In the hangar bay of the Jedi Order, I hug goodbye to my best friends, Ahsoka Tano and Leia Naberrie, my older brother, Luke, and my younger brother, Chase. Luke, Ahsoka, and I have all been assigned to, or been requested by, Jedi knights or Masters to begin our padawanships.

As far as I know, Ahsoka is being sent to Christophsis as Uncle Anakin's new padawan, even though he has no idea that ba'vodu Obi-Wan requested one for him! Luke is staying here for another day or so, but then he'll be shipping off to Alderaan with Master Aayla and the 327th Star Corps. Leia is heading to Kamino with Master Ti to oversee the training of the clone soldiers. And I'm heading to Eriadu.

It's a terrestrial planet in the Outer Rim, and has jungles and mountains. But it also has quite a few resources, which explains why the Separatists are trying to invade it. Master Ileema requested to train me, which I'm very happy about. She's one of the two Jedi Masters who met Luke and I in the hangar when we got here. I call her Amu, which is Amatakkan for mom, and I call her clone commander buir, which is Mando'a for parent. I've been really close to both of them since I was little.

I'm not just being sent to Eriadu as amu's padawan, but also as a messenger. The 345th is so far out in the Outer Rim, that the comms here in the Temple can't reach them. So I have to take the message to them that Jabba the Hutt's son has been kidnapped. He contacted the Jedi to get him back, and amu (amu - mom) and I are a part of the group being assigned to find him, and bring him back to Tatooine.

Chase doesn't want to let me go, so I pull away slightly and put my hands on his shoulders.

"Chase, what's going on?"

"I don't want you to go! I don't want you and Luke to die!"

"Hey," Luke says, "it's okay. We're going to do our best to make it back alive. So no frowning, you know if you frown too much, your face will get stuck like that."

Chase laughs lightly, before I speak up.

"Yeah, we're going to do our best to make it back outside of a coffin, and if we do die, hey, we'll at least try to take a few hundred Seppies out with us! And, hey, you remember what buir taught me, and what I taught you two?"

Luke nods, but Chase thinks for a moment before shaking his head. I give him a small smile, and wrap my arm around Chase's shoulders. I want to enjoy being taller than him and actually being his 'big' sister for as long as I possibly can. He's my little brother, and I do love him after all.

"Nu kyr'adyc, shi taab'echaaj'la. Just remember that, and even if we do die, we'll both always be with you. Okay?" (Nu kyr'adyc, she taab'echaaj'la - Not gone, merely marching far away)

"Okay. Ret'urcye mhi, ori'vode." (Ret'urcye mhi, ori'vode - Maybe we'll meet again, big brother and sister)

"Bye, Chase. Bye, Leeda. Bye, Leia. Bye, Ahsoka."

"I'd best be going now. Goodbye, Leeda," Leia says, then she boards her shuttle. I'm really the only padawan or youngling that she's ever been close to. She's very smart, but is a little closed off. She always has been really.

"Goodbye, Leia."

The next to leave is Ahsoka, and then Luke. Which leaves Chase and I. He still looks quite upset. I have to leave soon, but I can spare at least a moment or two for my little brother.

"I won't promise that I'll make it back, you and I both know that I can't. But I'll try, I'll try my hardest to come back. And no matter what, I'll always be your older sister. Ret'urcye mhi, vod'ika. I love you." (Ret'urcye mhi, vod'ika - Maybe we'll meet again, little brother)

"I love you too."

I give my little brother one last hug, before turning around and boarding the transport shuttle that I'm supposed to take to Eriadu. There are a few of my vode that I know going back to join the 345th, and I'm going with them. I think that was mostly because buir and amu don't trust me to fly and not crash. Which I don't understand, I've only crashed a couple of times.

"Su'cuy! Vod'ika, come sit up in the front. And no, I won't tell the Jetii alor, the al'verde, or the alor'ad." (Su'cuy - Hi, Vod'ika - little sister, Jetii alor - Jedi leader, al'verde - commander, alor'ad - captain)

"Sweet! Vor'e." (Vor'e - Thanks)

I practically run up to the front, and go to sit in the copilot's seat, next to Flip. Apparently, ba'vodu (ba'vodu - uncle) Kya helped him come up with his name. He came up with it because Flip likes to to a lot of flips in midair. And Flip liked it so much, that he kept it as his name. And he's also one of the only vode (vode - brothers) to tell me the story behind his name. None of my ba'vodu'e (ba'vodu'e - uncles) will tell me how they got their names, and buir (buir - dad) won't tell me about it either. But I enjoy the stories that some of them will tell me. Before I can sit down though, he hugs me, and gives a gentle tug to the only bit of hair that I have dangling down my back, my brand new padawan braid.

While we're flying the ship to get to where we're up above Coruscant, Flip and I get to talking. He knows more about battle than I do, since he's actually been out in the field.

"Leeda, you do know that the al'verde (al'verde - commander) won't be happy if you don't put on beskar'gam (beskar'gam - armor). He already might just have heart attack during your first battle."

