad.
"Thad! We're excited! Are you excited? Because guess what! We're going on a mission!" Thad sighed and rolled his eyes.
"I know we're going on a mission. You've told me we're going on a mission all day. Yes, I'm excited. Yes, I can see you're excited."
"Spoilsport." whispered Ran to Jai. They giggled. Across the ship, Nara and Corvey were arguing, loudly.
"That didn't last long." commented Jai. The Masters re-boarded the ship.
"Children! Dividing you up, we are. Some stay on this transport, they will. On the ship with the soldiers, other will. Masters there will be on both ships." Yoda said, and there was sudden jostling to go with friends between ships. Jai found herself and Ran separated from Thad, and they were shoved into the rain. Jai was immediately soaked.
"Looks like we're goin' on the other transport!" shouted Jai over the thundering rainstorm. They hurried over, and soldiers dressed in white helped them on. Once all the younglings and Padawans were safely on board, the transports took off. Jai gazed in awe around her. The soldiers were sitting perfectly straight, with no movement, and they didn't seem to be distracted by anything. They children looked somewhat unsettled by it, because they'd gotten used to even the Masters being distracted by things on occasion.
"Wonder what'd happen if you poked one?" whispered a boy on Jai's left.
"They'd probably not notice. And if they did, then they'd kill you!" Jai laughed. One of the Masters looked her way and she bit her lip. They ship took off into hyperspace.
Before long, the transport came out of hyperspace and they were approaching Geonosis' atmosphere. The younglings crowded to the windows to see if they could see their friends on the other ship, and the Padawans sat still, looking condescendingly at the younger kids.
"I think that's Thad..." said Ran, directly in Jai's ear. She winced.
"There's Nara and Corvey, I think... Separate windows, though." They giggled.
"They would've had to break up in like a year anyway. 'Cause of bein' Padawans and all." The girls were silenced by the rumbling that announced they were landing. Within minutes, they were all standing in the dirt, looking around. Raucous cheering was coming from a nearby valley.
"Younglings! Go, you will, to wait in the shadows! Master Windu and I, with the clones, we shall go!" The younglings nodded, and silently followed one of the other Masters. The earlier good mood had vanished, replaced with the terrible realization that not all of the younglings would see the Temple ever again. Jai, Ran, and Thad drew closer together and went into the shadow of the stadium. The younglings waited about ten minutes. A silent gesture from the Master brought them into the stadium, blinking in the sudden harsh sunlight.