"I know, and I'm going to put some on. I just can't do it in the Temple because a lot of the other Jedi don't think that a Jedi should wear armor and stuff. They also don't really like the vode (vode - brothers), which is why you'll never hear me call buir, buir (buir - dad) in public, or amu, amu (amu - mom) in public, aside from in front of the vode (vode - brothers). There could be some trouble with the Senate if I did that, since they don't consider you sentient."

"True, and please don't start on that rant again. And, ad (ad - kid), your buir (buir - dad) is the best commander in the GAR, so none of us want him decomissioned. And our general is the best one of those too, so we don't want her reassigned to another battalion."

I laugh nervously. Almost all of the vode (vode - brothers) have nothing bad to say about buir (buir - dad) and amu (amu - mom), I just hope I can live up to their legacy.

"You know, I'm a little surprised that your council let her train you. Since you are pretty much her ad." (ad - kid)

"Well, she was Master Yoda's last padawan, and he lets me call him ba'buir (ba'buir - grandfather). So he has a bit of a soft spot for both amu (amu - mom) and I. Amu (amu - mom) and ba'vodu (ba'vodu - uncle) Obi-Wan can pretty much get away with anything because Master Yoda is so fond of her, and he's her vod'ika." (vod'ika - little brother)

"That makes sense. Younger cadets do always get away with more stuff with the Alphas and the CC batches. I don't know why."

"Well neither do I."

Pretty soon, we reach the point outside of Coruscant where it's safe to jump into hyperspace. This is the second time that I'll have actually been in hyperspace where I may have paid attention, but I don't remember the last time. I was only three at the time after all. Flip puts in the coordinates, and after a moment, the stars begin to turn into streaks of white against black. It feels like we sit there for a second, and then we rocket forward.

Outside the cockpit window, there are swirls of blue and white and purple. Shades of blue swirl around blue, and blue swirls around purple, shades of purple swirl around purple, white swirls around both of the others. It almost looks like I'm dreaming, it looks so amazing.

"Wow," I breathe.

"Incredible isn't it? The view of hyperspace is one that never gets old."

I nod, I don't think I've ever seen something so beautiful. Certainly nothing on Coruscant, outside of the gardens of the Temple, can even hold a candle to this. And even the gardens of the Temple don't have a beauty like this. I've never been in a place where beauty is much of anything. Tatooine is made up of sand and rocks after all.

After a few hours of flying, during which I do go and put on some shoulder pauldrons over my padawan robes, and wrist gauntlets, we come out of hyperspace. The blue, purple, and white fade into the black background of space, and streaks and dots of white. Then the almost turquoise color of Eriadu's atmosphere comes into sight. It looks very pretty, and peaceful.

Flip lets me help to steer the shuttle down to Eriadu, and help land it. We didn't even dent it! I don't see why amu (amu - mom) and buir (buir - dad) won't let me fly by myself yet, but I can't exactly go against them. They have been my parents since I was three. Heck, I don't even remember my biological parents.

When we do land, I walk out of the cockpit, and out to where we'll get off of the ship. Flip and the other troopers get off first, and I can see buir (buir - dad) greeting them. After all of the troopers have gotten off of the shuttle, I walk out of the shadows and down the ramp. Buir gives me a look, that tells me that he was hoping for a little more enthusiasm since I haven't seen either of them in a few months.

I grin, and pick up my pace to a jog. When I come to amu (amu - mom) and buir (buir - dad), I hug both of them tightly. Buir (buir - dad) hugs me back, over the tops of my shoulders, while amu (amu - mom) has to place her arms under mine since, as of my last growth spurt, I'm taller than her now. Only by about an inch, but still, I'm taller than her. And I like it.

"I'm not to happy that you have to be out here in the battlefield, but both of us are happy to see you."

"I know. I'm happy to se you too."

I fall into step in-between amu (amu - mom) and buir (buir - dad), and amu begins talking.

"Leeda, there are senior officers here, so you do have to call us by what you would if-"

"If I weren't practically your daughter?"

"Yes, but only until we leave," buir (buir - dad) says.

"Oh! That reminds me, ba'buir and the Council sent a message with me."

"Well, you'll have to tell us what it says later. We've almost driven the Seppies off this planet, and this battle should be that last here. And the Seppies started to advance a few minutes ago."

"Fun."

We walk over to the officers, who are still on the ships, but are comming so that we can all discuss strategy, and buir (buir - dad) falls into step behind amu (amu - mom) and I. I also step slightly behind amu (amu - mom), like padawans usually do. All of the officers there are looking at the map of Eriadu. Ba'vodu (ba'vodu - uncle) Kya is there too, and he looks like he's about to murder somebody. We join them, and I stand beside amu and ba'vodu (ba'vodu - uncle) and look at the map.

The dot that represents the Seppie droids looks like it's moving toward a long mountain pass toward us. We could divide the men into two groups, then sent one of them to come up behind the droids, cutting off their escape, and then the other half attacked from the front. That would cut off their only escapes, since the walls of the pass would cut them off from escaping to the sides, then our men block their escape from the only ways in or out of the pass.

Amu (amu - mom) and a man named Admiral Tarkin are getting into an argument about strategy now. The admiral wants us to storm them head on, while amu (amu - mom) thinks that we should ambush them from either behind or the sides. I bite my lip, and glance at ba'vodu (ba'vodu - uncle). He gives me a nearly unnoticeable nod, and I speak up.

"Master, what if we waited until they were in that pass, and then ambushed them?"

Amu (amu - mom) turns to me, and says, "Please explain your idea, Leeda. It sounds like a good one."

I swallow, and nod, then begin to explain. I point to the dot that's the droid army, and say, "See how the droids are marching straight for that pass? If we could divide the men in half, and send half of them to attack from behind the droids, and then have the other half of the men attack the droids from the front, then they would have to defend themselves on two fronts, while we crush in from both sides. They also can't escape anywhere because of the walls of the pass, and the troopers blocking the only ways in or out. The droids would have to fight us, and it would give us the advantage because we'd be coming in from in front of them and behind them. If we do end up going with this plan, then we should also station snipers above the battle up on the ridge. That would help to prevent them from ambushing us."

A few of the officers nod, as do buir, amu, and ba'vodu. Tarkin though, he just sneers at me, and says,

"What would you know about battle strategy? I don't believe you've ever been in a battle."

"I haven't been in battle before, but I've been taught strategy since I was seven years old. That's when Commanders Logan, Cody, and Bly taught me how to play chess. When I turned ten, they started teaching me how to apply that strategic thinking to different terrains along with different battle strategies and how to execute them."

That shuts Tarkin up for at least a few minutes. But the other officers talk with amu (amu - mom), buir (buir - dad), and ba'vodu (ba'vodu - uncle) Kya for a few minutes, before finalizing the plan. They all end up agreeing on the one I presented, except Tarkin, but I couldn't care less about what he thinks.

After briefing the rest of the men, we start getting ready for battle. Amu (amu - mom) is heading up group that will attack from behind the droids and I'm going with her, while buir (buir - dad) is heading up the group that's going to attack from the front. We go across the top of the ridge, and get down to where the start of the pass is. The droids have just gone in, so we only have to wait for a bit.

My hand is resting on my lightsaber hilt, and I brush my thumb over the bottom of the hilt. I also keep staring at the pass. Amu (amu - mom) is standing beside me, and so she places her hand on my arm.

"Nervous?"

"A little."

She smiles at me. "I was too. Just trust in the Force, and feel it flow throughout your body. And stick close to either Kya or me, and we'll make sure that you don't end up sending your buir (buir - dad) into an early grave."

I giggle softly. "Yes, ma'am."

Once the droids are far enough into the pass, we begin to sneak up behind them. Once ba'vodu (ba'vodu - uncle) Kya's comm blinks, we attack. At the same moment that we attack the droids, buir's (buir - dad) group attacks them as well.

I start to block the shots from the droids, and it feels almost like practice with Master Sinube. Except, well, it's much deadlier. When I get close enough to any droid, I slice the tip of their blaster, and then cut them in half. There are more than a few times that amu (amu - mom) or ba'vodu (ba'vodu - uncle) save my skin, but I haven't done horribly for my first battle.

I have no clue how long the battle has lasted, but it feels like it's been hours by the time it ends. I deactivate my lightsaber and clip it to my belt. I look around the still standing clones, looking for three people. Amu's (amu - mom) mix of Jedi robes and black, magenta painted shoulder armor. Buir's (buir - dad) white armor with black and magenta stripes, and the magenta handprint on the cuirass. And ba'vodu's (ba'vodu - uncle) armor with mostly magenta base, and different black aliiks.

I find amu (amu - mom) first, her height helps me with that. Standing next to her is buir (buir - dad), and the ba'vodu (ba'vodu - uncle) not far away. I jog over to them, and buir (buir - dad) removes his buy'ce (buy's - helmet). He grins at me, and wraps his arm around my shoulder.

"Are you ready to paint your armor now?"

I grin up at him, and nod. Very enthusiastically. We then gather up the men who died, and head back to camp. When we get there, I relay the message I was sent to relay.

"Jabba the Hutt contacted the Jedi Council with the news that his son had been kidnapped. The Council decided to send uncle Anakin and the 501st, ba'vodu Obi-Wan and the 212th, and the 345th to rescue him. As far as I know, ba'vodu (ba'vodu - uncle) Obi-Wan is being sent to Tatooine first, to try and negotiate with Jabba. While we're being sent with uncle Anakin to Teth to rescue Jabba's son."

Amu (amu - mom) looks over at buir (buir - dad), and then back to me. "Then let's get the men up to the ship, and let's get going."

"Get busy living or get busy dying." -Stephen King